Frederick Taylor Scientific Management

Summary

Frederick Taylor, the father of scientific management, revolutionized workplace efficiency with his systematic approach to optimizing tasks. By dividing labor into simple steps, emphasizing hierarchy, and advocating for the selection and training of 'first-class' workers, Taylor's methods significantly boosted productivity. His time and motion studies, exemplified by the shovel experiments, sought the most efficient task execution. Though his techniques led to increased profits and standardized products, they also resulted in worker dehumanization and burnout, highlighting the mixed outcomes of Taylorism.

Takeaways

• 🛠️ Frederick Taylor is recognized as a founding father of organizational studies, known for his scientific management approach.
• 🔧 Taylor was a mechanical engineer and management consultant who aimed to improve efficiency in factories through standardized work processes.
• 📚 He introduced the concept of 'scientific management' or 'Taylorism', which involved applying scientific methods to work to break away from unproven practices.
• 🔑 Division of labor was a key principle for Taylor, advocating for the breaking down of work into simple, separate steps performed by different workers.
• 🔑🔍 Taylor's focus was on determining the 'one best way' to perform tasks, emphasizing standardization to increase productivity.
• 🏢 He supported a clear hierarchy in organizations, with managers at the top designing and enforcing work processes, and workers following instructions.
• 💼 Taylor believed in selecting, training, and compensating high-performing 'first-class' employees, with the most productive workers receiving higher pay.
• 🕒 His method included 'time and motion studies' to find the most efficient way to perform tasks, reducing the time and effort required.
• 💡 The 'shovel experiment' is a notable example of Taylor's approach, where he determined the ideal weight for a shovel to maximize productivity.
• 🚗 Henry Ford took Taylor's principles to the next level, applying them to the automobile industry and revolutionizing production with the assembly line.
• 🔄 The outcomes of Taylor's work are mixed, with significant productivity gains but also negative impacts such as dehumanization and employee burnout.

Q & A

Who is Frederick Taylor and what is his contribution to organizational studies?

Frederick Taylor is considered a founding father of organizational studies. He introduced the concept of scientific management, which aimed to make organizations more standardized, efficient, and productive by closely studying work processes.

What was the context for the development of Taylor's scientific management approach?

Factories were rapidly expanding, and there were no standardized ways to manage large groups of workers or complex tasks. Taylor saw the need for a systematic approach to improve efficiency and productivity in these environments.

What does the term 'scientific management' refer to in the context of Taylor's work?

Scientific management refers to the application of scientific principles to work. It involves careful and systematic study of tasks at a micro level to find the most efficient ways to perform work and speed up processes.

What is the concept of 'Division of labor' as advocated by Taylor?

Division of labor is the practice of breaking down work processes into very small, simple, and separate steps. Instead of one person doing an entire project from start to finish, each person performs only one or two specific steps, which are then passed on to the next person.

How did Taylor's belief in hierarchy influence his approach to management?

Taylor believed in a clear chain of command, separating employees at the bottom of the organization from managerial staff at the top. Managers were responsible for designing work processes and enforcing how work was performed, while employees followed directions.

What was Taylor's perspective on selecting, training, and compensating workers?

Taylor advocated for the selection and training of high-performing workers, or 'first-class employees,' and matching them to jobs best suited for them. He believed that the most productive workers should be paid more, and he was critical of employees who did not meet higher standards.

Can you explain Taylor's method of 'time and motion studies'?

Time and motion studies involved determining the least amount of time and the fewest number of motions required to perform each task. Taylor aimed to make employees work as efficiently as machines, breaking down tasks to find the most productive methods.

What is an example of Taylor's time and motion study, and what was its outcome?

Taylor's shovel experiments are an example of time and motion studies. He tested different shovel sizes to find the optimal amount of material a shovel should hold to maximize productivity. The result was that a shovel holding 21.5 pounds of sand or coal was the most efficient.

How did Taylor's work influence the development of the assembly line in manufacturing?

