Classical Viewpoint: Scientific Management

• pioneered by Frederick W. Taylor and the Gilbreths in the early 1900s, scientific management:

  • emphasized the scientific study of work methods to improve the productivity of individual workers

  • assumes people are rational

  • is concerned with the jobs of individuals

Scientific Management

• Frederick Taylor’s four principles of scientific management:

  1. scientifically study each part of the task

  2. carefully select workers with the right abilities

  3. give workers the training and incentives to do the task properly

  4. use scientific principles to plan the work methods and ease the way for workers to do their jobs

The Gilbreths and Motion Studies

• Lillian and Frank Gilbreth…

  1. applied some ideas for improving efficiency to raising their 12 children

  2. identified 17 basic motions and applied them to work processes to determine whether the tasks could be done more efficiently

  3. demonstrated they could eliminate motions while reducing fatigue for some workers

Why the Classical Viewpoint is Important

• work activity was amenable to a rational approach

• through the application of scientific methods, time and motion studies, and job specialization, it was possible to boost productivity

• it led to later innovations such as management by objectives, and goal setting

• it deals mainly with the morphology of formal organizations and also treats one as a machine and the workers as components of the machine

• strength: provides a clear structure of management, its functions and operations

Problems with Classical Viewpoint

• too mechanistic

  • tends to view humans as cogs within a machine, not taking into account the importance of human needs

• a major criticism is that it gives little control to the employee on their working lives, makes them too dependent, passive and makes employees working conditions conducive to psychological failure

• this viewpoint is not typically used in today’s workplace