Introduction
The theory of scientific management was published by Frederick Winslow Taylor at the beginning of the 20th century. At present, the principles of scientific management introduced by Taylor are called “Taylorism”. The concept of this theory is different from traditional management methods based on initiative and rewards. It is critical to examine the basic principles of scientific management and evaluate them from the perspective of positive and negative outcomes. Moreover, as the theory was invented in 1911, it should be observed in 21st-century circumstances.
Overview
Taylor’s labor organization and production management system appeared in the USA at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. It is characterized by the use of science and technology achievements to obtain the maximum surplus value by increasing the working class exploitation (Taylor, 2017). Scientific management principles combine labor and knowledge, considering the production process as a system of interrelated sequential actions. Taylor suggested that the main obstacle to productivity growth is inadequate management. The results of Taylor’s analysis showed that eliminating unnecessary motions in the labor process, using more sophisticated equipment, and changing procedures would significantly increase productivity.
Principles
Referring to affirmative principles, scientific management’s core concept is increasing production efficiency based on the scientific approach. It is mainly achieved by improving organization and production management methods. The implementation of scientific analysis to study the work process helps determine the best ways to accomplish a task (Taylor, 2017). According to Schachter (2020), adherents to this principle benefit the manager’s performance as he or she learns what constitutes an efficient day’s work. Thus, scientific methods allow the personnel to approximate a benchmark of efficient work.
Another principle is that the rational labor system is impacted by new rules based on work analysis, a logically verified arrangement of workers, and training in new methods. This factor is crucial as workers’ training is of great importance, which made it possible to increase labor productivity and fulfill an employee’s potential (Taylor, 2017). By systematically applying Taylor’s approaches to the process, first-class professionals can be trained in a few months.
Furthermore, according to Taylor (2017), the management should break down complex tasks, and provide instructions to workers. By dividing the operations into individual elements, Taylor determined the duration of each of them and, as a result, deduced average rates. As a result, labor productivity increased by 3.5-4 times, and wages – by 60% (Taylor, 2017). Therefore, such practice leads to significant accomplishments and improved performance and speed. Another principle is increasing workers’ motivation through incentive pay systems. Management set production rates achievable, paying extra for those who exceeded the minimum (Taylor, 2017). According to Taylor (2017), the pursuit of personal good has always been a much stronger incentive in any work than considerations of the common interest. In the case of a balance between costs and rewards, the managers can expect employees to have a good attitude towards their work and be satisfied with the organization.
Besides, due to the principle of maintaining friendly relations between managers and workers, the latter can initiate technological innovations and the organization’s management (Taylor, 2017). Taylor (2017) argues that this type of cooperation can point to mismanaged factors that need to be corrected. The interaction between the individual and the leadership is based on psychological and economic agreements, determining the conditions for an employee’s mental and financial involvement. Therefore, it is a reasonable approach as it stimulates productivity and output.
Regarding ineffective principles, the scientific management theory is based on absolute adherence to the developed standards. According to Schachter (2020), focusing on economic motivation and not considering social and intellectual factors, standardization resulted in diminished worker skills and worker monotony. Thus, the disadvantage of this point is that the mechanical understanding of individuals and their place in the organization limits the operations excellence and does not always lead to its improvement. Furthermore, the principle of constant monitoring can enforce stricter adherence to rest and meal breaks, reduced systemic overtime, and increased direct observation. Authoritarian leadership, tight supervision, and a system of punishment affect trust levels, influencing the costs and speed of company development (Schachter, 2020). Therefore, when the trust level is low, speed decreases, and expenses rise; it also may result in negative employees attitudes to the company, leading to high employee turnover.
Moreover, the theory does not recognize disagreements, contradictions, or conflicts between people. Taylor (2017) claimed that the approach would eliminate all causes for disputes and tensions between managers and employees due to fair compensation. However, this is partially true as conflicts between an individual and a group and intergroup conflict may arise in the work process. Moreover, Taylor (2017) considered only the material needs of workers. The organization should have a set of values to maintain employees’ motivation. If the enterprise does not have a mission, workers will not put their best effort into completing their assigned tasks, being not interested in the business’s success. Finally, one of the scientific management principles is improving not the process of completing tasks but the employees’ performance (Taylor, 2017). The point lacks the objective to learn the best ways to accomplish work, instead emphasizing management to achieve control of workers (Schachter, 2020). Therefore, the need for the particular assigned activities should also be considered whether they are beneficial to the organization’s economic performance in general.
21st Century
In the 20th century, labor was mainly repetitive and manual, while these days, it requires intellectual resources. Automation is prevailing, leading to changing the work processes; it was previously deterministic with a set of variables known in advance, aimed at repeated manual production of the same activity. At present days, it has become unique, based on knowledge and dealing with the unknown. Therefore, scientific management’s original theory should be reassessed; there is a new modern approach called Digital Taylorism (Günsel & Yamen, 2020). It is a system based on combining routine and intellectual work, while the latter involves creative and knowledge duties.
The three principles that can be learned from the traditional scientific management approach are breaking down complex tasks into simple ones and monitoring employees’ performance and incentives for specific work. Digital Taylorism provides a certain level of accuracy due to the active use of new technologies; as workers act in a certain way, breaking down complex tasks increases predictability and consistency while limiting errors. For instance, concerning the surveillance of workers, most systems are automated; therefore, they can be used as tracking technologies (Günsel & Yamen, 2020). Günsel and Yamen (2020) provide an example of the Amazon Company that implemented such devices in a routine. The movement and productivity of warehouse workers are tracked through wristbands with a tactile notification feature (Günsel & Yamen, 2020). Finally, incentives can be applied in the form of good surroundings and working conditions, emphasizing an employee’s well-being.
Conclusion
To sum up, the concept of Taylorism became a decisive turning point, contributing to management. Within the framework of the theory, Taylor identified several management principles. Increasing the efficiency in such a system is possible by improving employees’ qualifications and working conditions and rationalizing production. Some of them can be considered advantageous regarding their actualness and implementation in management systems in the 21st century. However, some can be regarded as archaistic, not meeting today’s requirements. Overall, companies need to adopt scientific management principles with modifications in the new digital age.
References
Günsel, A., & Yamen, M. (2020). Digital Taylorism as an answer to the requirements of the new Era. In B. Akkaya (Ed.), Agile Business Leadership Methods for Industry 4.0 (pp. 103-119). Emerald Publishing Limited.
Schachter, H. L. (2020). The uses of Frederick Winslow Taylor: how management theorists have interpreted scientific management over the years and why. In K. Bruce (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Management and Organizational History (pp. 39–55). Edward Elgar Publishing.
Taylor, F. W. (2017). The Principles of Scientific Management. Enna Products Corporation.