Influence of the Theory of Scientific Management on the Design of Work in the Modern Organization

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Illustrating your analysis with examples, discuss the influence of the theory of Scientific Management on the design of work in the modern organisatin, making reference to both its strengths and weaknesses in relation to its impact on organizational design.

This essay will discuss the influence that Taylors’ Scientific management has had on the design of modern organisations, specifically looking at the strengths and weaknesses it has had on organisational design and illustrating this by defining scientific management, as well as the background. It will also demonstrate the positive and negative impacts scientific management has had on modern organisations by referring to the Education system and McDonald’s and whether it remains visible in modern work life.

What is Scientific Management?

As (User, 2019) explains, scientific management (also referred to as Taylorism after its creator Frederick Winslow Taylor) is a theory of management that analyses workflow by using a set of scientific principles to create a more efficient way to complete a task. Taylor, who was one of the earliest theorists to study management is now famously recognised as the father of Scientific management thanks to his contributions to the studying of work processes, focusing on how work is performed and how worker productivity was affected. His philosophy focused on finding the one best way of doing a job and institutionalising this one best way with the use of his systematic observations. F W Taylor believed that by optimising and simplifying jobs, productivity would increase. However, it was not just with this that productivity would maximise; he also thought that managers and workers needed to cooperate to achieve better efficiency in the workplace. In 1911 F W Taylor published his book ‘The Principles of Scientific Management’ in which he stated that scientific management consisted of four principles:

‘Replace rule of thumb work methods with methods based on a scientific study of the tasks and determine the most efficient way to perform specific tasks.
Rather than simply assign workers to just any job, scientifically select, train and develop each employee rather than passively leaving them to train themselves. Match workers to their jobs based on capability and motivation, and train them to work at maximum efficiency.
Provide detailed instruction and supervision of each worker in the performance of that worker’s discrete task. Monitor worker performance and provide instructions and supervision to ensure that the most efficient ways of working are being used.
Divide work nearly equally between managers and workers, so that the managers apply scientific management principles to planning the work and training the workers and the workers perform the tasks.’ (User, 2019)

Before this approach, there was no standardisation in businesses, and traditionally work was done very differently, factory managers and workers had little to no contact. They were left to their own accord to produce a product.

Scientific management in the education system

Firstly, educational administrators widely adopted the Principles of scientific management in the early 20th century, and their impact remains apparent in 21st-century schools (Ross, 2009). For example, one of Taylor’s main principles is to observe worker performance and provide coaching and supervision. This sort of procedure ensures that workers are using the most productive ways of working and maintaining efficient levels of output. Policies such as the one above can also be associated to Max Weber’s management theory, also known as the bureaucratic management approach. His theory was based on authority structures, distinguishing between the powers that managers have which allows them to make orders and workers carrying out those orders. (Pugh and Hickson, 2007). Weber’s theory can be closely associated with the bureaucratic styles the education system adheres to today with the use of a governing body that teachers must obey. As (Trujillo, 2014) explains ”monitoring, testing, and competition soon permeated public education, and the practice of hiring ‘efficiency experts’ to collect data on schools’ operations, evaluate performance, and make recommendations to maximise productivity became commonplace’. The education system has normalised the surveillance like style that students are under, monitoring students’ abilities by completing high-stake standardised tests and complying with rules and regulations. (Ross, 2009) Metaphorically describes ‘students as the ‘raw material’ of schools, controlling the movement of teachers and students via bells; conceiving of the curriculum as a product; dividing students into grade level or dividing curriculum content into units and individual lessons; describing the school facilities as a ‘plant’ which are a result of a ‘factory model’ of schooling that has its roots in the adoption of scientific management principles by educational administrators.’

However, it is not just students that are affected; the system also has a demotivating approach towards teachers. In the modern education system, teachers are made to stick to rigid guidelines and a mandated curriculum, thus restricting the employee’s imagination and creativity. This style of teaching not only devalues and deskills the teachers, but it has the potential of leaving them feeling unfulfilled in their careers. ‘In the process, students and teachers are literally objectified and turned into abstract numbers’. (Wayne, 2011)

Furthermore, Taylorism had similar criticisms regarding the loss of workers’ ambition due to the standardised operations and methods they had to follow. Workers had to act by following instructions and could not take the initiative to propose better arrangements of work, which adversely affected the drive of workers to separate the thinking from doing. (Chand, 2017).

Scientific Management in McDonald’s

In contrast to the influence Scientific management has had on the education system, the fast-food industry has positively benefited from its methods. This paragraph will focus on McDonald’s and the way that scientific management has revolutionised the organisation with specialised training, incentives and their use of the time and motion study. McDonald’s is the world’s number 1 biggest food chain (Based on data provided by QSR Magazine), serving on average 3.5 million customers per day and 75 hamburgers a minute. To achieve the most efficient levels of output, Frederick Winslow Taylor proposed that by selecting and matching workers to particular jobs based on capability, then training them to work in a well organised and competent way which would achieve maximum productivity. McDonald’s integrates this system by investing £43 million every year on training and development, offering staff progression, with 9 out of 10 restaurant managers and 1 in 5 franchises starting as restaurant crew members. (McDonald’s website).