Taylor's principles of efficiency and standardization were taken to the next level by Henry Ford, who applied them to the development of the assembly line. This innovation significantly reduced the time it took to manufacture a car, increasing productivity and reducing costs.

What are some of the mixed outcomes of Taylor's work on productivity and employee treatment?

While Taylor's work led to significant increases in productivity and more consistent, higher-quality products, it also resulted in some negative outcomes. Companies often failed to pay employees more as Taylor advised, leading to deskilled and expendable workers in a harsh, dehumanizing work environment.

How has Taylor's influence persisted in modern work practices, even outside of manufacturing?

Taylor's influence can be seen in various industries, from the specific design of tools like shovels to the streamlined processes in fast food restaurants and other service industries. His emphasis on efficiency and standardization has shaped how tasks are performed and how products are made.

Outlines

00:00

🔬 Scientific Management and Taylorism

Frederick Taylor, a mechanical engineer and management consultant, is recognized as a founding father of organizational studies. His approach, known as scientific management or Taylorism, aimed to standardize, streamline, and increase the productivity of organizations through the close study of work processes. Taylor advocated for the division of labor into simple steps and the determination of the 'one best way' to perform each task. He also emphasized a clear hierarchy with managers as the designers and enforcers of work processes, while employees were to follow directions. Taylor's method included time and motion studies to find the most efficient way to perform tasks, which influenced modern work practices and had a significant impact on efficiency and productivity.

05:02

🏭 Efficiency Through Time and Motion Studies

This paragraph delves into the practical application of Taylor's scientific management principles, particularly through time and motion studies. Taylor's shovel experiment exemplified this approach by determining the optimal weight for a shovel to maximize productivity. His findings influenced the design of tools and work processes across various industries. The narrative extends to modern examples, such as the streamlined processes in fast food chains and the assembly line innovations by Henry Ford, which drastically reduced car production time. The adoption of assembly lines and lean production methods in other industries, like Boeing's aircraft manufacturing, further underscored the impact of Taylor's work on efficiency and productivity gains.

10:02

🤝 Mixed Outcomes of Scientific Management

While Taylor's scientific management principles led to significant productivity improvements, the outcomes were mixed. On the positive side, companies experienced increased profits and the ability to produce consistent, higher-quality products with fewer employees. However, there were negative consequences as well. Companies often failed to follow Taylor's advice to pay workers more, leading to a disconnect between employees and the broader meaning of their work. This resulted in deskilling, making workers easily replaceable and contributing to a harsh work environment characterized by employee burnout and dehumanization. The paragraph concludes by reflecting on Taylor's lasting influence on modern work practices and the reasons for studying his work.

Keywords

💡Frederick Taylor

Frederick Taylor is recognized as the founding father of scientific management in organizational studies. His approach to management, known as Taylorism, aimed to standardize and increase the efficiency and productivity of work processes. In the video, Taylor's work is highlighted as foundational to modern management practices, emphasizing his impact on how work is organized and performed.

💡Scientific Management

Scientific management is a term coined by Taylor to describe his approach to applying scientific principles to work processes. It involves the systematic study of tasks to find the most efficient methods for performing them. The video explains how Taylor's scientific management principles have influenced the way organizations manage large groups of people and complex work.

💡Division of Labor

Division of labor refers to the practice of breaking down work into smaller, specialized tasks, which are then assigned to different individuals. Taylor believed in this approach to increase efficiency by simplifying tasks and allowing workers to focus on specific steps. The script illustrates this concept through the historical shift from workers doing entire projects to performing only one or two steps of a process.

💡One Best Way

The 'one best way' concept is central to Taylor's philosophy, where he sought to determine the most efficient method for each task to standardize work processes and enhance productivity. The video script uses this term to describe Taylor's quest for the optimal way to perform tasks, as exemplified by his time and motion studies.

