Frederick W. Taylor was a mechanical engineer during the Progressive Era which lasted from the 1890s to the 1920s of American history. According to Mintz, Progressives strongly opposed waste and corruption, seeking change in regard to worker's rights and protection of the ordinary citizen in general (2007). During this time, Frederick W. Taylor became known as the father of scientific management who sought to improve industrial efficiency. During his later years became a management consultant. He passed away in 1915.
Frederick W. Taylor believed that every job could be done efficiently. His scientific approach became known asTaylorism; Taylor’s main objectivewas concern for the proper design of the job. With his background in mechanical engineering, he believed each job could be scientifically broken down and dissected to determine the most efficient approach to completing the tasks. It was ultimately about how fast a human can perform their assigned task. This approach benefited the organizations bottom line in terms of production and profits.
As Taylor noted, scientific management consisted of four management principles (p.130):
1. The development of a true science.
2. The scientific selection of the workman.
3. The scientific education and development of the workman.
4. Intimate and friendly cooperation between the management and the men.
Principle one focused on the scientific study of the worker’s tasks. Principle two believed that if you selected, trained and developed each worker, they would work more efficiently. Principle three’s focus was on providing detailed training and supervision of the worker specific to their job. Principle four focused on developing a working relationship between management and workers to facilitate the performance of tasks.
Taylor believed that workers were incapable of understanding their jobs. One must remember, at that time in history, a majority of the factory workers were new immigrants to America. Many of whom did not speak English. Taylor addressed a congressional hearing and said “I can say, without the slightest hesitation that the science of handling pig-iron is so great that the man who is…physically able to handle pig-iron and is…stupid to choose this for his occupation is rarely able to comprehend the science of handling pig-iron." (Montgomery 1989:251)
People to this day;argue that Taylor’s approach to scientific management was too heavily focused on the task instead of the person. The task output became the higher priority than the worker. It was seen as a robotic and mechanical approach to human behavior. However, in his defense, his scientific studies produced incredible improvements in productivity.
References:
Mintz, S. (2006). Learn About the Progressive Era. Digital History. University of Houston.
Montgomery, D. (1989). The Fall of the House of Labor: The Workplace, the State, and American Labor Activism. Cambridge University Press, Paperback edition.
Osland, J., Kolb, D., Rubin, I., & Turner, M. (2007). Organizational Behavior An Experiential Approach. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Taylor, F. W. (1947). Scientific Management - Comprising Shop Management, The principles of Scientific Management and Testimony before the Special House Committee. Westport, CT: Greenwood.
Wikipedia. (2008, March 14). Frederick Winslow Taylor. Retrieved March 21, 2008, from