Scientific Management

Syed Shahrukh Haider

 Scientific Management
a term coined in 1910 to describe the system of
industrial management created and promoted by
Frederick W. Taylor (1856 1915) and his followers.
also called Taylorism, it was a theory of
management that analyzed and synthesized
workflows
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.
any system of organization that clearly spelled out
the functions of individuals and groups
 The Principles of Scientific Management:
a Monograph
The Principles of Scientific Management is a monograph
published by Frederick Winslow Taylor in 1911. This influential
monograph, which laid out the principles of scientific
management, is a seminal text of modern organization and
decision theory and has motivated administrators and
students of managerial technique.
Taylor was an American manufacturing manager, mechanical
engineer, and then a management consultant in his later
years. He is often called "The Father of Scientific
Management." His approach is also often referred to, as
Taylor's Principles, or Taylorism.
The monograph consisted of three sections:
Introduction, Chapter 1: Fundamentals of Scientific
Management, and Chapter 2 : The Principles of Scientific
Management.
 Introduction
The 1st goal for all good systems is to develop first class men.
Taylor pointed out that this can be achieved by the following:
1. Point out the great loss the country is suffering through
inefficiency in almost all of daily acts.
2. Try to convince that the remedy for this inefficiency lies in
systematic management, rather than in searching for some
unusual or extraordinary man.
3. To prove that best management is a true science, resting
upon clearly defined laws, rules, and principles, as a
foundation, and to show that the fundamental principles of
scientific management are applicable to all kinds of human
activities, from simplest individual acts to the work of our
great corporations, which call for the most elaborate
cooperation. And, to convince the that whenever these
principles are correctly applied, results are astounding.
 Chapter 1: Fundamentals of Scientific Management
Taylor argued the following:
that the principal object of management should be to
secure the maximum prosperity for the employer,
coupled with the maximum prosperity for each
employee
that the most important object of both the employee and
the management should be the training and
development of each individual in the establishment, so
that he can do the highest class of work for which his
natural abilities fit him.
that maximum prosperity can exist only as the result of
maximum productivity, both for the shop and individual,
Rebuked the idea that the fundamental interests of
employees and employers are antagonistic.
According to Taylor, there were three reasons for the
inefficiency of workers:
First. The fallacy, which has from time immemorial
been almost universal among workmen, that a material
increase in the output of each man or each machine in
the trade would result in the end in throwing a large
number of men out of work.
Second. The defective systems of management which
are in common use, and which make it necessary for
each workman to soldier, or work slowly, in order that
he may protect his own best interests.
Third. The inefficient rule-of-thumb methods, which
are still almost universal in all trades, and in practicing
which our workmen waste a large part of their effort.
Chapter 2: Principles of Scientific Management
The development of a science for each element of a man's
work to replace the old rule-of-thumb methods.
The scientific selection, training and development of
workers instead of allowing them to choose their own tasks
and train themselves as best they could.
The development of a spirit of hearty cooperation between
workers and management to ensure that work would be
carried out in accordance with scientifically devised
procedures.
The division of work between workers and management in
almost equal shares, each group taking over the work for
which it is best fitted instead of the former condition in
which responsibility largely rested with the workers.
Under the management of "initiative and incentive", the first
three elements often exist in some form, but their importance
is minor. However, under scientific management, they "form
the very essence of the whole system".
Taylor's summary of the fourth point is: under the management
of "initiative and incentive" practically the whole problem is
"up to the workman," while under scientific management fully
one-half of the problem is "up to the management." It is up to
the management to determine the best method to complete
each task through a time and motion study, to train the
worker in this method, and keep individual records for
incentive based pay.
Taylor warned about attempting to implement parts of scientific
management without accepting the whole philosophy, stating
that too fast of a change was often met with trouble, strikes,
and failure.
Taylor devotes most of the remainder of the
work to providing case studies to support his
case, including:
His work on the shoveling coal and his studies
on the handling of pig iron, greatly
contributed to the analysis of work design and
gave rise to method study.
The inspection of small polished steel balls for
bicycle bearings
Introduction of slide rules described in "On
the Art of Cutting Metals" to a well
run machine shop.
 In the 1890s, Taylor also introduced the ff:
accounting systems that permitted managers to use
operating records with greater effectiveness,
production systems that allowed managers to know
more precisely what was happening on the shop
floor,
incentive schemes,
a piece-rate systems on production management to
encourage employees to follow instructions.
discovery of "high-speed steel," which improved the
performance of metal cutting tools
systematic methods that led to an integrated view of
managerial innovation.
A principle of Taylors work was stop-watching as the basis of
observations to determine what workers were able to do. He
started to break the timings down into the elements and coined
the term time study.
