Introduction: Synopsis of the Principles of Scientific Management
The Principles of Scientific Management, developed by Frederick Winslow Taylor in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, revolutionised industrial operations by introducing a systematic approach to improve productivity and efficiency in the workplace. Taylor's ideas focused on applying scientific methods to analyse and optimise work processes, replacing traditional methods of trial and error with more organised, data-driven approaches. His principles emphasise the importance of studying each task, selecting and training workers based on scientific criteria, and establishing fair compensation systems.
In an organization for work to proceed smoothly, it is needed that there is harmony and trust between the workers and the managers. But this is not possible if they do not communicate well and understand what the needs of each other are. It can hence also be said that Scientific Management is an attitude and a philosophy that disregards the traditional hit and miss type of working method.
The methods that are used in Scientific Management include a lot of research and understanding of certain principles to check the need for working in a suitable environment. This topic is hence not only important for students as a part of the syllabus but is also a part of life where they need to use these concepts. So if you are looking for the guide on Taylor’s Principles of Scientific Management - Introduction, Techniques, and FAQ, you can now check it out on Vedantu where you will get the entire information on the same.
Before we head straight into the techniques of Scientific Management, we should make an effort to find out about the fundamentals of Scientific Management in brief.
What Is Scientific Management?
Typically, Scientific Management can be considered as the art of delegation or as Fredrick Winslow Taylor stated: “Scientific Management means knowing exactly what you want men to do and seeing that they do it in the best and the cheapest way.”
Such a concept is mostly concerned with using effective scientific techniques to recruit, select, and train labor. Additionally, the concept is equally responsible for finding suitable solutions to deal with different types of problems concerning a specific industry.
Fun Fact: The term ‘Scientific Management’ was coined in 1911 by Fredrick Winslow Taylor. He is acknowledged as the Founder of the Scientific Management Movement and formulated principles for effective work allocation.
What are the Principles of Scientific Management
The five principles of scientific management theory according to Frederick Winslow Taylor are:
1. Science, not Rule of Thumb: To ensure efficiency, replace the old rule-of-thumb methods with scientifically developed procedures for each element of work.
2. Harmony, not Discord: Encourage cooperation between workers and management rather than conflict, ensuring that both work together to achieve organizational goals.
3. Training, not Untrained Workmen: Select and train workers scientifically for each job, rather than allowing them to learn by trial and error.
4. Specialization, not Generalization: Divide work into specialized tasks, allowing workers to become experts in specific areas, which improves efficiency.
5. Equality, not Favoritism: Establish fair and equitable systems for rewards, discipline, and compensation to ensure fairness and motivate workers to perform their best.
With that, let’s proceed to find out the techniques of Scientific Management by F.W Taylor and while at it let’s also check out related concepts. It will not only help to understand the concept better but will also enable us to gauge their practicality and efficiency in an organizational setup.
In a broad sense, the techniques of Scientific Management are as follows.
Functional foremanship
Standardization of work
Simplification of work
Work-study
Differential piece of wage rates
Mental Revolution
Read along to find all about techniques of Scientific Management by F.W Taylor!
What is Functional Foremanship?
Functional foremanship is essentially an administration system that is somewhat based on the principle – ‘Division of Labor’, to establish specialization in an organizational setup. Typically, in a functional organization, the available work is divided into different parts and are delegated to workers who are somewhat specialized in them.
As per techniques of Scientific Management, FW Taylor had suggested that an organization must be divided into sub-departments to enhance the quality and efficiency of both the planning and production department.
In A Broad Sense, An Organization is Divided into Two Sub-Departments with Four Experts in Each Department –
Planning department
Production department
In a Functional Organizational Setup, The Planning Department is Headed by a Planning Manager. Other Workers and their Functions are as Follows –
Route Clerk- This person is in charge of deciding a day’s work and is also responsible for ensuring the work sequence is maintained and completed properly.
Instruction Clerk- The instruction clerk is accountable for preparing instruction cards containing information about the kind of work, procedures to apply and equipment and raw materials to be used. Subsequently, the data compiled is handed to a gang boss.
Time and Cost Clerk- This clerk is mostly responsible for deciding the entire time frame of the designated work. Also, the cost of producing a product is decided by them.
Discipline Officer- This officer ensures that delegated tasks are performed in a disciplined manner.
Now, Let’s Check out the Components of a Production Department and their Functions –
Gang Boss- He/she serves as the leader of a gang of workers. A gang boss is mostly responsible for ensuring that equipment and workers are suitable for producing the required units of products. Also, it is under his supervision to check if raw materials have been made available to workers.