💡Hierarchy

Hierarchy, in the context of Taylor's approach, refers to a clear chain of command within an organization, distinguishing between managerial and worker roles. Taylor believed in a structured hierarchy where managers design and enforce work processes, while employees follow instructions. The video script discusses how this concept separates the thinkers (managers) from the doers (employees).

💡Selection and Training

Selection and training were important aspects of Taylor's approach, where he advocated for identifying and developing high-performing workers, termed 'first-class employees.' The script explains that Taylor believed in matching these employees to jobs that best suited their abilities and compensating them accordingly, which was a departure from common practices of his time.

💡Time and Motion Studies

Time and motion studies are methods used to analyze and measure the time and physical movements required to perform tasks, with the goal of optimizing efficiency. The video script describes how Taylor used these studies to determine the least amount of time and fewest motions needed for tasks, exemplified by his shovel experiment.

💡Shovel Experiments

Shovel experiments conducted by Taylor are a classic example of time and motion studies. In the script, Taylor's experiments are detailed, where he varied the amount of material a shovel could hold to find the optimal weight for maximum productivity. This experiment led to the standardization of shovel sizes and contributed to the efficiency of material handling.

💡Productivity

Productivity, as discussed in the video, is a measure of the efficiency of production, which Taylor aimed to significantly increase through his scientific management principles. The script highlights how Taylor's methods led to substantial increases in productivity, benefiting companies with more work accomplished by fewer people.

💡Dehumanization

Dehumanization refers to the treatment of individuals as mere tools or machines, devoid of personal identity or intrinsic value. The video script critiques Taylor's approach for leading to dehumanization, where workers were reduced to performing repetitive, mundane tasks, leading to burnout and a lack of job satisfaction.

💡Assembly Line

The assembly line is a production method that involves the sequential progression of a product through various stages of manufacturing, with each stage performing a specific task. The script mentions Henry Ford's innovation with the assembly line, which was influenced by Taylor's principles, and how it revolutionized car production by significantly reducing the time and increasing efficiency.

Highlights

Frederick Taylor is recognized as a founding father of organizational studies.

His scientific management approach has influenced many aspects of professional life.

Taylor was a mechanical engineer and a management consultant aiming to improve organizational efficiency.

Factories lacked standardized management practices, which Taylor sought to address.

Scientific management is the term Taylor used for his approach of applying science to work.

Taylor advocated for breaking away from unproven and inefficient common sense rules of thumb.

Division of labor was a key practice in Taylor's approach, simplifying and separating work steps.

Taylor's method aimed to determine the one best way to perform every task to boost productivity.

Hierarchical structure was important to Taylor, with a clear chain of command from managers to employees.

Taylor believed in selecting, training, and compensating high-performing workers differently.

His time and motion studies aimed to find the most efficient way to perform tasks.

Taylor's shovel experiments exemplified his time and motion study methodology.

Taylor's work influenced the design of tools and processes in various industries.

Fast food franchises have adopted Taylor's principles to streamline production.

Henry Ford took Taylor's methods to the next level with the perfection of the assembly line.

Boeing applied lean production methods, tripling their production rate for the 737s.

Taylor's outcomes were mixed, with significant productivity gains but also employee dehumanization.

Taylor's legacy continues to impact modern work practices and organizational studies.

Transcripts

(soft music)

- [Narrator] Frederick Taylor is a founding father

of organizational studies.

His scientific management approach

has surely touched many aspects of your professional life,

as you will see.

He was a mechanical engineer and a management consultant.

That meant that he was an outside person

that would come into organizations

to try to help them make things better.

Factories at the time were springing up everywhere

and standardized ways didn't yet exist

to manage large groups of people

and handle increasingly complex work.

So Taylor saw this need and he wanted to step in

and make organizations more standardized,

efficient and productive

by studying their work processes closely.

Scientific management is the term he used.

He did a lot of studies and wrote books about it.

This basically meant applying science to work.

Studying tasks carefully, systematically,

at the micro level to speed up work.

