Organisation and Management Theory

Taylors Scientific Management theory

Frederick Winslow Taylor developed his theory of scientific management with the belief that there is “one best way” to do a job and that it is possible to use scientific methods to determine that “one best way” as he believed that it would improve productivity. In other words he believed in increasing specialization amongst employees. He emphasized that scientific management methods could be utilized to improve performance and make certain activities and tasks less complicated so that things could be done in the “best way”.

According to NetMBA (2007) prior to scientific management, work was performed by skilled craftsmen who had learned their jobs in lengthy apprenticeships. They made their own decisions as to how their job was to be performed. The introduction of scientific management eliminated the need for workers to have to go through lengthy apprenticeships as jobs were being made simplified which meant that unskilled workers who required much less training to complete the same job.

One thing Taylor felt strongly about is that all workers were motivated by money as he felt that financial incentives were what were most important to employees. He believed that workers should receive fair pay as in they should receive commission determined by how productive they are over a period of time.

One of the drawbacks of this approach that believes money motivates everyone is that not everyone is motivated by financial incentives although many people are. One important factor that he didn’t consider is that some employees are significantly more motivated by aspects other than financial incentive. Also the fact that he believes that there is “one best way” for everyone means that he didn’t consider the reality of it that not all people are compatible to the same way of doing things as all of us are different and unique. This is a major flaw in his theory as his one way of doing things doesn’t suit all people which can result in de motivated workers.

According to NetMBA business knowledge centre (2007) Taylor proposed the following four principles of scientific management:
1. Replace rule-of-thumb work methods with methods based on a scientific study of the task.
2. Scientifically select, train and develop each worker rather passively leaving them to train themselves.
3. Cooperate with the workers to ensure that the scientifically developed methods are being followed.
4. Divide work nearly equally between managers and workers, so that the managers apply scientific management principles to planning the work and the workers actually perform the task.

Taylor also suggested that providing employees with more specialized tasks would also improve overall efficiency as workers would become better at what they which would increase productivity.

Classical school of management theory:

According to BusinessDictionary.com (2010) the classical school of management approach is a Body of management thought based on the belief that employees have only economical and physical needs, and that social needs and need for job-satisfaction either don't exist or are unimportant. Accordingly, this school encourages high specialization of labor, centralized decision making, and profit maximization.

Provide 2 case studies to demonstrate 2 of the key theories discussed in the lecture. How do they relate to the theories? Compare and contrast the 2 organisations highlighting good practice from each.

P and O Ferries

My view of the case study on P&O Ferries is that their management approach coincides with aspects of the scientific management model.

In my opinion P and O Ferries fit into the following Management Theories:

Pros and cons of Scientific Management:
Pros:
· High emphasis on measurement which allows managers to improve their employees
· Very practical and easy to follow.
· Easy schemes for rewarding employees based on the amount of work they have done.
· Focuses on individual tasks so it is easier to monitor each employee’s personal performance can be used for appraisal,
·
Cons:
· Not useful to deal with groups or teams
· No room for individual preferences or initiative
· Loss of skill levels and higher autonomy levels at lower work levels.
· Treats people like machines.
·
Conclusion

From my observations of the different organization and management theories, I have come to learn that a combination of different approaches would result in a better constructed and more efficiently performing workforce than if an organization was to only apply one form of management theory. For example, the scientific management approach adapts the belief that there is “one best way” of doing things which is suitable to all human beings, whereas in reality this is simply not true as not all of us are motivated by just money. Therefore, it would be a wise decision to employ a combination of approaches which are more suitable to the needs of the organization and its employees.

References

Business Dictionary (2010) Classical School of Management [Online] Available from: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/classical-school-of-management.html [Accessed 20 April 2010]

Learn Management (2010) Scientific Management [Online]. Available from: http://www.learnmanagement2.com/scientificmanagement.htm [Accessed 20 April 2010]

NetMBA Business Knowledge Centre, (2007.) Frederick Taylor and Scientific Management [Online] Available from: http://www.netmba.com/mgmt/scientific/ [Accessed 20 April 2010]