Operations Management Internal Assignment

On
Scientific Management
Theories, Authors & Their Contributions

Submitted By: -
Name: Rohit Sivanand
Enrolment No.:00916688520
MBA (W) SEC A 2ND SEM
BATCH 20-22

University School of Management Studies (USMS)

Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University
Sector -16C, Dwarka, New Delhi – 110006
 Scientific Management

Principles of Scientific management- F.W. Taylor

One of the earliest of these theorists was Frederick Winslow Taylor. He started
the Scientific Management movement, and he and his associates were the first
people to study the work process scientifically. They studied how work was
performed, and they looked at how this affected worker productivity. Taylor's
philosophy focused on the belief that making people work as hard as they could
was not as efficient as optimizing the way the work was done.

In 1909, Taylor published "The Principles of Scientific Management." In this, he

proposed that by optimizing and simplifying jobs, productivity would increase.
He also advanced the idea that workers and managers needed to cooperate with
one another. This was very different from the way work was typically done in
businesses beforehand. A factory manager at that time had very little contact
with the workers, and he left them on their own to produce the necessary
product. There was no standardization, and a worker's main motivation was
often continued employment, so there was no incentive to work as quickly or as
efficiently as possible.
Taylor believed that all workers were motivated by money, so he promoted the
idea of "a fair day's pay for a fair day's work." In other words, if a worker didn't
achieve enough in a day, he didn't deserve to be paid as much as another worker
who was highly productive.
With a background in mechanical engineering, Taylor was very interested in
efficiency. While advancing his career at a U.S. steel manufacturer, he designed
workplace experiments to determine optimal performance levels. In one, he
experimented with shovel design until he had a design that would allow workers
to shovel for several hours straight. With bricklayers, he experimented with the
various motions required and developed an efficient way to lay bricks. And he
applied the scientific method to study the optimal way to do any type of
workplace task. As such, he found that by calculating the time needed for the
various elements of a task, he could develop the "best" way to complete that
task.

These "time and motion" studies also led Taylor to conclude that certain people
could work more efficiently than others. These were the people whom
managers should seek to hire where possible. Therefore, selecting the right
people for the job was another important part of workplace efficiency. Taking
what he learned from these workplace experiments, Taylor developed four
principles of scientific management. These principles are also known simply as
"Taylorism".

Five Principles of Scientific Management

Taylor's five principles are as follows:

1. Science, Not Rule of Thumb:

To increase organisational efficiency, the ‘Rule of Thumb’ method should be
substituted by the methods developed through scientific analysis of work.

Rule of Thumb means decisions taken by manager as per their personal

judgments. According to Taylor, even a small production activity like loading iron
sheets into box cars can be scientifically planned. This will help in saving time as
well as human energy. Decisions should be based on scientific enquiry with
cause-and-effect relationships.

This principle is concerned with selecting the best way of performing a job
through the application of scientific analysis and not by intuition or hit and trial
methods.

The work assigned to any employee should be observed and analysed with
respect to each element or part thereof and the time involved therein to decide
the best way of performing that the work and to determine the standard output
for same.

2. Harmony, Not Discord:

Taylor emphasized that there should be complete harmony between the

workers and the management since if there is any conflict between the two, it
will not be beneficial either for the workers or the management.

Both the management and the workers should realize the importance of each
other. To achieve this state, Taylor suggested complete mental revolution on the
part of both management and workers.

It means that there should be complete change in the attitude and outlook of
workers and management towards each other. It should always be kept in mind
that prosperity for an employer cannot exist for a long time unless it is
accompanied by the prosperity of the employees of that organisation and vice
versa.

It becomes possible by (a) sharing a part of surplus with workers (b) training of
employees, (c) division of work (d) team spirit (e) positive attitude (f) sense of
discipline (g) sincerity etc.

Management should always be ready to share the gains of the company with
the workers and the latter should provide their full cooperation and hard work
for achieving organizational goals. Group action with mutual-trust and
understanding should be perfect understanding the focus of working.

This principle requires that there should be perfect understanding between the
management and workers, and both should feel that they are part of same
family. It helps to produce synergy effect since both management and workers
work in unison.

For example, in most of the Japanese companies, paternalistic style of

management is in practice and there is complete openness between workers
and the management. Usually, workers don’t go on the strike but, if at all they
do so, they just wear a black badge and work even more than the normal hours
just to impress upon the management that their focus is on their demands as
well as organisational objectives.

