Scientific Management and Human Relations

FREDERICK TAYLOR 'S SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT AND ELTON MAYO 'S HUMAN RELATIONS (2008

SUMMARY OF FREDERICK TAYLOR 'S SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT THEORY

In the weak of the Industrial revolution era , where steam engine and the creation of factories in the production of textiles and other product in the 18th century , the need to bring about increase in the effective rate of output and productivity led to the introduction of the Scientific management theory by Frederick W . Taylor (1856-1915 . The scientific management theory tend to see the workers of an organization like robotic machines

that can be motivated only through the carrot and stick approach , i .e , they should be closely monitored and incentives given to them as form of motivation to make them produce more . This theory submits that the work process should be broken down to its easiest smallest units . And the best approach in carrying out these identified units of tasks should be proffered and related to the workers by their supervisors . The workers are to be monitored and timed through the stopwatches and shorter days and breaks given as a way of motivation Thus , the piece rate wage is envisaged by the scientific theory , where the workers earn according to its output so as to avoid soldering According to Wertheim (2005 , Taylor attempted to make a science for each element of work and restrict behavioural alternatives facing worker . Taylor looked at interaction of human characteristics , social environment , task and physical environment , capacity , speed , durability and cost . The overall goal was to remove human variability

In his Scientific Management theory , Taylor discovered that a great deal of `Soldering ' among workers (i .e . slackening or pretend in to dodge effective production ) was leading to waste of time and low productivity in an organization . For Taylor , two reasons were responsible for this act

First , because workers generally had a tendency to want to do as little work as possible

Second , because the work was often arranged in an awkward manner that a worker could not perform his very best with such arrangement

Taylor believed that soldering could be stopped and that this would lead to the benefit of the organization 's management and the worker . Thus , he advocated a scientific principle . First , by selecting workers who could perform specific tasks exceptionally well (e .g . the moving of the Pig-iron on the shoveling of coal , this would give a standard that is scientifically reached which will take into consideration the time and the movement s of the worker . The objective here is to learn from the most efficient worker the ideal method of performing a specific task Once this is ascertained it should be taught to other workers

In other to maximize greater output Taylor emphasized the importance of financial factors as motivators for workers . His four principles of the scientific management include

The development of a true science of work whereby we ascertain what constitutes a fair day 's work from the point of view of the worker and the employer...