He wanted to break away from the common sense rules of thumb

that he saw as unproven and inefficient.

So workers had their own self-styled ways of doing things

that they would pass around

and he said, "Hey, there's really no way to know

"if this is the best way to do things so let's study it."

Scientific management's also known as Taylorism,

which of course is named after him.

Division of labor is a practice that he believed in.

He wanted to divide work process

into very small, simple, and separate steps.

Division of labor.

And that meant instead of doing a whole project

where you did it from beginning to end,

you would only do one or two little steps

and then the next task was performed by the next person.

So this is a very different way to do work at the time.

He wanted to determine the one best way, a standard,

to do every part, every task, to boost productivity.

That's what he's really known for,

looking for that one best way to solve the riddle.

He also believed in hierarchy.

He wanted a clear chain of command

that separated all the employees

at the bottom of the organization

from all the managerial people toward the top.

And the reason he wanted to do this

was that he wanted the managers to design the work process

and enforce how that work was performed.

Employees, as a result, would just follow directions.

They just became doers

and the managers were then the thinkers.

He believed in selection and training and compensation

in a way that was a little different at the time.

He wanted to select and train high-performing workers,

or what he called first-class employees,

and then match them to a job that was best suited for them.

He saw this as the ideal.

And he believed that the most productive workers

should be paid more.

He thought, on average,

that most employees were not very hard workers

and he didn't have a very high opinion of employees,

and he wanted to get rid of those people

and if they couldn't meet the higher standard

he would fire them and only the good people would be left.

His method was called time and motion studies.

That meant he wanted to figure out

the least amount of time, on average,

it took to perform each task

and even each part of each task.

He really broke it down.

What were the fewest number of motions required

for each small task?

He wanted employees

to basically work like they were machines.

As I mentioned, he was a mechanical engineer

by training and background,

and so that's what they do, they design and build machines.

And he wanted people to act like that.

His shovel experiments were a great example

of the time and motion study.

The idea here is he said, "Hey, you know what?

"Instead of just using whatever shovel,

"why don't we figure out the exact amount of poundage

"a shovel should hold to make work the fastest?"

So he did experiments where he took 10 guys

and he lined them up

and gave them all a pile of sand or coal.

And he said, "I want you to take this shovel,"

which held about 26 pounds,

"and move your piles from here, at about 10 feet,

"over to there."

And so they worked at it all day

and he kept track of everything

with a clipboard and a timer,

and at the end of the day they went home.

And then overnight he cut off a little piece of metal

off of each shovel

so that it was about a pound lighter.

In other words, it held about a pound less of coal or sand.

And then they came back the next morning

and he told the workers,

"Okay, remember those piles that you moved?

"Now I want you to move 'em back

"to where they were in the first place."

Which was probably a little frustrating for the employees

but they were getting paid and so they did it.

And he did this every night

and kept taking a little bit off of the shovel

until he saw the number peak.

And every time he took a little bit off,

the numbers went up.

Then he noticed

that he kept taking more and more off the shovel

and then the numbers started to go down.

They were actually finishing their piles

later in the day each day on average.

And so he said, "Oh, maybe we've passed the midpoint."

So he went back to slightly larger shovels and, sure enough,

the numbers went in the right direction again.

And he settled on 21.5 pounds,

that was the perfect amount of sand or coal

that you should fit in a shovel

to move the most amount in a given day.

So that amount meant you could move it faster,

'cause it was a little lighter,

and it also meant that you could take fewer trips.

So if you were using a really small shovel,

you'd have to use more motions, more trips to the pile.

So he figured out the ideal amount of time and motion

for shoveling.

That's why, by the way, if you go into any hardware store,

you're gonna see all kinds of different shovels,

shapes and sizes,

and this is all influenced by Frederick Taylor,

his experiments, and his thinking,

certainly by extension after that.

But it's not just shovels, you see this everywhere.