3. Mental Revolution:

The technique of Mental Revolution involves a change in the attitude of workers

and management towards each other. Both should realize the importance of
each other and should work with full cooperation. Management as well as the
workers should aim to increase the profits of the organisation.

For this the workers should put in their best efforts so that the company makes
profit and on the other hand management should share part of profits with the
workers. Thus, mental revolution requires a complete change in the outlook of
both management and workers. There should be a spirit of togetherness
between workers and management.

4. Cooperation, Not Individualism:

This principle is an extension of principle of ‘Harmony, not discord’ and lays

stress on cooperation between workers and the management. Cooperation,
mutual confidence, sense of goodwill should prevail among both, managers as
well as workers. The intention is to replace internal competition with
cooperation.

Both ‘Management’ and ‘Workers’ should realize the importance of each other.
Workers should be considered as part of management and should be allowed to
take part in decision making process of the management. Management should
always welcome their suggestions and should also reward them if their
suggestions prove to be beneficial for the organisation viz. reduction of costs or
increase in production etc.

At the same time, workers should also resist from going on strike or making
unnecessary demands from management. Workers should be treated as integral
part of organisation and all-important decisions should be taken after due
consultation with workers. Both should visualize themselves as two pillars
whose soundness alone can ensure achievement of common goals of the
organisation.
Taylor also suggested that there should be proper division of work and
responsibility between the two. Management should always guide, encourage,
and help the workers.

5. Development of each person to his or her greatest efficiency and prosperity:

Efficiency of any organisation also depends on the skills and capabilities of its
employees to a great extent. Thus, providing training to the workers was
considered essential to learn the best method developed using scientific
approach. To attain the efficiency, steps should be taken right from the process
of selection of employees. Employees should be scientifically selected.

The work assigned to each employee should suit his/her physical, mental, and
intellectual capabilities. Efficient employees produce more to earn more. This
ultimately helps to attain efficiency and prosperity for both organisation and the
employees.

About F.W. Taylor: -

Frederick W. Taylor, in full Frederick Winslow Taylor, (born March 20, 1856,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.—died March 21, 1915, Philadelphia), American
inventor and engineer who is known as the father of scientific management.
His system of industrial management, known as Taylorism, greatly influenced
the development of industrial engineering and production management
throughout the world.

Taylor was the son of a lawyer. He entered Phillips Exeter Academy in New
Hampshire in 1872, where he led his class scholastically. After passing the
entrance examination for Harvard University, he was forced to abandon plans
for matriculation, as his eyesight had deteriorated from night study. With sight
restored in 1875, he was apprenticed to learn the trades of patternmaker and
machinist at the Enterprise Hydraulic Works in Philadelphia. Three years later he
went to the Midvale Steel Company, where, starting as a machine shop labourer,
he became successively shop clerk, machinist, gang boss, foreman, maintenance
foreman, head of the drawing office, and chief engineer.

The contribution of F.W. Taylor towards Principles of

Scientific Management
The Principles of Scientific Management (1911). Taylor believed that decisions
based upon tradition and rules of thumb should be replaced by precise
procedures developed after careful study of an individual at work. Its application
is contingent on a high level of managerial control over employee work
practices.

Taylorism is a variation on the theme of efficiency; it is a late 19th and early 20th
century instance of the larger recurring theme in human life of increasing
efficiency, decreasing waste, and using empirical methods to decide what
matters, rather than uncritically accepting pre-existing ideas of what matters.
Thus, it is a chapter in the larger narrative that also includes, for example, the
folk wisdom of thrift, time and motion study, Fordism, and lean manufacturing.
It overlapped considerably with the Efficiency Movement, which was the
broader cultural echo of scientific management's impact on business managers
specifically.

In management literature today, the greatest use of the concept of Taylorism is

as a contrast to a new, improved way of doing business. In political and
sociological terms, Taylorism can be seen as the division of labor pushed to its
logical extreme, with a consequent de-skilling of the worker and
dehumanisation of the workplace.

