Critical review of Scientific Management

Taylor was one of the first theorists to consider management and process improvement as a scientific problem and he proposed that a business economic efficiency could be improved by simplifying and optimizing work processes, which would increase productivity. Taylorism, as a philosophy, was the product of a series of experiments and observations, such as time-motion studies, designed to determine the most effective and efficient way to complete a task. (Taylor ,1911).

Its fundamental and inter-related principles can be summarized as follows:

• Using scientific method to challenge habitual working practices and to determine the most efficient way to perform specific work tasks;
• Matching workers' capability and motivation to the task requirements and supervising them according to the established rules and procedures;
• Establishing fair performance levels and develop a pay system that rewards, and therefore encourages, over-achievement; and
• Appropriate divisions of responsibilities to allow managers to apply scientific management principles to plan work and ensure workers are effective.

One of the most popular criticisms leveled at Taylorism is its perceived lack of human appreciation .(Caldari,2007). In the drive to increase physical efficiency, it considers the worker a part of the production process on a level equal to the tools uses and, as such, strips of all capacity to reason and act autonomously. All thinking and planning is taken over by management, and the worker's role is reduced to the simple repetition of standardized and simplified work flows in accordance with productivity targets.

A further point of controversy for Taylorism's critics is the theory that scientific process will eventually identify the 'one best way' of carrying out a specific process of work to maximum efficiency .(Ralston, 2014). They argue that the implementation of 'one best way' disregards individual talents and preferred working methods, thereby alienating workers and preventing them from developing an appreciation of their place or function in the entire industrial process.

In the light of the above criticisms, it is perhaps unsurprising that employees' views of Taylorism have tended to be unfavorable. In its pursuit of efficiency and productivity, Taylor's scientific management principles divide labor undemocratically, in such a way as to empower managers, benefit employers and lower workers' morale. Although Taylor advocated fair assessments of working hours, productivity and pay, his theory obliges the worker to depend upon the employer's conception of fairness, and gives the worker no voice in hiring and setting the task, in negotiating the wage rate or determining the general conditions of employment.

 Conclusion

Taylorism as the first and most influential theory that shaped a spectrum of subsequent management practices that falls under the wider umbrella philosophy of scientific management. As an example Microsoft shows how the principles of scientific management inform many practices that are still in use today. As a large, established, multinational organization, Microsoft's management practices are, almost inevitably, complex and contradictory. Microsoft has appropriated, adapted and implemented elements of Taylor's early scientific management theory, such as division of labor, employee selection, training and supervision, pay and reward, scientific evaluation, and process improvement, to improve Microsoft's productivity, quality, and economic performance today's fast-paced competitive environment .

References :

Caldari, K . (2007). Alfred Marshall's Criticism of Scientific Management, European Journal of the History of Economic Thought . pp 55-78

Ralston, S. (2014). Doing versus Thinking: John Dewey's Forgotten Critique of Scientific Management, Southwest Philosophy Review

Taylor, F W .(1911). Principles of Scientific Management, New York, Harper