Taylor's Principles of Scientific Management

In an organization for work to proceed smoothly, it is needed that there is harmony and trust between the workers and the managers. But this is not possible if they do not communicate well and understand what the needs of each other are. It can hence also be said that Scientific Management is an attitude and a philosophy that disregards the traditional hit and miss type of working method.

The methods that are used in Scientific Management include a lot of research and understanding of certain principles to check the need for working in a suitable environment. This topic is hence not only important for students as a part of the syllabus but is also a part of life where they need to use these concepts. So if you are looking for the guide on Taylor’s Principles of Scientific Management - Introduction, Techniques, and FAQ, you can now check it out on Vedantu where you will get the entire information on the same.

Before we head straight into the techniques of Scientific Management, we should make an effort to find out about the fundamentals of Scientific Management in brief. 

What Is Scientific Management?

Typically, Scientific Management can be considered as the art of delegation or as Fredrick Winslow Taylor stated: “Scientific Management means knowing exactly what you want men to do and seeing that they do it in the best and the cheapest way.”

Such a concept is mostly concerned with using effective scientific techniques to recruit, select, and train labor. Additionally, the concept is equally responsible for finding suitable solutions to deal with different types of problems concerning a specific industry.

Fun Fact: The term ‘Scientific Management’ was coined in 1911 by Fredrick Winslow Taylor. He is acknowledged as the Founder of the Scientific Management Movement and formulated principles for effective work allocation. 

Taylor’s Principles of Scientific Management 

The following are F.W Taylor’s fundamental principles of Scientific Management -

1. To replace the ‘Rule of Thumb’ in work with the scientific method to analyze work and determine the best way to perform them efficiently.

2. To delegate work based on workers’ capability and motivation. Additionally, to provide them with the required training to maximize their work efficiency.

3. Allocation of work to both manager and workers, wherein, the managers would be entrusted with planning work schedules and training workers. 

4. Assessment and supervision of workers’ performance. Also, providing them with suitable instructions to maximize their performance.

With that, let’s proceed to find out the techniques of Scientific Management by F.W Taylor and while at it let’s also check out related concepts. It will not only help to understand the concept better but will also enable us to gauge their practicality and efficiency in an organizational setup.

 In a broad sense, the techniques of Scientific Management are as follows. 

1. Functional foremanship

2. Standardization of work

3. Simplification of work

4. Work-study

5. Differential piece of wage rates

6. Mental Revolution

Read along to find all about techniques of Scientific Management by F.W Taylor!

What is Functional Foremanship?

Functional foremanship is essentially an administration system that is somewhat based on the principle – ‘Division of Labor’, to establish specialization in an organizational setup. Typically, in a functional organization, the available work is divided into different parts and are delegated to workers who are somewhat specialized in them. 

As per techniques of Scientific Management, FW Taylor had suggested that an organization must be divided into sub-departments to enhance the quality and efficiency of both the planning and production department. 

In A Broad Sense, An Organization is Divided into Two Sub-Departments with Four Experts in Each Department –

1. Planning department

2. Production department

In a Functional Organizational Setup, The Planning Department is Headed by a Planning Manager. Other Workers and their Functions are as Follows –

1. Route Clerk- This person is in charge of deciding a day’s work and is also responsible for ensuring the work sequence is maintained and completed properly.

2. Instruction Clerk- The instruction clerk is accountable for preparing instruction cards containing information about the kind of work, procedures to apply and equipment and raw materials to be used. Subsequently, the data compiled is handed to a gang boss.

3. Time and Cost Clerk- This clerk is mostly responsible for deciding the entire time frame of the designated work. Also, the cost of producing a product is decided by them.

4. Discipline Officer- This officer ensures that delegated tasks are performed in a disciplined manner.

Now, Let’s Check out the Components of a Production Department and their Functions –

1. Gang Boss- He/she serves as the leader of a gang of workers. A gang boss is mostly responsible for ensuring that equipment and workers are suitable for producing the required units of products. Also, it is under his supervision to check if raw materials have been made available to workers.

2. Speed Boss- His/her primary task is to make sure that workers are on par with the work schedule. The speed boss is also responsible for identifying the reasons that tend to slow down work productivity and formulating suitable solutions to remedy them.

3. Repair Boss- He/she is responsible for keeping all equipment in good working condition and solves problems about that promptly.

4. Inspector- An inspector checks the quality of goods produced and compares them with the standard quality. Also, an inspector has the power to initiate corrective measures if there is a lag in quality. 

Test Your Knowledge: 

Which of these techniques violates the Unity of Command?

