StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...

To what extent could it be argued that scientific management is good management - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
Scientific management Name: University: Course: Tutor: Date: Scientific management is a good management because it ensures efficiency and increase productivity Introduction Management is concerned with planning, organising, leading, decision-making and controlling activities in the organisation (Guillen, 1994)…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER98.8% of users find it useful
To what extent could it be argued that scientific management is good management
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "To what extent could it be argued that scientific management is good management"

Download file to see previous pages

Scientific management perspective has its origins from the work of Fredrick Winslow Taylor in the late 1880s and early 1890s. The management approach evolved during the industrial revolution when factories recognised the need for automation and mechanisation of some work processes. Some themes of industrial revolution and engineering included the need for rationality, efficiency, work ethic and standardisation of the best practices in order to eliminate waste (Taylor, 2010). Fredrick Taylor is considered the father of scientific management since he sought to introduce the ‘one best practice’ rather than allowing employee discretion in the tasks.

Through ‘time and motion studies’, Taylor managed to fix job performance standards through introducing standardised ‘time, quality of work and costs’ associated with each job in the organisation (Taylor, 2010). Frank and Lillian Gilbreth advanced the fatique and motion studies that proved that proper job design and coordination of movements in the workplace reduced to efficiency through minimising time wastage and idle time. Henry Gantt introduced Gantt charts that demonstrated the priority of tasks and stages of production thus enabling employees to prioritise work and adhere with the work schedules.

Thesis statement: scientific management is a good management in contemporary business environment since it increases organisational productivity and ensures efficiency in the production methods. Taylor based his scientific management on four principles that entail scientific study of work in order to determine the best efficient method of performing a specific task. Tsutsui (2001) claims that scientific study of work principle aims at replacing the ‘rule of thumb’ or common sense manner of doing jobs with a scientific manner than breaks down the job in to tasks and determines the most efficient method of doing the job in order to maximise efficiency.

In this case, scientific management aims at enhancing workflow efficiency through redesigning the layout of the work environment in order to reduce time wastage and distractions. The second guiding principle of scientific management is the scientific selecting of workers for each job and training them to efficiently perform the tasks (Guillen, 1994). This principle is aimed at matching employees to their jobs depending of the required skills, capabilities and motivation of each individual worker in order to enhance productivity.

The third principle entails monitoring worker performance, provision of job instructions and supervision in order to ensure workers are using the most efficient methods in their jobs (Taylor, 2010). In this case, Taylor advanced the notion that employee motivation is equivalent to incentive theory since employees are motivated by financial rewards. Taylor advocated that improvements in job productivity should be accompanied by equivalent increase in the piece-rate pay in order to encourage the workers to commit more efforts and maximise their productivity.

Lastly, the fourth principle of scientific management aims at dividing the wok between the managers and workers so that managers could concentrate on the application of scientific methods in designing tasks and supervision while workers can concentrate on the execution of their job according to the already established scientific methods

...Download file to see next pages Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“To what extent could it be argued that scientific management is good Essay”, n.d.)
To what extent could it be argued that scientific management is good Essay. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/management/1496094-to-what-extent-could-it-be-argued-that-scientific
(To What Extent Could It Be Argued That Scientific Management Is Good Essay)
To What Extent Could It Be Argued That Scientific Management Is Good Essay. https://studentshare.org/management/1496094-to-what-extent-could-it-be-argued-that-scientific.
“To What Extent Could It Be Argued That Scientific Management Is Good Essay”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/management/1496094-to-what-extent-could-it-be-argued-that-scientific.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF To what extent could it be argued that scientific management is good management

Soft-Drink Industry in Europe and the US - Coca-Cola and Pepsi

Both Pepsi and coca-cola have been contributing in good measure towards the political campaigns of diverse political parties and the governments.... Steele could bring in this turnaround mainly in two phases.... Coca-Cola being the official partner of World cup soccer under these changed circumstances, not only brought it closer to the respective establishment, but having a borderless big area where people could move freely to see the football matches the frenzy generated has indeed helped coca-cola by leaps and bounds....
12 Pages (3000 words) Essay

Public Management Convergence

The aim of this work is to present a summary of the article by Christopher Pollitt (2001) Titled "Public management Convergence: The Useful Myth" and Chapter 14 of the Book by Hughes O.... (2003) titled "Public management and Administration.... hellip; The study will thereafter try to see how the summaries from these two books relate to the essay titled "How Useful is New Public management as a framework for the comparative analysis of public administration"....
11 Pages (2750 words) Research Paper

Overview of Scientific Management, Taylorism

Taking this definition the original objective of Taylor with scientific management is to benefit not only the employer but the employee as well.... He developed scientific management with good intentions to lighten the load of manual workers.... Thus the word Taylorism was born (scientific management 2008).... He adds that ‘scientific management has for its very foundation the firm conviction that the true interests of the two are one of the same; that prosperity for the employer cannot exist through a long term of years unless it is accompanied by prosperity for the employee, and vice versa; and that it is possible to give the worker what he most wants – high wages – and the employer what he wants – a low labor cost – for his manufactures”....
13 Pages (3250 words) Essay

Management Is a Highly Debatable Issue

The term management is used is used in almost all our day-to-day activities and our lives.... It used in a variety of ways depending on the context although some theorists tend to present it a dominating… For example, it can be used in organizations to mean planning, organizing and control but it can also be used in social setting such as in situations where people are advised to manage their affairs well or finances or when one says ‘ I can manage' to mean he/she There are also various terms associated with management such as scientific management, human resource management, knowledge management among others....
9 Pages (2250 words) Essay

Scientific Managers and Human Relations Managers

The paper "Scientific Managers and Human Relations Managers" highlights that scientific management is one that cannot be implemented by itself in the modern world without the involvement of human relations management because it is this, which ensures that there is active engagement with employees.... hellip; It is important to implement human relations management alongside scientific management because it helps in the moderation of the inefficient practices of the latter....
8 Pages (2000 words) Research Paper

The Distinction between Formal Rationality and Substantive Rationality

The following is an appraisal of whether scientific management and human relations theory are formally rational, substantively rational, both or neither.... Before evaluating whether the scientific management and human relations' theories are formally or substantively... Formal rationality can be described as the extent to which simple actions premised on experience, logic, observations, calculations and science are used to attain a particular objective or to increase the chances of success of the particular action (“Formal and Substantive Rationality”, n....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay

Taylor's Scientific Management

For the improvement of health service, the application of scientific management is very significant.... The implementation of the theory and principles of scientific management is able to improve and make better the performance of workers associated with health services on the basis of the principles of the scientific management proposed by Fredrick W.... scientific management is also termed as Taylorism on the basis of its attachment to Fredrick W....
12 Pages (3000 words) Term Paper

Total Quality Management for Improving Workplace Performance

Naturally, as the name implies, rather than looking at a specific aspect of the organization and seeking to make it more streamlined, total quality management is more concentric upon seeking to manage the organization as a whole and develop all of the processes and levels of integration that exist within it in such a manner that a level of synergy can be realized between all of these factors (Alfalla-Luque et al.... The paper contains the annotated bibliography of articles about total quality management for improving workplace performance such as "management Science-Total Quality management Interfaces: An Integrative Framework" and "Prescriptions for a service quality revolution in America" … This particular article focuses upon the shortcomings in self-assessment that many companies make in terms of their own level of total quality management....
14 Pages (3500 words) Annotated Bibliography
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us