General approach

• Shift in decision making from employees to managers

• Develop a standard method for performing each job
• Select workers with appropriate abilities for each job
• Train workers in the standard method previously developed
 • Support workers by planning their work and eliminating interruptions
• Provide wage incentives to workers for increased output

Contributions
• Scientific approach to business management and process improvement
• Importance of compensation for performance
• Began the careful study of tasks and jobs
• Importance of selection criteria by management

Elements
• Labour is defined and authority/responsibility is legitimised/official
• Positions placed in hierarchy and under authority of higher level
• Selection is based upon technical competence, training, or experience
• Actions and decisions are recorded to allow continuity and memory
• Management is different from ownership of the organization
• Managers follow rules/procedures to enable reliable/predictable
behaviour

Criticisms
• Did not appreciate the social context of work and higher needs of workers.
• Did not acknowledge variance among individuals.
• Tended to regard workers as uninformed and ignored their ideas and
suggestions.

Elements and Tools of Scientific Management

• Separation of planning and doing
• Functional Foremanship
• Job Analysis
• Standardization
• Scientific Selection and training of workers
• Financial Incentives
• Economy
• Mental Revolution
Literature Study of Taylor Principles of Scientific
Management: -
Taylor's Scientific Management Theory promotes the idea that there is "one right
way" to do something. As such, it is at odds with current approaches such as MBO
(Management by Objectives), Continuous Improvement initiatives, BPR (Business
Process Reengineering), and other tools like them. These promote individual
responsibility and seek to push decision making through all levels of the
organization.
The idea here is that workers are given as much autonomy as practically possible,
so that they can use the most appropriate approaches for the situation at hand.
(Reflect here on your own experience – are you happier and more motivated when
you're following tightly controlled procedures, or when you're working using your
own judgment?) What's more, front line workers need to show this sort of flexibility
in a rapidly changing environment. Rigid, rules-driven organizations really struggle
to adapt in these situations.

Teamwork is another area where pure Taylorism is in opposition to current

practice. Essentially, Taylorism breaks tasks down into tiny steps, and focuses on
how each person can do his or her specific series of steps best. Modern
methodologies prefer to examine work systems more holistically to evaluate
efficiency and maximize productivity. The extreme specialization that Taylorism
promotes is contrary to modern ideals of how to provide a motivating and satisfying
workplace.

Where Taylorism separates manual from mental work, modern productivity

enhancement practices seek to incorporate worker's ideas, experience, and
knowledge into best practice. Scientific management in its pure form focuses too
much on the mechanics, and fails to value the people side of work, whereby
motivation and workplace satisfaction are key elements in an efficient and
productive organization.

The Principles of Taylor's Scientific Management Theory became widely

practiced, and the resulting cooperation between workers and managers
eventually developed into the teamwork we enjoy today. While Taylorism in a
pure sense isn't practiced much today, scientific management did provide many
significant contributions to the advancement of management practice. It
introduced systematic selection and training procedures, it provided a way to
study workplace efficiency, and it encouraged the idea of systematic
organizational design.
Objectives we get to know after studying Frederick
Taylor’s Scientific Management
(1) Scientific Management is Not Any Efficiency Device

It’s not a device of any kind for securing efficiency; nor is it a bunch or group
of efficiency devices. It is not a new system of figuring costs; it is not a new
scheme of paying men; it is not a piece work system; it is not a bonus
system; it is not a premium system; it is no scheme for paying men; it is not
holding a stopwatch on a man and writing things down about him.

It is not time study; it is not motion study, not an analysis of the movements
of men; it is not the printing and loading and unloading of a ton or two of
blanks on a set of men and saying, ‘Here’s your system; go and use it’. It is
not divided foremanship or functional foremanship; it is not any of the
devices which the average man calls to mind when scientific management
is spoken of ...’

(2) Explain the Role of Scientific Management in Growing

Productivity

Now, in its essence, scientific management involves a complete mental

revolution of the part of the working man engaged in any particular
establishment or industry.

This complete mental revolution focuses on the duties of the organization

toward its work, toward its fellowmen and towards its employees, and it
involves an equally complete mental revolution on the part of those on the
management’s side, which involve the foreman, superintendent, owner of
the business, board of directors, and so on.

(3) Explain the Snag of Scientific Management

The great mental revolution that takes place in the mental attitude of the
two parties under scientific management is that both sides take their eyes
off the division of the surplus as an important matter and together turn
their attention toward increasing the size of the surplus, which becomes
so large that it is unnecessary to quarrel over how it should be divided.

They come to see that when they stop pulling against one another and
instead both turn and push shoulder to shoulder in the same direction, the
size of the surplus created by their joint efforts is truly appreciable.

