Frederick Winslow Taylor's Principles of Scientific Management - Still Valid in Today's Workplace?

Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856-1915) was an American mechanical engineer who later became a management consultant who specialized in industry efficiency and worker productivity. Through his research, Taylor developed a methodology which he called "Scientific Management". His findings were published in 1911 in the "Principles of Scientific Management". While he was considered an innovative leader in his time, can his theories and practices still be used in modern business? Here is a complete analysis of the underlying methodology, theory, and implementations of Frederick Winslow Taylor's Principles of Scientific Management in today's business world. .

Frederick Winslow Taylor's Underlying Belief Behind Scientific Management

Taylor believed that employee and employer prosperity was rooted in the increase in worker productivity. His theory was centered on a circle of prosperity in which both the worker and employer would benefit from changes in company efficiency. In this "circle", employers would study and implement better ways to perform tasks in the organization. This would directly result in an increase in production while lowering costs allowing the company to make a greater profit than competitors and provide workers with better pay as a reward for their increased productivity. Thus, both parties maximize their earning potential.

Frederick Winslow Taylor's Theory Behind Hindered Prosperity

Taylor attributed lack of productivity, and thus prosperity, to one cause - soldiering. Soldiering is the condition in which workers perform their job below the maximum possible output either deliberately or indeliberately. It is important to point out that Frederick Winslow Taylor did not place the blame primarily with the workers. Instead, he concluded that soldiering was a result of misconceptions by workers and managements inability to understand and implement strong, efficient work processes. Here are the three primary causes that Taylor attributed to soldiering

1. Worker Misconception

According to Taylor, the American workplace of his time was plagued with the misconception that working faster would put people out of work. Many workers would work only as hard as necessary and no harder, preserving the need for the number of workers at the company. Frederick argues against this methodology stating that increased production reduces cost, therefore, pushing the product price down, increasing consumer demand, and increasing production (which requires additional labor).

2. Ignorance of Employers

The theory doesn't leave the employers off the hook for slow productivity from workers. Taylor states that management must understand the processes and how long each job should take. It is much easier for employees to abuse the system if managers are disconnected and unaware of what is going on in the company.

3 Not Using Most Efficient Processes

Traditionally, most jobs are taught to employees by other people who have done the job or work in the same department. The problem is that many of this training is based on "tribal knowledge" - knowledge passed down from one employee to another - instead of set procedures. This usually leaves the original process distorted leaving out important steps or adding unnecessary ones. The Principles of Scientific Management insists that managers must evaluate the work process, remove unnecessary steps, and have an approved work process. This ensures that new employees are trained the same way - the right way - every time.

Implementation of Frederick Winslow Taylor's Principles of Scientific Management

According to Taylor, there are four main steps to implementing a strong work environment based on the Principles of Scientific Management:

1. Develop a specific science for each job

Management first needs to break each job into individual tasks and determine which steps don't contribute to the end product. While I was working for a small manufacturing company, management decided that our department was due for an overhaul to streamline the work process and increase production. Our main job each day was to fill 80-100 bins with various parts. We walked about 10 miles on average each day. So, management redesigned the layout of the warehouse racks to reduce our walking distance by about 66% and cut 2 hours from our work day.

2. Select men and train instead of having them train themselves

Management should be responsible for selecting the right people for each job and overseeing their training. This ensures that the training is conducted correctly.

3. Supervise to make sure that the work is being done according to the science of the job

After the workers and job processes are put in place, the managers in a company need to stay involved. This is very important. Just because a department is designed to be efficient does not prevent workers from falling back into bad work habits.

4. Managers should take a larger portion of the work.

Taylor's theory suggests that the work in a department should be split 50-50 between management and the workers. This not only takes some of the pressure off the workforce (increasing production), but allows managers to stay involved in the daily processes of the department.

How do the Principles of Scientific Management work in Modern Business?

Now, nearly 100 years later, soldiering is still a problem in modern business. Especially in this current economy. Having worked in manufacturing, I know that working slow to avoid running out of work and getting sent home early or getting laid off (thus, reducing pay) is still a common concern. There is also a disconnect between management and workers in many companies around the world. At one time, managers were hired based on their technical knowledge of the job and worked along side their subordinates. Today, it seems more common for managers to be hired based on their experience leading people with little knowledge of the daily operations of their department. While I can see some of the remnants of Taylor's Principles of Scientific Management being used today, there are other important elements that are not utilized.

Source:
Principles of Scientific Management (1911) - Frederick Winslow Taylor