No one has had more influence on managers in the twentieth century than Frederick W. Taylor, an American engineer. He set a pattern for industrial work which many others have followed, and although his approach to management has been criticised, his Ideas are still of practical importance.
Taylor founded the school of Scientific Management just before the 1914-16 War. He argued that work should be studied and analysed systematically. The operations required to perform a particular job could be identified, then arranged in a logical sequence. After this was done, a worker's productivity would increase, and so would his/her wages. The new method was scientific. The way of doing a job would no longer be determined by guesswork and rule-of-thumb practices. Instead, management would work out scientifically the method for producing the best results. If the worker followed the prescribed approach his/her output would increase.
When Taylor started work at the end of the nineteenth century, the industrial revolution was in full swing. Factories were being set up all over the USA. There was heavy investment in plant and machinery, and labour was plentiful. He worked for twenty years (1878-1898) with the Midvale Steel Company, first as a labourer, then as a Shop Superintendant. Alter that, he was a consultant with the Bethlehem Steel Company in Pennsylvania.
Throughout this time, he studied how to improve the efficiency of workers on the shop floor. He conducted many experiments to find out how to improve their productivity. His solutions to these problems were, therefore, based on his own experience. Later, he wrote about his experiments. These writings were collected and published in 1947, in a work entitled Scientific Management.
When he was with Bethlehem Steel, Taylor criticised management and workers. He felt that managers were not using the right methods and that workers did not put much effort into their job. They were always "soldiering" - taking it easy. He wanted both groups to adopt a new approach to their work, which would change their thinking completely. The new way was as follows:
Observing; analysing; measuring; specifying the work method; organising and choosing the right person for the job - these were the tasks of management.
Taylor's approach produced results! For example, at Bethlehem Steel, he did an experiment with shovels, the tool used for lifting and carrying materials. He Studied the work of two first-class shovellers and then changed their working procedure. In the beginning, the men used their own shovel, for all the types of materials they handled, whether coal or iron ore. The average load was 38 pounds, and each lifted 25 tons of material a day. By experimenting, Taylor found out that if the men used smaller shovels and carried 21 pounds per load, their daily output increased to 30 tons. As a result, at the beginning of each shift, workers were given different shovels, depending on the type of material they loaded, but the load was still 21 pounds. Other workers meeting the standards set by the two shovellers had their wages increased by 80%. Those who could not reach the standard were given special training in shovelling techniques.
By introducing methods like these, Taylor and his colleagues greatly increased productivity at Bethlehem Steel. After a few years, the same amount of work was done by 140 workers instead of 500. Handling costs of materials were halved, which led to savings of $80,OO0.
Taylor made a lasting contribution to management thinking. His main insight, that work can be systematically studied in order to improve working methods and productivity, was revolutionary. Also, he correctly emphasised that detailed planning of jobs was necessary.
The weakness of his approach was that it focused on the system of work rather than on the worker.
Once his system was applied to all acts of manual labor, Taylor assured his followers, it would bring about a restructuring not only of industry but of society, creating a utopia of perfect efficiency. "In the past the man has been first," he declared; "in the future the system must be first."
With this system, the worker becomes a tool in the hands of management. It is assumed he/she will do the same boring, repetitive job hour after hour, day after day while maintaining a high level of productivity. Another criticism is that it leads to de-skilling (reducing the skills of workers). Because the tasks are simplified, workers become frustrated. And with educational standards rising among factory workers, dissatisfaction is likely to increase. Finally, some people think that it is wrong to separate doing from planning. The two tasks can, and should, be done by the same person. A worker will be more productive if he/she is engaged in such activities as planning, decision-making, controlling and organising. For all these reasons, a reaction set in against the ideas of Frederick W. Taylor.
based on: Keys to Management - David Cotton (1988)
Read further: Elton Mayo: The Quality of Working Life
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