Scientific Management
Summary
TLDRThe script explores the origins of scientific management, pioneered by Frederick Taylor, who sought to optimize work efficiency. After facing hostility from workers due to productivity pressures, Taylor developed four principles: creating a science for each task, scientifically selecting and training workers, cooperating with employees to implement these principles, and sharing responsibilities for productivity. His goal was to harmonize the interests of both employees and employers, ensuring fair compensation for a fair day's work.
Takeaways
- đ·ââïž Frederick Taylor is recognized as the father of scientific management, which focuses on identifying the most efficient work methods through systematic study and experimentation.
- đ Taylor's early career at Midvale Steel Company involved various roles, from worker to chief engineer, giving him firsthand experience of worker dynamics and productivity issues.
- đš Taylor's struggle with 'soldiering', or workers deliberately restricting output, led him to develop the principles of scientific management as a solution to improve productivity and worker relations.
- đ ïž Scientific management involves four main principles: developing a science for each element of work, scientifically selecting and training workers, cooperating with employees, and dividing work and responsibilities between management and workers.
- đ§ Rest breaks for physical labor, a controversial idea at the time, were advocated by Taylor and proven through experiments to increase worker productivity.
- đ The systematic selection and training of workers based on aptitude rather than favoritism or nepotism was a key aspect of Taylor's approach to improving efficiency.
- đ€ Taylor emphasized the importance of cooperation between management and workers, arguing that their interests were not inherently antagonistic but could be aligned for mutual benefit.
- đ The division of work and responsibilities was crucial to ensure that scientific principles were implemented, addressing the issue of workers being solely responsible for productivity.
- đ° Taylor believed in determining a 'fair day's work' and compensating workers fairly for their efforts, aiming to create a balance between employee and employer interests.
- đ The implementation of scientific management faced resistance, with workers threatening Taylor and breaking machines, highlighting the social pressures and hostility involved in changing established work practices.
- đ Taylor's personal experiences and reflections led him to develop scientific management as a remedy for the 'horrid life' of constant conflict between workers and management.
Q & A
What is scientific management?
-Scientific management is a method of organizing work that involves the thorough study and testing of different work methods to identify the most efficient way to complete a job.
Who is considered the father of scientific management?
-Frederick Taylor is considered the father of scientific management.
What was Taylor's initial career path at the Midvale Steel Company?
-Taylor began his career as a worker, was promoted to pattern maker, supervisor, and then became the chief engineer at the Midvale Steel Company.
What was Taylor's struggle during his three-year period at Midvale Steel Company?
-Taylor struggled to get the men who worked for him to do what he called 'a fair day's work,' which was a quantity output agreed upon by the workers that was limited to about one-third of what they could actually do.
What was Taylor's approach to increasing output when he became the boss?
-Taylor tried to increase output by doing the job himself, showing workers it was possible to produce more, hiring and training new workers, and enforcing strict rules, including firing workers who broke machines or violated rules.
How did the workers respond to Taylor's efforts to increase output?
-The workers responded with hostility, social pressure, and even threats of violence, as they saw Taylor's efforts as attempts to 'bust the rates' and disrupt their established work pace.
What was Taylor's solution to the conflict between workers and management?
-Taylor's solution was the development of scientific management, which emphasized systematic study to find the best way to perform tasks and improve productivity without hostility.
What were the four principles of Taylor's scientific management?
-The four principles were: 1) Develop a science for each element of work, 2) Scientifically select, train, teach, and develop workers, 3) Cooperate with employees to implement scientific principles, and 4) Divide work and responsibilities equally between management and workers.
Why did Taylor propose giving rest breaks to factory workers?
-Taylor believed that rest breaks would increase worker productivity, and he demonstrated this through systematic experiments showing that workers with frequent breaks could greatly increase their daily output.
How did Taylor's approach to hiring workers differ from the common practice of his time?