Speed Boss- His/her primary task is to make sure that workers are on par with the work schedule. The speed boss is also responsible for identifying the reasons that tend to slow down work productivity and formulating suitable solutions to remedy them.
Repair Boss- He/she is responsible for keeping all equipment in good working condition and solves problems about that promptly.
Inspector- An inspector checks the quality of goods produced and compares them with the standard quality. Also, an inspector has the power to initiate corrective measures if there is a lag in quality.
Test Your Knowledge:
Which of these techniques violates the Unity of Command?
Fatigue study
simplification of work
functional foremanship
differential piece wage system
With that, let’s proceed to find out more about FW Taylor techniques of Scientific Management about standardization and simplification of production.
What is Standardization and Simplification of Work?
Standardization and simplification of work can be looked at as a means to establish efficiency standards for every activity in an industrial setup. Elements like time, production manner, machinery, raw material, product and its processing can be standardized under this method. For instance, the number of products that need to be produced on a single day or the work that is expected from a worker.
Here’s a Brief Overview of Standardization and Simplification of Work –
1. Standardization of Work
Standardization of Raw Material- It means that the materials used should be on par with the quality of finished products one intends to manufacture. For instance, to produce AA+ quality of apparel 5+ quality of textile would be required.
It can be said that for AA+ quality of garments 5+ quality of raw material, i.e. textile, has been standardized. Subsequently, when an organization would again be required to produce AA + quality materials, they would use 5+ quality materials without any hesitation and in relatively less time.
Standardization of Equipment- Similarly, standardization of machines would ensure that manual errors are reduced significantly. In turn, it would ensure the completion of work faster and with negligible errors.
Standardization of Methods Applied- Standardizing the techniques of work would make the production process less cumbersome and relatively quick. Notably, methods devised to complete a particular work are put to use every time similar work is performed.
Standardization of Working Conditions- Workers tend to perform more efficiently under favorable working conditions. When the working conditions, including safety, ventilation, hygiene, temperature, lighting, etc. are improved or standardized, it enhances productivity significantly.
2. Simplification of Work
The primary objective behind simplification is to eliminate things, methods and practices that make the work complex and cumbersome.
What is the Study of Work?
One of the techniques of Scientific Management – the study of work is mostly concerned with the analysis of organizational activities to produce high products cost-effectively.
Typically, scientific techniques of Taylor about the study of work can further be divided into four types –
1. Method Study- It tends to help producers to pick the most suitable method to finish a particular organizational activity. For instance, this study helps to figure out the most cost-effective way of procuring the required raw materials for production. Also, the objective of this study is to lower the cost of production and to increase customer satisfaction.
2. Motion Study- It is concerned with the analysis of movements of both workers and machines through the course of a production. It helps to analyze if adding or subtracting an activity would make the work faster and better in terms of quality or not.
3. Time Study - It helps to compute the standard time that would be required to finish a specific activity. In simple words it can be said, the major objective of this study is to estimate –
Cost of labor
Number of workers required for a task
Suitable incentive plan
4. Fatigue study- It helps to find out the acceptable rest intervals that can be given to prevent the onset of mental fatigue among workers. However, the prospect of completing work on time is also the main priority of this study.
Test Your Knowledge:
Which of these techniques helps to determine the number of laborers that need to be employed and also helps to determine labor cost?
Simplification of work
Time study
Differential piece wage system
Functional foremanship
Test Your Knowledge:
Which is the most common cause of fatigue among workers? Choose the correct option:
Long working works
Unsuitable working conditions
Non-cordial relations between employer and employee
All the above
What is the Differential Piece of the Wage System?
It is one of the techniques of Scientific Management that encourages the application of a piece wage system as a means to motivate employees. As per this system, payment is based on the amount of work done and not the time spent to complete it.
Typically two different wage rates are put to use, namely, high wage rate and low wage rate. Workers who are adept at producing standard units within a given duration are entitled to receive payment as per the high wage rate. On the other hand, workers who fail to produce a specific number of units within the given time are paid as per the lower wage rate.
For instance, the standard output for a day is 25 units, and the wage rates are 4 per unit and 6 per unit, respectively. Now, Sheldon produces 25 units in a day and subsequently earns 150 (25 units x 6). Contrarily, Missy can produce only 20 units in a day and resultantly would make 80 (20 x 4). Even though there is only a 5 unit difference between Sheldon and Missy’s produce, there is a significant difference between their wages.