When friendly co-operation and mutual helpfulness replace antagonism

and strife, it becomes possible for both parties to make the surplus so
enormous that there is ample room for a large increase in wages for the
workmen and an equally great increase in profits for the manufacturer.

Moving Assembly line- Henry Ford

It is a manufacturing system for high volume production. The idea here is to

subdivide assembly operations into several smaller tasks that are assigned to
workers placed sequentially in a fixed order, and the product is moved from
one worker to the other by conveyor. Prior to the development of the assembly
line, Ford Motor Co. built cars on fixed assembly stands with workers and the
components moving to cars on fixed locations. A great deal of time and effort
was taken up by the movement of workers and parts throughout the factory.
With moving assembly lines, productivity increased significantly since the time
and effort spent on non-productive movement was eliminated. Workers no
longer had to move; the cars came to them. Since specific activities were
always performed in one spot, material flows could be regularized with single
delivery points and storage spaces. The moving assembly line was so named
because it did not stop workers had to perform tasks on the moving assembly.

About Henry Ford: -

Henry Ford was a revered American business magnate whose name is easily
identified with early 20th century American industrialism. He founded Ford
Motor Corporation in 1903 and was instrumental in popularizing the
consumption of automotive vehicles in the United States and positioning his
country as a significant player in the global automobile industry.

It was in 1913 when Ford introduced a novel manufacturing process called the
moving assembly line. This process allowed faster and inexpensive production
of vehicles. The assembly line also revolutionized manufacturing outside the
automobile industry with the introduction of Fordism—a concept and practice
that revolves around mass production of inexpensive goods and high wages for
workers.

The contribution of Henry Ford towards Moving

Assembly line
The moving assembly line is a key contribution of Henry Ford in manufacturing.
Note that this manufacturing process involves assembling several parts in a step-
by-step fashion. Each part moves from workstation to workstation, and with
every movement, several parts were assembled until they become whole. In
other words, parts are added or assembled in sequence until a final assembly is
produced.

In his autobiography “My Life and Work” first published in 1922, Ford explained
the three principles of assembly. The first one involves placing tools and workers
in the operation sequence so that each part travels the least possible distance
while in the process of finishing.

The second principle involves using work slides or some other form of carriers
so that when a worker completes his or her operation, he or she drops the semi-
finished assembly always in the same place. The third principle is about using
sliding assembling lines by which the parts to be assembled are delivered at
convenient distances.

A key advantage of the moving assembly line is that it allows faster assembly
with less labour than having workers carry parts to a single and central
workstation. It also takes advantage of compartmentalized work through the
division of labour within the workforce. Ford Motor was able to produce larger
outputs using this manufacturing process inexpensively.

Note that several small automakers emerged in the U.S. between 1890 and
1910. Ford Motor competed with these manufacturers. However, through the
implementation of the assembly line in its manufacturing process, the company
was able to outcompete other automakers. The process became a
valuable factor of production.

Ford Motor introduced the Model T in 1908. This was a remarkable vehicle. It
was simple and light but durable enough to drive on primitive roads. The moving
assembly line made this vehicle more popular. Because the novel manufacturing
process allowed cost-effective and time-efficient mass production, the company
lowered the unit price of Model T and made it affordable for the average
consumer.

Key information we know after studying the Henry

Ford Moving Assembly Line
The moving assembly line immediately became a manufacturing norm around
the world. During the 20th century, manufacturers from different industries and
sectors were able to lower their operations cost while maintaining desired
production levels. It also standardized mass production.

In the United States, this manufacturing process improved the profitability of

manufacturers, thus allowing them to expand their operation, hire more
workers, raise salaries, and lower the price of goods. The greater impact was
economic growth driven by industrialization.

Henry Ford and other manufacturers fuelled the American economy by

improving productivity. They also raised standards of living by creating more
high-paying jobs. It is essential to highlight the fact that Ford employed a
concept that revolved around mass production of inexpensive goods and high
wages for workers. Other manufacturers followed suit. Observers called this
concept Fordism.

Fordism is a notable contribution of Ford to the American society and economy

because it led to the emergence of novel business practices and considerations
that affected the social and economic profile of the U.S. The concept sparked
the creation and expansion of businesses, as well as the reduction in
the unemployment rate and poverty. Of course, at the micro-level, the concept
afforded local manufacturers with a competitive advantage against their foreign
counterparts.

