Taylorism in the 21st Century Essay Example
Taylorism in the 21st century
In today’s world examples of Taylorism (scientific management) is not difficult to find in organisations all across the world; may it be in industries such as vehicle & computer manufacturing, customer service call centres and even some restaurants we eat in. These industries are functioning more effectively and efficiently by applying scientific management theory. It seems almost impossible to admit that Taylorism was ever so revolutionary only over 100 years ago as these principles that have been adapted to the workplace is so ordinarily common that unless an investigation into these industries, citizens would not know that an century old theory is still being applied in today’s modern world.
Despite the fact that Scientific Management is an important part of the way organisations are managed in the 21st century, it needs to be noted that this theory of management has its limits due to the weaknesses it presents in the current modern world organisations.
The purpose of this essay to attempt to highlight Taylorism’s four fundamental principles and how they are used in the 21st century as well as the criticisms of Taylor’s theory in today’s modern world.
Scientific Management principles:
Scientific Management was developed in 1890 by Fredrick W. Taylor in hopes to improve the efficiency of the labour workforce by subdividing the workforce to reach maximum productivity. For each job, a science was developed for each element so that it replaced the old ‘rule-of-thumb’ and managers selectively, using scientific measures, chose the workers for that particular job. Taylor had suggested that if managers observed the workers closely, it guaranteed that work was being completed within the elements Taylor had scientifically analysed and made certain that equal division of work & responsibility was established. Scientific management is based on a very strict hierarchy, each worker new their position in the workplace and to whom they
In today’s world examples of Taylorism (scientific management) is not difficult to find in organisations all across the world; may it be in industries such as vehicle & computer manufacturing, customer service call centres and even some restaurants we eat in. These industries are functioning more effectively and efficiently by applying scientific management theory. It seems almost impossible to admit that Taylorism was ever so revolutionary only over 100 years ago as these principles that have been adapted to the workplace is so ordinarily common that unless an investigation into these industries, citizens would not know that an century old theory is still being applied in today’s modern world.
Despite the fact that Scientific Management is an important part of the way organisations are managed in the 21st century, it needs to be noted that this theory of management has its limits due to the weaknesses it presents in the current modern world organisations.
The purpose of this essay to attempt to highlight Taylorism’s four fundamental principles and how they are used in the 21st century as well as the criticisms of Taylor’s theory in today’s modern world.
Scientific Management principles:
Scientific Management was developed in 1890 by Fredrick W. Taylor in hopes to improve the efficiency of the labour workforce by subdividing the workforce to reach maximum productivity. For each job, a science was developed for each element so that it replaced the old ‘rule-of-thumb’ and managers selectively, using scientific measures, chose the workers for that particular job. Taylor had suggested that if managers observed the workers closely, it guaranteed that work was being completed within the elements Taylor had scientifically analysed and made certain that equal division of work & responsibility was established. Scientific management is based on a very strict hierarchy, each worker new their position in the workplace and to whom they