Scientific Management
Nowadays in the modern world of innovations and rapid technological development the science of management has become an important part of every business company and organization. It is really hard to imagine well-known companies such as Apple, McDonalds or Tesco without implementing the theories of management in their day-to-day practice as it became a tool of organizing, planning, motivating and controlling internal and external resources (Boddy, 2008). One of the scientists who made a huge impact towards the establishment of management as a science is Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856-1915) who is mainly known as an author of Scientific Management theory (Taylorism). According to Blake, A. and Moseley, J. (2010) ‘The principles of Scientific Management’, which is explaining Taylor’s theory, is now used in different industries and spheres in order to improve worker productivity and help managers to motivate their staff in a more effective way. This essay is going to critically evaluate the impact of Taylor’s management ideas by providing examples of their implementation in the past and examine their actuality and significance in the modern world. It would also compare and contrast the concepts of Taylor with his main critics in order to assess the influence of Taylorism on the global environment of management. To understand the theory of Scientific Management it is important to know exactly what is meant by the word ‘scientific’. By F.W. Taylor this term means an opinion that is based on a proven fact or statement rather than on personal philosophy are: the development of workers, cooperation with them and ideas or a guesswork (Locke, 1982). The main principles of Taylorism are: the development of workers, cooperation with them, ensuring their working quality as well as providing equal responsibilities between employers and employees and of course the division of labour, which is probably one of the greatest inventions of Taylor (Blake & Moseley, 2010). All of
Bibliography: * Blake, A, & Moseley, J. (2010), One hundred years after The Principles of Scientific Management: Frederick Taylor 's life and impact on the field of human performance technology, Performance Improvement, 49, 4, pp. 27-34 * Boddy, D * Braverman, H. (1974), Labour and monopoly capital: The degradation of work in the twentieth century, New York & London. * Drucker, P. (2001), The essential Drucker, Oxford University Press: Oxford. * Ford, H. (1922), My life and work, Heinemann: London. * Fry, L. (1976), The Maligned F.W. Taylor: A Reply to His Many Critics, Academy Of Management Review, 1, 3, pp. 124-129 * Gillespie, R * Locke, E. (1982), The Ideas of Frederick W. Taylor: An Evaluation, Academy Of Management Review, 7, 1, pp. 14-24 * Mintzberg, H * Ritzer, G. (1993), The McDonaldization of Society, Revised new century edition, pg. 1, 34 * Wren, D