The 1998 documentary “People’s Century: On the Line” produced by WGBH

Boston illustrated the socioeconomic impacts of Fordism. For example, the
opening of a Ford factory in Detroit during the 1900s resulted in a population
boom as workers and their families migrated to grab the available job
opportunities.

In addition, the social composition of Detroit and other similar cities changed as
people from different ethnic backgrounds and cultural heritage became part of
the larger workforce. Note that a typical Ford factory employed white
Americans, African Americans, and migrant Germans and Italians, among others.

Mass consumption also became the norm. The 20th-century American

industrialization also marked the emergence of the American consumer society.
Companies such as Ford Motor granted workers with buying power enough for
them to consume non-necessity goods. These workers could buy a Ford vehicle.
Literature Study of Henry Ford Moving Assembly Line
The positive contributions of Henry Ford in manufacturing and the overall
American socioeconomic landscape were undeniable. But there were
drawbacks. Ford Motor and other manufacturers limited the freedom of their
workers to join labour unions to keep them from protesting policies and working
conditions. However, in exchange for this limited freedom, these industrialists
and capitalists promoted the importance of having high salaries and the
possession of material objects. In fact, Henry Ford encouraged his workers to set
aside a part of their wages to save up for a new car.

There were an initial excitement and acceptance over the new socioeconomic
setup. However, the revitalized business or manufacturing processes created a
workplace environment that was boring and taxing. Furthermore, the
compartmentalization of work processes and division of labour brought by the
moving assembly line alienated workers. People soon became unhappy and
dissatisfied despite their higher standards of living.

According to the book “Levels of Socioeconomic Development Theory” by David

Jaffee, the concept of alienation, originally proposed by Karl Marx, is a natural
result of industrialization, mainly because of the division of labour and
functional independence. This creates powerlessness, meaninglessness, and
social isolation. The documentary “People’s Century: On the Line” also featured
several former Ford workers who mentioned that doing the same repeated job
for several hours a day made their jobs unexciting.

In summary, although Henry Ford was partly instrumental in fuelling economic

growth and improving standards of living, the manufacturing process and
concepts or practices he popularized resulted in the exploitation of workers.

His industrialists and capitalist’s contemporaries also stirred the creation of

values or norms that leaned toward materialistic tendencies, thus paving the
way for the emergence of consumerism. Of course, it is still important to note
that consumerism is a necessary consequence of industrialism, capitalism, and
free-market competition.
References: -
• Aitken, Hugh G. J. (1985) [1960], Scientific Management in Action: Taylorism at

Watertown Arsenal, 1908-1915, Princeton, NJ, USA: Princeton University

Press, ISBN 978-0-691-04241-1, LCCN 84026462, OCLC 1468387. First published

in 1960 by Harvard University Press. Republished in 1985 by Princeton University

Press, with a new foreword by Merritt Roe Smith.

• Ford & Crowther 1922, p. 45 (online version), p. 80 (print version)

• Ford's Assembly Line Turns 100: How It Changed Manufacturing and Society". New

York Daily News. October 7, 2013. Archived from the original on November 30,

2013. Retrieved August 27, 2017.

• Ford & Crowther 1922, p. 81

• Henke, J. (2004). "Infoblatt Taylorismus. Frederick Winslow Taylor stellte Theorien

zur Optimierung der Arbeit bzw. Unternehmen auf". Klett. Archived from the

original on 1 May 2012. Retrieved 6 February2017.

• Kanigel, Robert (1997), The One Best Way: Frederick Winslow Taylor and the

Enigma of Efficiency, New York, NY, US: Penguin-Viking, ISBN 978-0-670-86402-

7. A detailed biography of Taylor and a historian's look at his ideas.

• Lenin, V.I. "Lenin: The Taylor System—Man's Enslavement by the

Machine". www.marxists.org.

• Moving Assembly Line at Ford". This Day in History. The History Channel.

Retrieved September 2, 2016.

• Swan, Tony (April 2013). "Ford's Assembly Line Turns 100: How It Really Put the

World on Wheels". Car and driver. Retrieved 26 March2017.

• Weber, Austin (2013-10-01). "The Moving Assembly Line Turns 100". Assembly

Magazine. Archived from the original on 2016-08-26. Retrieved 2017-03-26.