As payment is based on efficiency here, workers would be motivated to increase their work efficiency. In turn, it would benefit both an organization and its workers.
What is the Mental Revolution?
Mental Revolution is one of the techniques of Scientific Management that demands a change in employers’ and employees’ mindsets. As per this Management technique, a positive mindset is quite crucial for promoting the feeling of cooperation and boosting proficiency. In its absence, conflicts about the division of labor and delegation of responsibility are bound to arise in an organization.
Consequently, both employers and their workers should make an effort to increase the overall productivity of their firm through cooperation and by harboring a positive outlook towards business operations.
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FAQs on Taylor's Principles of Scientific Management: Explained
1. What are the four core principles of F.W. Taylor's Scientific Management?
F.W. Taylor's theory is built on four core principles designed to improve efficiency in the workplace. These are:
- Science, Not Rule of Thumb: Replacing old, intuitive work methods with scientifically tested methods to find the most efficient way.
- Harmony, Not Discord: Fostering complete harmony and understanding between management and workers, ensuring they work together for mutual benefit.
- Cooperation, Not Individualism: Promoting teamwork and cooperation over individual competition to achieve organisational goals.
- Development of Each Person to Their Greatest Efficiency: Scientifically selecting, training, and developing workers to perform their tasks with maximum efficiency and prosperity.
2. What is meant by the 'Mental Revolution' in the context of Taylor's principles?
The 'Mental Revolution' refers to a complete change in the mindset and attitude of both workers and management towards each other. Instead of seeing each other in an adversarial relationship (e.g., fighting over profits), they should cooperate to increase production. Taylor believed this shift in attitude was the key to successfully applying scientific management.
3. What are some key techniques used in Scientific Management?
To apply his principles, Taylor developed several techniques. The most important ones include:
- Functional Foremanship: Dividing work at the supervisory level into specialised roles, with different foremen for planning and execution.
- Standardisation and Simplification of Work: Setting standards for every business activity and eliminating unnecessary variations in products or processes.
- Work Study: Analysing all aspects of a job through methods like time study, motion study, and fatigue study to determine the best way of doing it.
- Differential Piece Wage System: A system of paying workers based on their output, rewarding efficient workers with higher wages.
4. How does Scientific Management benefit an organisation's workers?
While focused on efficiency, Taylor's principles also provide direct benefits to workers. They lead to higher wages through efficiency gains, better training to develop skills, and clearer, scientifically determined tasks. This reduces ambiguity and stress, leading to a more structured and potentially rewarding work environment.
5. Could you give a simple example of the 'Harmony, Not Discord' principle?
Imagine a factory where management and workers are constantly in conflict over wages and productivity targets. Applying 'Harmony, Not Discord' would mean management shares some of the company's profits with the workers as bonuses when productivity increases. In return, workers trust management and fully commit to the new, more efficient methods. This creates a peaceful, cooperative environment focused on shared goals.
6. Why did Taylor so strongly oppose the 'Rule of Thumb' method?
Taylor opposed the 'Rule of Thumb' because it relied on intuition, guesswork, and tradition rather than data and analysis. This approach was often inefficient, inconsistent, and varied from worker to worker. Taylor argued that by using a scientific approach to study work, one single, most efficient method (the 'one best way') could be discovered and implemented, maximising productivity for everyone.
7. How is Taylor's Scientific Management different from Fayol's Principles of General Management?
The primary difference lies in their focus and perspective. Taylor's Scientific Management concentrates on the shop floor or operational level, aiming to increase worker productivity (a bottom-up approach). In contrast, Fayol's Principles of General Management focus on the functions of top-level managers and the administration of the entire organisation (a top-down approach).
8. Are Taylor's Scientific Management principles still relevant in modern companies?
Yes, the core ideas of Taylor's principles are still highly relevant today, though they have been adapted. Modern assembly lines in car manufacturing or fast-food chains use principles of work study and standardisation. Performance-based bonuses are a form of the differential piece wage system. The entire field of business process optimisation is a direct descendant of Taylor's quest for the 'one best way'.
9. What is a common criticism of applying Scientific Management in the workplace?
A major criticism is that Scientific Management can be too mechanistic. It often treats workers like parts of a machine, focusing solely on their physical output and efficiency. This can lead to job monotony, lack of creativity, and demotivation, as it sometimes overlooks the psychological and social needs of employees.