1. Fatigue study

2. simplification of work

3. functional foremanship

4. differential piece wage system

With that, let’s proceed to find out more about FW Taylor techniques of Scientific Management about standardization and simplification of production. 

What is Standardization and Simplification of Work? 

Standardization and simplification of work can be looked at as a means to establish efficiency standards for every activity in an industrial setup. Elements like time, production manner, machinery, raw material, product and its processing can be standardized under this method. For instance, the number of products that need to be produced on a single day or the work that is expected from a worker. 

Here’s a Brief Overview of Standardization and Simplification of Work –

1. Standardization of Work

• Standardization of Raw Material- It means that the materials used should be on par with the quality of finished products one intends to manufacture.  For instance, to produce AA+ quality of apparel 5+ quality of textile would be required. 

It can be said that for AA+ quality of garments 5+ quality of raw material, i.e. textile, has been standardized. Subsequently, when an organization would again be required to produce AA + quality materials, they would use 5+ quality materials without any hesitation and in relatively less time.

• Standardization of Equipment- Similarly, standardization of machines would ensure that manual errors are reduced significantly. In turn, it would ensure the completion of work faster and with negligible errors.

• Standardization of Methods Applied- Standardizing the techniques of work would make the production process less cumbersome and relatively quick. Notably, methods devised to complete a particular work are put to use every time similar work is performed.

• Standardization of Working Conditions- Workers tend to perform more efficiently under favorable working conditions. When the working conditions, including safety, ventilation, hygiene, temperature, lighting, etc. are improved or standardized, it enhances productivity significantly. 

2. Simplification of Work

The primary objective behind simplification is to eliminate things, methods and practices that make the work complex and cumbersome.  

What is the Study of Work?

One of the techniques of Scientific Management – the study of work is mostly concerned with the analysis of organizational activities to produce high products cost-effectively.

Typically, scientific techniques of Taylor about the study of work can further be divided into four types –

1. Method Study- It tends to help producers to pick the most suitable method to finish a particular organizational activity. For instance, this study helps to figure out the most cost-effective way of procuring the required raw materials for production. Also, the objective of this study is to lower the cost of production and to increase customer satisfaction.

2. Motion Study- It is concerned with the analysis of movements of both workers and machines through the course of a production. It helps to analyze if adding or subtracting an activity would make the work faster and better in terms of quality or not. 

3. Time Study - It helps to compute the standard time that would be required to finish a specific activity. In simple words it can be said, the major objective of this study is to estimate –

1. Cost of labor

2. Number of workers required for a task

3. Suitable incentive plan

4. Fatigue study- It helps to find out the acceptable rest intervals that can be given to prevent the onset of mental fatigue among workers. However, the prospect of completing work on time is also the main priority of this study. 

Test Your Knowledge: 

Which of these techniques helps to determine the number of laborers that need to be employed and also helps to determine labor cost?

1. Simplification of work 

2. Time study 

3. Differential piece wage system 

4. Functional foremanship

Test Your Knowledge: 

Which is the most common cause of fatigue among workers? Choose the correct option:

1. Long working works

2. Unsuitable working conditions 

3. Non-cordial relations between employer and employee 

4. All the above

What is the Differential Piece of the Wage System?  

It is one of the techniques of Scientific Management that encourages the application of a piece wage system as a means to motivate employees. As per this system, payment is based on the amount of work done and not the time spent to complete it. 

Typically two different wage rates are put to use, namely, high wage rate and low wage rate. Workers who are adept at producing standard units within a given duration are entitled to receive payment as per the high wage rate. On the other hand, workers who fail to produce a specific number of units within the given time are paid as per the lower wage rate. 

For instance, the standard output for a day is 25 units, and the wage rates are 4 per unit and 6 per unit, respectively. Now, Sheldon produces 25 units in a day and subsequently earns 150 (25 units x 6).  Contrarily, Missy can produce only 20 units in a day and resultantly would make 80 (20 x 4). Even though there is only a 5 unit difference between Sheldon and Missy’s produce, there is a significant difference between their wages. 

As payment is based on efficiency here, workers would be motivated to increase their work efficiency. In turn, it would benefit both an organization and its workers.

What is the Mental Revolution?

Mental Revolution is one of the techniques of Scientific Management that demands a change in employers’ and employees’ mindsets. As per this Management technique, a positive mindset is quite crucial for promoting the feeling of cooperation and boosting proficiency. In its absence, conflicts about the division of labor and delegation of responsibility are bound to arise in an organization.

Consequently, both employers and their workers should make an effort to increase the overall productivity of their firm through cooperation and by harboring a positive outlook towards business operations.

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