Scientific Management Movement

Scientific Management Movement:-

Fredrick Winslon Taylor(1856-1915) launched the scientific management movement and gave a great fillip to the use of scientific methods in the development of effective techniques of organization and management.

Scientific management (also called Taylorism,The Taylor System).

F.W Talyor was an American mechanical engineer who sought to improve industrial efficiency.

In America it was felt that forests are vanishing, water powers are going to waste, coal and iron ending. The human efforts were ill directed, inefficient and traditional.

The scientific management movement demanded the administration to be seen scientifically. It believed that better results could be achieved by adopting Scientific methods and developing scientific techniques like measurements of work, time and motions; work flow charts; cost accounting and opinion sampling and polls.

Salient features of Scientific management:-

1. It replaces traditional method by scientific method.

2. It emphasizes on material and method instead of man Men are not the objectives but are means to an end.

3. It separates planning and execution. Manager plan, while carryout these plans.

4. It improves organizational efficiency and ensures high productivity due to economic incentive.

5. Believes on cooperation between management and workers for high production.

6. Establishes dichotomy of politics from administration.

7. It ensures the scientific selection and training of worker for high production.

CRITICISM:-

1. It ignores individual differences. The most efficient way of working for one person may be inefficient for another.

2. Its view that man is mean to an end is wrong and against the individual's liberty and rights.

3. Its assumption that good for an organization is also good for workers is not acceptable, sometime organization can not benefit its workers from its high productivity.

4. Dichotomy of politics from administration is impossible as political policies cannot be made without administration and administration is despotic without politicians.

5. Under influence of scientific management worker worked harder (like machines with exceptions), which led to dissatisfaction of worker with environment. Some have argued that this discounting of work personalities led to the rise of labor union.