-Taylor instructed supervisors to hire first-class workers based on their aptitude and ability to do the job well, rather than on favoritism or nepotism.
What was Taylor's view on the relationship between the interests of employees and employers?
-Taylor believed that the true interests of employees and employers were not antagonistic but rather aligned, with long-term prosperity for the employer dependent on the prosperity of the employees and vice versa.
What was Taylor's definition of a 'fair day's work'?
-A 'fair day's work' was defined by Taylor as what an average worker could produce at a reasonable pace day in and day out, and it was management's responsibility to pay workers fairly for this amount of work.
Outlines
đŹ The Birth of Scientific Management
The script introduces scientific management, a method to optimize work efficiency, pioneered by Frederick Taylor. Taylor's career at Midvale Steel Company is highlighted, where he observed workers limiting their output due to social pressure. His efforts to increase productivity, such as doing the job himself, hiring and training new workers, were met with resistance, including machine sabotage and threats. Taylor's personal struggle with the hostile work environment led him to develop scientific management, emphasizing systematic study to find the most efficient way to perform tasks. His four principles included developing a science for each work element, scientifically selecting and training workers, cooperating with employees to implement scientific principles, and dividing work and responsibilities between management and workers. Taylor believed in aligning the interests of management and employees for mutual prosperity.
đ€ The Principles of Scientific Management
This paragraph delves deeper into the principles of scientific management. It starts by discussing the common misconception that the interests of employees and employers are inherently opposed. Taylor's approach refutes this belief, asserting that the prosperity of both parties is interdependent. The fourth principle of scientific management is introduced, advocating for an equal division of work and responsibilities. Prior to Taylor's methods, workers were solely responsible for productivity. Taylor proposed that management should prepare workers to perform better and faster, and once a fair day's work was determined, it was management's duty to pay workers fairly. The paragraph concludes with the idea that Taylor's principles aimed to create a harmonious relationship between management and labor for mutual benefit.
Mindmap
Keywords
đĄScientific Management
đĄFrederick Taylor
đĄFair Day's Work
đĄOutput
đĄSoldiering
đĄAptitude
đĄRest Breaks
đĄLabor Unrest
đĄCooperation
đĄResponsibility
đĄAlignment
Highlights
Scientific management is a systematic approach to identify the most efficient work methods.
Frederick Taylor is recognized as the father of scientific management.
Taylor's early career involved various roles at Midvale Steel Company, influencing his management philosophy.
Taylor's struggle with workers' output led to the development of scientific management principles.
Workers' resistance to increased output, known as 'soldiering', was a significant issue for Taylor.
Taylor's experiments showed that rest breaks could increase productivity, contradicting common beliefs.
The first principle of scientific management is developing a science for each element of work.
Managers should scientifically select, train, teach, and develop workers to reach their full potential.
Taylor advocated for hiring workers based on aptitude rather than favoritism or nepotism.
Cooperation between managers and employees is essential for implementing scientific principles.
Taylor believed that the interests of employees and employers are fundamentally aligned.
The fourth principle involves dividing work and responsibilities equally between management and workers.
Taylor's approach aimed to determine a 'fair day's work' and ensure fair pay for it.
Taylor's management principles sought to align interests for mutual benefit of both employees and management.
The transcript discusses the historical context and impact of Taylor's scientific management.
Taylor's personal experiences and the hostility he faced influenced his management theories.
The development of scientific management was a response to the harsh working conditions and labor unrest of the time.
