F W Taylor’s Theory of Scientific Management

• Taylor lived in an era when management was an ad hoc practice rather than a true and trained discipline
• He was mainly concerned with increasing the productivity of workers
• Labour productivity is the number of units/goods produced per given unit of time, usually one hour.
• He believed that management should be a true science and
• Workers should not be left to their own devices where they choose the pace of work, the goals and the methods to be used to achieve goals
• Instead management should be a true science
• Management should set and determine the goals they want to achieve
• They should also conduct a work study
• work study-a system of assessing methods of working so as to achieve the maximum output and efficiency
• Work study is therefore an attempt by managers
• During a work study various techniques such as video recording, observing and interviewing are used on those workers that have a higher output than all the others
• The fastest/best workers are observed as they work
• Their method/way of completing the task is recorded
• This way is used to train all the other workers in the organisation
• Once workers have been trained a target/goal is set that they have to achieve
• Performance related payment systems are used to reward workers
• Workers who achieve and exceed the set target are given a bonus or some form of financial reward
• Those that fail to achieve the set target are punished, reprimanded and told to do better
• According to Taylor money is a motivator
• In order to motivate workers there has to be a clear relationship between pay and performance
• He used the piece rate system of compensation which is still widely employed
• Taylor also insisted that after a work study had been completed management should come up with a profile of the best person for the job/task
• During recruitment, selection and allocation of roles the best person must be given the job
• Taylor emphasised that management techniques should be based on real science and not on whims

How to motivate workers under Taylorism

• Management should take control of the work situation
• Management should conduct a work study
• Once the best way to do a job/task is determined,
• All the other workers should be trained in this method
• Management should set clearly defined goals
• A clear payment system that is based on performance e.g. piece rate should be communicated to employees
• Those who meet the target and exceed it must be rewarded
• Those who fail to meet the target should be punished
• The best workers for a given task/job must be scientifically selected based on their ability to do the job
• For example in the army and police there is a minimum height requirement that has to be met in order for a person to do their job.

Strengths and weaknesses

• It led to the development of management as a science
• Businesses still conduct selection processes in order to determine the best person for the job
• Linking pay to performance clearly motivates workers as was proved by Taylor’s own consultancy achievements
• Training workers increases efficiency and gives the workers the confidence needed to perform their jobs
• Standardising tasks eliminates chaos at the workplace and ensures standard results
• Taylor introduced work breaks which allowed workers to be more productive
• His theory supports specilisation which improves productivity

Weaknesses

• People have social needs such as companionships that have to be met in order to motivate them
• Money while important is not the only motivator
• It calls for an autocratic leadership style which results in resentment and alienation of workers
• The theory dehumanises people and treats them as workhorses
• It leads to clashes with Trade Unions
• Specialization might lead to loss of skills

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