Additionally, McDonald’s opened its ‘Hamburger University’ in 1961, which allows managers to gain not only managerial knowledge/experience but also a degree. Staff at McDonald’s, in every chain and franchise, are taught to follow a uniformed method to achieve efficient output and customer satisfaction. Not only has the use of Taylor’s theory of training workers for their jobs been embraced, but throughout their career, staff receive a competitive salary. They can receive regular increases and benefits when completing different steps of their training. Recognising and rewarding hard work allows the employee to know that they are doing their job correctly while improving their job satisfaction, morale, and respect for the company. Frederick Taylor emphasised ‘ in order to have any hope of obtaining the initiative of his workmen, the manager must give some special incentive to his men beyond that which is given to the average of the trade. The incentive can be given in several different ways, as, for example, the hope of rapid promotion or advancement; higher wages, either in the form of generous piece-work prices or of a premium or bonus of some kind for good and rapid work; shorter hours of labour; better surroundings and worker conditions that are ordinarily given, etc’ (Taylor, 1911).

Moreover, while F W Taylor was carrying out his studies, Frank and Lillian Gilbreth were creating their studies on ‘time and motion’ to follow Taylors methods. (Pugh and Hickson, 2007). These studies established that the sequence of movements taken by employees if done correctly could eliminate wasteful motion. McDonald’s have successfully utilised the process of delivering services to their customers while eliminating waste, demonstrating this in the production line of food where ingredients are strategically placed to reduce the extra time for excess motion. McDonald’s also incorporate this system in the service line where workers are enforced to follow a rigid script when offering services to a customer.

Overall analysis

In conclusion, although Scientific management has not fully integrated into today’s modern society, aspects of it are still very much part of any organisation in the 21st century. Examples of the influence of Scientific Management in modern organisations include the importance of job analysis in HR, departmentalisation, incentives, a university credit system which allows students to study for a degree based on past exam results, and many more. We can see these examples along with the the divide between management and workers in all levels and industries globally. Organisations have become more efficient with the use of systematic approaches such as planning, quality control, and process design. The rule of thumb method has been replaced with scientific facts and the strengthening and developing of employees, thus allowing the organisation to improve efficiency and productivity, which was Frederick Taylor’s primary goal in his studies of management in organisations. However, from my perspective, it is more beneficial to employees that the scientific management theory has not been completely adopted in its original form today. Instead, organisations in today’s modern society have used different components from other theories that base upon Taylorism, such as Maslow’s hierarchy and Herzberg’s theory on job satisfaction.

References

Pugh, D. and Hickson, D. (2007). Writers on organizations. 6th ed. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications.
Ross, E. (2009). Clockwork: Taylorism and its Continuing Influence on Work and Schooling. [e-journal] Social Studies and Diversity Teacher Education: What We Do and Why We Do It, p.33. Available at: https://www.academia.edu/4778995/Clockwork_Taylorism_and_its_Continuing_Influence_on_Work_and_Schooling [Accessed 21 Oct. 2019].
Ross, E. (2009). Clockwork: Taylorism and its Continuing Influence on Work and Schooling. [e-journal] Social Studies and Diversity Teacher Education: What We Do and Why We Do It, p.35. Available at: https://www.academia.edu/4778995/Clockwork_Taylorism_and_its_Continuing_Influence_on_Work_and_Schooling [Accessed 21 Oct. 2019].
Taylor, F. (1911). The Principles of Scientific Management. 1st ed. [e-book] New York: Harper & Brothers, p.36. Available at: https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewBook?id=501276645 [Accessed 26 Oct. 2019].
Trujillo, T. (2014). The Modern Cult of Efficiency. Educational Policy, [e-journal] 28(2), pp.207-232. Available at: https://www.academia.edu/6596447/Trujillo_T._2014_._The_modern_cult_of_efficiency_Intermediary_organizations_and_the_new_scientific_management._Educational_Policy_28_2_pp._207-232?auto=download [Accessed 31 Oct. 2019]
User, S. (2019). TechnoFunc – Scientific Management Theory. [online] Technofunc.com. Available at: http://www.technofunc.com/index.php/leadership-skills-2/leadership-theories/item/scientific-management-theory [Accessed 6 Nov. 2019].
Wayne, A. (2011). Teaching under the new Taylorism: high-stakes testing and the standardization of the 21st century curriculum. [e-journal] Washington: Routledge, p.37. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254225399_Teaching_Under_the_New_Taylorism_High-stakes_Testing_and_the_Standardization_of_the_21st_Century_Curriculum [Accessed 3 Nov. 2019].

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Influence of the Theory of Scientific Management on the Design of Work in the Modern Organization

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