Today, in fact, if you go to a sub shop and order a sub,

at the end of the line they're gonna ask you

if you want anything on it, like mustard,

and they pick up their dispenser

and they do about three swipes across

to put that mustard on.

Then they kinda look up at you like, "Is that enough?"

And you decide whether or not you want more on there.

There's a competitor, however,

that has a nozzle with three spouts on it.

And that means that they do one squeeze,

one motion across,

and now the mustard or the ketchup is done.

So they're saving two motions,

they're saving just a couple seconds

on that one little step,

but they're able to make that sub a little faster.

Now, if you break down the process of making a sub

into 20 or 30 steps

and you figure out a way to speed up

each of those tiny little steps,

how to cut the bread, how to put the meat on,

how to put the lettuce on, how to cook it, et cetera,

now you can crank out more sandwiches per hour

with fewer employees, more sandwiches per day total,

and you're making your company more money.

And it's just not subs.

If you go into just about any fast food restaurant,

especially the franchises,

you're gonna see that they have figured out

a very quick method, the one best way,

to make almost every single product they make.

If you're making one burger versus two burgers, for example,

you don't make it the same way.

You have to increase your productivity.

So you see this just about everywhere.

The guy who took this to the next level was Henry Ford.

Of course, he's the founder of the Ford Motor Company

that's still in existence today, still thriving today.

When he first started making cars,

the car stayed in one place.

And they did a little bit of time and motion studies on it

but it still took them about 12 hours

to make a car from start to finish.

The workers were all working around the car.

And then he said, "Hey, let's really go crazy

"with the time and motion studies."

And then he said, "Let's also make an assembly line."

He didn't invent the assembly line, as they say,

but he did perfect it.

And so they just kept studying the process

as much as they could,

and they took a car from 12 hours,

which is what it took to make it at the beginning,

all the way down to 93 minutes.

They got it just right.

They say at its fastest,

there was a new car

rolling off the end of that assembly line

every 11 seconds.

It's just incredible.

Boeing recently changed over the way they made their 737s.

They actually used to make it in once place,

like they originally did with the cars.

And then they moved it into more assembly-line style,

which they called a lean production,

where the plane rolls along

with all the tools and even the workers inside,

just a few feet an hour, until it's done.

And from start to finish,

they were able to almost triple their production rate.

That's a lot of savings for the company

and a lot of savings for the client.

The outcomes of Taylor's work are mixed.

On the plus side,

he absolutely helped people boost productivity

by 200 even 400% or more in some cases,

so that's a big win.

More work accomplished with fewer people

meant more profit for the companies

and a more consistent product of arguably higher quality.

So let's say if you break something on your car,

you can get an exact duplicate that fits in perfectly,

you don't have to have a handmade piece

which would be incredibly expensive

and not necessarily higher quality.

On the other side of the coin,

there are some outcomes that were not so great.

Companies often fail to pay employees more.

This is an essential part of Taylor's advice,

you have to pay people more

because you want to hang on to the best people

and you want to keep them motivated.

And he recommended they do this.

Ford took that advice

and he paid people double the going rate at the time,

which is one of the key reasons

that Ford had such great people and thrived.

Most companies, however, did not do that.

Managers think, employers do

was a philosophy that became normal.

Separated workers from the greater meaning of work.

So, if they're only tightening a bolt to a painting,

a screw,

then they're not really connected

to that broader satisfaction

of making the whole product anymore.

It deskilled employees, it made theme expendable.

You could find and replace somebody in just a few moments,

you didn't really have a lot of skill or time

invested in each person.

Survival of the fittest philosophy really took over.

That harsh atmosphere resulted

where it was a very cruel and unfeeling atmosphere.

Employee burnout,

that dehumanization of being treated like a machine

and the mental anguish that came along

with this mundane and repetitive work

were all part of this experience.

So, Frederick Taylor,

one of the founding fathers of organizational studies,

has clearly influenced many aspects of our work today

and that's why we study him.