Padres de la administración: Frederick Taylor

Summary

The video script delves into the life and work of Frederick Taylor, the father of scientific management. Born in 1856 and passing in 1915, Taylor revolutionized administrative theory by advocating for the scientific method over empirical work. His principles, outlined in his 1911 book, include planning, preparation, control, and execution to increase efficiency. Taylor's methods, such as time studies and task specialization, have been influential yet controversial, with critics arguing they treat humans as machines. His work laid the foundation for modern organizational efficiency and operational management.

Takeaways

• 📚 Frederick Taylor is known as the father of scientific administration due to his contributions to administrative theory, particularly in the scientific method.
• 👶 Born in 1856 in Pennsylvania, USA, Taylor had a lifelong struggle with his eyesight and physical strength, which led him to focus on the study of efficiency in work.
• 🛠 Taylor's work emphasized the operational aspects of organizations, including the tools and methods used, to increase efficiency and effectiveness.
• 🏗️ He believed that workers are naturally lazy and would perform work slowly, necessitating the study of their movements and the optimization of their tasks.
• 🔍 Taylor introduced the idea of dividing labor into those who think (planning the work) and those who have the physical strength to execute it (performing the work).
• 🕒 He developed a systematic approach to scientific management, which included analyzing tasks, defining movements, timing them with a stopwatch, and eliminating unnecessary movements.
• 🏗️🔧 Taylor's famous experiment in a steel company demonstrated that by applying scientific methods, a worker's daily output could be significantly increased from 12.5 tons to 48 tons of steel ingots.
• 📐 His work with shovels showed that the optimal load per shovel should be 21 pounds, and the size of the shovel should be adjusted based on the weight of the material being moved.
• 📖 Taylor's book, 'The Principles of Scientific Management,' published in 1911, outlines the four fundamental principles of scientific management: planning, preparation, control, and execution.
• 🔄 Taylor's principles led to the standardization and mechanization of jobs, making them more repetitive and efficient, but also drawing criticism for treating humans as machines.
• 't🔄 The criticism of Taylor's approach paved the way for subsequent theories that placed a greater emphasis on the human aspect of work, such as the Hawthorne studies by Elton Mayo.

Q & A

Who is Frederick Taylor and why is he significant in the field of administrative theory?

Frederick Taylor is known as the father of scientific administration. He was an engineer, industrialist, and economist from the USA who made significant contributions to administrative theory by introducing the scientific method to replace the empirical method in work, aiming to increase efficiency and effectiveness in organizations.

When and where was Frederick Taylor born, and when did he pass away?

Frederick Taylor was born in 1856 in Pennsylvania, USA, and he passed away in 1915 at the age of 59.

What were the challenges that Frederick Taylor faced in his personal life?

From his adolescence, Taylor began to lose his eyesight and had a weak complexion, which prevented him from participating in sports or any activity requiring a lot of strength. These challenges led him to focus on studying physical movements and work processes to increase efficiency.

How did Frederick Taylor's approach differ from Henri Fayol's?

While Henri Fayol focused his theory on the managerial part of organizations, Frederick Taylor focused on the operational part, specifically on tools and work methods, to increase efficiency and effectiveness.

What was Taylor's view on human nature in relation to work?

Taylor believed that man is by nature lazy and tends to perform work slowly. Therefore, he emphasized the need to study the times and movements of workers to find the best combination of muscular movements to increase production and give uniformity to processes.

What were the stages Frederick Taylor proposed to implement scientific work organization?

Taylor proposed several stages: 1) Find 10-15 skilled workers, 2) Define the exact series of elementary movements, tools, and materials used for the work, 3) Time each movement with a stopwatch and choose the simplest execution mode, 4) Eliminate all wrong, slow, and useless movements, and 5) Gather the most rapid movements into a sequence.

Can you describe the experiment Frederick Taylor conducted at the steel company?

At the steel company, Taylor observed that workers were transporting an average of 12.5 tons of steel ingots daily. He believed this could be increased to 48 tons per day using the scientific method. He selected a worker named Schmidt, provided incentives, and measured the time and speed of movements, including rest periods, to achieve the goal.

What was the outcome of the shovel experiment conducted by Frederick Taylor?

Taylor noticed that workers used the same size of shovel regardless of the material's weight. He determined that the optimal load per shovel should be 21 pounds and that the size of the shovel should depend on the weight of the material being handled.

What are the four fundamental principles of scientific management as outlined in Taylor's book?

The four principles are: 1) Planning, which involves substituting the empirical method with the scientific method, 2) Preparation, which includes scientifically selecting workers and providing necessary tools and machinery, 3) Control, which ensures work is done according to regulations, and 4) Execution, which involves properly distributing functions and responsibilities among workers.

How did Frederick Taylor's contributions impact the field of management?

Taylor's contributions led to the foundation of the rational organization of work, the replacement of empirical methods with scientific ones, the introduction of incentive systems to increase worker motivation and productivity, and the standardization of jobs, making them more mechanical and repetitive.

What criticism did Frederick Taylor's theories receive?

One of the main criticisms of Taylor's theories is that he considered humans as machines, suggesting that with proper incentives, they would perform better, which led to a more human-focused approach in later theories, such as Elton Mayo's.