Scientific Management
Introduction
Scientific management, also known as Taylorism, is a theory of management that analyzes and synthesizes workflows. Its main objective is improving economic efficiency, especially labor productivity. It was one of the earliest attempts to apply science to the engineering of processes and to management.
History
The theory's 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 entered into competition and syncretism with opposing or complementary ideas.
Principles
Taylor's scientific management consisted of four principles:
1. Replace rule-of-thumb work methods with methods based on a scientific study of the tasks. 2. Scientifically select, train, and develop each worker rather than passively leaving them to train themselves. 3. Provide "Detailed instruction and supervision of each worker in the performance of that worker's discrete task" (Montgomery 1997: 250). 4. Divide work nearly equally between managers and workers, so that the managers apply scientific management principles to planning the work and the workers actually perform the tasks.
Influence and Industrial Psychology
The principles of scientific management have been influential in shaping the field of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, which centers around the management of workplace behavior. This discipline focuses on increasing workplace productivity and related issues such as the physical and mental well-being of employees.
Criticisms
Despite its widespread influence, scientific management has been criticized for turning the worker into an "automaton" or "machine," and for putting productivity and efficiency above all other factors, such as worker satisfaction or happiness.