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Organizational theory and behavior
Terminology of organizational behavior
Terminology of organizational behavior
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Recommended: Organizational theory and behavior
As organizations truly affect almost every aspect of our daily lives, it is vital for us to understand the what, how and why of organizations (Buchanan & Huczynski, 2010) . That is why an adequate evaluation of organizational behaviour is needed. This essay is going to analyse the application of a critical model of thinking to studying organizational behaviour. It is going to do so by first setting clear definitions of key terms, describing generally Taylorism, Fordism and Post-Fordism and then proceeding with analysis of different examples. These examples would relate to the above mentioned organizational behaviour theories and the relationships between them. As a result of the analysis a summary is to be drawn focusing on the value of applying an analytical method to understanding organizational behaviour. What makes this topic particularly interesting is that it relates an interdisciplinary field (Buchanan & Huczynski, 2010) of research with a concrete way of perception and then questions it. However, it must remain clear that the term “critical approach” in the sense of understanding organizational behaviour would mean the same thing as if a critical approach is applied within the field of study, that is an approach that challenges the status quo and does not ignore perspectives that are routinely ignored or excluded otherwise (Knights & Willmott, 2007) .
The first concept that is considered is Taylorism. Following by the name of Frederick Winslow Taylor the idea of scientific management theory is considered the basis of modern management (Buchanan & Huczynski, 2010) . Taylor had the opportunity to monitor production in the steel industry from first hand as he was an engineer. Because of the specifics of the industry, worker...
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The major change came through the work of Fredrick Winslow Taylor and his theory of scientific management system. It was not that Taylor was unique or completely new; only time and motion study could be put in that category. The trend was already moving towards systematic management such as formal management methods or by cost ...
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Fordism and Scientific Management are terms used to describe management that had application to practical situations with extremely dramatic effects. Fordism takes its name from the mass production units of Henry Ford, and is identified by an involved technical division of labour within companies and their production units. Other characteristics of Fordism include strong hierarchical control, with workers in a production line often restricted to the one single task, usually specialised and unskilled. Scientific management, on the other hand, "originated" through Fredrick Winslow Taylor in 1911, and in very basic terms described the one best way work could be done and that the best way to improve output was to improve the techniques or methods used by the workers. (Robbins p.38)
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There are several theories that examine an organization and it’s approach to managing work in an effort to develop efficiency and increase production. Two classical approaches to management are Taylor’s scientific management theory and Weber's bureaucratic management theory. Both men are considered pioneers of in the study of management.
The concept of scientific management is based on the idea that work could be studied to increase efficiency, and specialization. Economist Adam Smith changed the way the world looked at the economy and organization. In his essay, “Of the Division of Labour,” Smith emphasizes the importance of specialization, and how division of labor leads to specialization. He states that this would allow a worker to be more productive and efficient (Shafritz, Ott, & Jang, 2011, p. 41-45). Frederick Taylor introduced the principles of scientific management, which stated that management is a science, workers should be scientifically selected and trained scientifically, and both management and workers should work together.
Scientific Management theory arose from the need to increase productivity in the U.S.A. especially, where skilled labor was in short supply at the beginning of the twentieth century. The only way to expand productivity was to raise the efficiency of workers.
Scientific management is a theory of management that analyzed and synthesized workflows. Its main objective was improving economic efficiency, especially labor productivity. It was one of the earliest attempts to apply science to the engineering of processes and to management. Its development began with Frederick Winslow Taylor in the 1880s and 1890s within the manufacturing industries. Its peak of influence came in the 1910s; by the 1920s, it was still influential but had begun an era of competition and syncretism with opposing or complementary ideas. Although scientific management as a distinct theory or school of thought was obsolete by the 1930s, most of its themes are still important parts of industrial engineering and management today.
The evolution of management though the decades can be divided into two major sections. One of the sections is the classical approach. Under the classical approach efficiency and productivity became a critical concern of the managers at the turn of the 20th century. One of the approaches from the classical time period were systematic management which placed more emphasis on internal operations because managers were concerned with meeting the growth in demand brought on by the Industrial revolution. As a result managers became more concerned with physical things than towards the people therefore systematic management failed to lead to production efficiency. This became apparent to an engineer named Frederick Taylor who was the father of Scientific Management. Scientific Management was identified by four principles for which management should develop the best way to do a job, determine the optimum work pace, train people to do the job properly, and reward successful performance by using an incentive pay system. Scientifi...