Transcripts
[Music]
let's take a look at scientific
management scientific management
thoroughly studies and tests different
work methods to identify the best most
efficient way to complete a job
Frederick Taylor is the father of
scientific management he began his
career as a worker at the Midvale steel
company Taylor was promoted to pattern
maker supervisor and then chief engineer
at Midvale Taylor was deeply affected by
his three-year struggle to get the men
who worked for him to do what he called
a fair day's work
Taylor who had worked alongside the men
as a co-worker before becoming their
boss said we who were the workmen of the
shop had the quantity output carefully
agreed upon for everything that was
turned out in the shop we limited the
output to about I would think one-third
of what we could have very well have
done
Taylor explained that as soon as he
became the boss the men who were working
under me knew that I was unto the whole
game of soldiering or deliberately
restricting output when Taylor told his
workers I have accepted a job under the
management of this company and I am on
the other side of the fence I'm going to
try to get a bigger output the workers
responded we warned you Fred if you try
to bust any of these rates a rape Buster
was someone who worked faster than the
group we will have you over the fence in
six weeks over the next three years
Taylor tried everything he could think
of to approve output by doing the job
himself he showed workers that it was
possible to produce more output he hired
new workers and trained them himself
hoping they would produce more but a
very heavy social pressure as Taylor
called it from other workers kept them
from doing so pushed by Taylor the
workers began breaking their machines so
they couldn't produce Taylor responded
by firing them every time they broke a
machine or for any violation of the
rules no matter house
all such as being late to work tensions
became so severe that some of the
workers even threatened to shoot Taylor
looking back at the situation
Taylor reflected it's a horrid life for
any man to live not being able to look
any workmen in the face all day long
without seeing hostility there and
feeling that every man around him is a
vital enemy he said I made up my mind to
either get out of the business entirely
and go into some other line of work or
to find some remedy for this unbearable
condition the remedy that Taylor
eventually developed was scientific
management Taylor who was once described
scientific management as 75% science and
25% common sense emphasized that the
goal of scientific management was to use
a systematic study to find the one best
way for doing each task to do that
managers had to follow four principles
the first principle was to develop a
science for each element of work study
it analyze it determine the one best way
to do the work for example one of
Taylor's controversial proposals at the
time was to give rest breaks to factory
workers doing physical labor
we take morning lunch and afternoon
breaks for granted but in Taylor's day
factory workers were expected to work
without stopping when Taylor said the
brakes would increase worker
productivity no one believed him
nonetheless through systematic
experiments he showed that workers
receiving frequent rest breaks were able
to greatly increase their daily output
second managers had to scientifically
select train teach and develop workers
to help them reach their full potential
before Taylor supervisors often hired on
the basis of favoritism and nepotism who
you knew was often more important than
what you could do by contrast Taylor
instructed supervisors to hire
first-class workers on the basis of
their aptitude to do the job well in one
of the first applications of this
principle physical reaction times were
used to select bicycle ball bearing
inspectors who had to be able to examine
ball bearings as fast as they were
produced on the production line first
similar reasons Taylor also recommended
the companies train and develop their
workers a rare practice at the time the
third principal instructed managers to
cooperate with employees to ensure that
scientific principles were actually
implemented labor unrest was widespread
at the time the number of labor strikes
against companies doubled between 1893
and 1904 as Taylor knew from personal
experience workers and management more
often than not viewed each other as
enemies
Taylor's advice ran contrary to common
wisdom of the day he said the majority
of these men believe that the
fundamental interests of employees and
employers are not necessarily antagonist
ik scientific management on the contrary
has for its very foundation the firm
conviction that the true interests of
the two are one in the same that
prosperity for the employer cannot exist
through a long term of years unless it's
accompanied by prosperity for employees
and vice versa the fourth principle of
scientific management was to divide the
work and responsibilities equally
between management and workers prior to
Taylor workers alone were held
responsible for productivity and
performance but said Taylor almost every
act of the workman should be preceded by
one or more preparatory acts of the
management which enable him to do his
work better and quicker than he
otherwise could above all Taylor
believed these principles could be used
to determine a fair day's work that is
what an average worker could produce at
a reasonable pace day in and day out
after that was determined it was
management's responsibility to pay
workers fairly for a fair day's work in
essence Taylor was trying to align
management and employees so that there
was good for employees and there was
good for management
[Music]
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