Taylor fashioned scientific management from systematic
management. His extensive report on his work, "Shop
Management," (1903), portrayed an integrated complex of
systematic management methods, supplemented by
refinements and additions, such as time study.
Taylor's impact has been so great because he developed a concept
of work design, work-measurement, production control and
other functions, that completely changed the nature of industry.
Before scientific management, such departments as work study,
personnel, maintenance and quality control did not exist. What
was more his methods proved to be very successful.
 Frank and Lilia Gilbreth
Frank Gilbreth (1868-1924) is best known for his work with
construction workers on the efficiency of motion. He developed
many of the concepts and applications that are now part of
modern management techniques.
With his wife and professional partner, Lillian, Gilbreth introduced
the application of psychology to industrial management. He
also developed intricate studies of motion that he adapted for
use by injured soldiers and the physically disabled, as well as
laborers. His work established that psychology and education
are integral parts of successful management. Lilian helped
industrial engineers see the importance of the psychological
dimensions of work. She became the first American engineer
ever to create a synthesis of psychology and scientific
management. Lillian Gilbreth was the force behind her
husband's career change - from construction to management.
Together they became leaders in the new field of scientific
industrial management.
Frank and Lillian Gilbreth pioneered the field of motion
study engineering which began in Frank's early days as
a brick layer. He studied the motions that bricklayers
made, and found a way to reduce the number of
movements to lay one brick from 18 down to six. At a
time when an expert bricklayer was laying 125 bricks
an hour, Gilbreth was able to lay 350 using his
methods.
In 1907, Frank met Frederick Winslow Taylor and became
an admirer of the Taylor System of time study. The
Gilbreths became deeply involved in scientific research
and Frank was instrumental in creating the Taylor
Society. In 1912, the Gilbreths left construction and
focused their attention on scientific management
consulting. They broke with Taylor in 1914 and formed
their own form of scientific management, which
focused on the human element as well as the technical.
Both Lillian and Frank Gilbreth believed that scientific
management as formulated by Taylor fell short when it came
to managing the human element on the shop floor. The
Gilbreths helped formulate a constructive critique of
Taylorism which had the support of other successful
managers. They expanded Taylor's methods in the early
1900s to develop "Time and Motion Studies which aimed to
improve efficiency by eliminating unnecessary steps and
actions.
Although the work of the Gilbreths is often associated with
that of Taylor, there was a substantial philosophical
difference between the Gilbreths and Taylor. The symbol of
Taylorism was the stopwatch; Taylor was primarily
concerned with reducing process times. The Gilbreths, on
the other hand, sought to make processes more efficient by
reducing the motions involved. They saw their approach as
more concerned with workers' welfare than Taylorism, which
workers themselves often perceived as primarily concerned
with profit.
Lilian and Frank saw the need to improve worker
satisfaction, which would in turn improve overall
job performance and worker efficiency. Frank
designed systems to ease worker fatigue and
increase productivity by studying each movement a
worker made, in a process he called micromotion
study. The Gilbreths used still photographs and film
strips to study worker movements in order to
devise the One Best Way to perform a task. They
also saw the need to improve the physical comfort
of the worker, and their innovations in office
furniture design were ahead of their time, leading
the way to the study of ergonomics.
 Other Contributions of the Gilbreths
Developed a set of standard motions that reduced all motions of
the hand into some combination of 17 basic motions called
"therbligs". These included grasp, transport loaded, and hold.
Gave the idea that a surgical nurse serve as "caddy" (Gilbreth's
term) to a surgeon; providing surgical instruments as called
for.
Devised the techniques used by armies around the world to
teach recruits how to rapidly disassemble and reassemble
their weapons even when blindfolded or in total darkness.
Their emphasis on the "one best way" and therbligs predates
the development of continuous quality improvement (CQI),
and the late 20th century understanding that repeated
motions can lead to workers experiencing repetitive motion
injuries.
Contribution of Scientific Management Theory to present day:
Adaptation of themes: analysis; synthesis; rationality; logic; work
ethic; efficiency and elimination of waste; standardization of best
practices; disdain for tradition preserved merely for its own sake or
to protect social status of particular workers w/ particular skill
sets; knowledge transfer between workers and from workers into
tools, processes, and documentation. transformation of craft
production into mass production.
The features of 20th century factory system such as: self-conscious
management, systematic planning, specialization of function, and
highly structured, formal relationships between managers and
workers were the legacy of systematic management especially of
Taylor and his disciples, the most important contributors to the
campaign for order and rationality in industry. They made scientific
management a malleable symbol of the potential of modern
organization for changing virtually every facet of contemporary
life.
"The old fashioned dictator does not exist under
Scientific Management. The man at the head of the
business under Scientific Management is governed
by rules and laws which have been developed
through hundreds of experiments just as much as
the workman is, and the standards developed are
equitable.

*F.W.Taylor Father of Scientific Management

Thank you!