Scientific Management

 Scientific Management

Scientific management is a management theory that analyzes workflows to improve economic efficiency, especially labor productivity. It implies the use of scientific methods in making decisions and acting on organizational problems and situations. This management theory, developed by Frederick Winslow Taylor, was popular in the 1880s and 1890s in U.S. manufacturing industries.

While the terms “scientific management” and “Taylorism” are often treated as synonymous, a more accurate view is that Taylorism is the first form of scientific management. Taylorism is sometimes called the “classical perspective,” meaning that it is still observed for its influence but no longer practiced exclusively. Scientific management was best known from 1910 to 1920, but in the 1920s, competing management theories and methods emerged, rendering scientific management largely obsolete by the 1930s. However, many of the themes of scientific management are still seen in industrial engineering and management today, 

The basic philosophy of scientific management are expressed in 6 principles:

1. Development of science for each element of work: Fixation of a standard daily output of work.

2. Scientific selection, training, and development: Maintaining a team of efficient workers for maximum productivity.

3. Close cooperation between workers and management: Avoiding discord and disharmony between workers and managers.

4. Division of responsibility between management and workers:  The separation of planning function from doing function.

5. Mental revolution: Maximum cooperation between workers and managers

6. Maximum prosperity for employers and employees: Securing maximum prosperity for the employer and manager should be the main objective of management.

The practice of scientific management benefits both employees and employers. It has the following advantages:

1. Higher productivity: The entire approach of scientific management aims at raising the level of productivity of the workers.

2. Better personnel relationship: With the help of this approach, work-related problems of workers are solved amicably by getting them involved in the management process and providing a bonus to them.

3. Effective utilisation of resources: By using various techniques of scientific management, resources of the organisation may be used in a better way for achieving objectives, and waste and inefficiency are reduced considerably.

4. Benefits of specialisation: In the approach of scientific management, the work is divided into small components, and to deal with each component’s specialists are appointed.

5. Development of potential of the employees: The approach of scientific management seeks scientific selection and proper training for the workers in the organisation. By providing training to them, their knowledge regarding the job is increased, and they become capable of doing it more efficiently.

6. Efficiency is rewarded: By applying the approach of scientific management, wages paid to the workers are linked with their efficiency and those who perform better get higher wages as compared to others.

7. Improved working behaviour: Through the process of mental revolution, the attitude and behaviour of both managers and workers are improved and made it desirable for achieving objectives.

8. Prosperity of organization and workers: The approach of scientific management does not only help in increasing the operational efficiency of workers, and it also leads to more production at a reduced cost, besides higher wages for the workers.

9. Simplification and rationalization of work: The work to be performed by the workers is fully rationalized by conducting several studies regarding it.

However, scientific management is not without some major disadvantages. Experts have highlighted the following as weak spots in the theory and practice of scientific management:

1. Lack of human side of the organization. The various elements of scientific management lack a human touch.

2. The scientific approach views humans as disposable resources in an organization just like machines and the other factors of production.

3. Overlooked other needs: Taylor’s scientific management theory only considers money as the reason for working.

Vincent Dania

November, 2021.

Reference:

Lumen. Introduction to Business: Scientific Management Theory. Retried from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wm-introductiontobusiness/chapter/scientific-management-theory/

Christino, C. (2021). Top management: what is it and what are its responsibilities?.  xcellence blog. Retrieved from https://blog.softexpert.com/en/top-management-and-its-responsibilities/.