Taylor’s Scientific Management & Techniques

2.6 The Industrial Revolution Backdrop — From "Rule of Thumb" to Science

In the early days of the Industrial Revolution, factory owners had no established theory of factory organisation. They relied on personal judgment to handle every problem — what we today call the "rule of thumb"^? approach. It was a trial-and-error method that allowed managers to handle situations as they arose but suffered serious limitations: different managers used different rules, results were inconsistent, and waste of human energy, time and material was enormous.

For experiences to be replicated, managers needed to know what worked and why. This called for a science-based approach: define a problem, develop alternatives, anticipate consequences, measure progress, and draw conclusions. Frederick Winslow Taylor emerged in this scenario as the Father of Scientific Management.

2.7 Scientific Management — The Concept

Taylor believed that by scientifically analysing work it would be possible to find "one best way" to do it. He broke a job into its component parts and measured each to the second — earning him a place in history for his pioneering time-and-motion studies. He argued that contemporary management was amateurish and ought to be studied as a discipline. He also believed that workers should cooperate with management — eliminating the very need for trade unions — because the true interests of the two are one and the same.

The Bethlehem Steel Company, where Taylor worked, achieved a three-fold increase in productivity through application of his ideas — proof that scientific method beats rule of thumb. Scientific Management^? implies conducting business activities according to standardised tools, methods and trained personnel — to increase output, improve quality, and reduce cost and waste.

2.8 Taylor's Four Principles of Scientific Management

Taylor proposed four principles as the bedrock of scientific management. They are not isolated ideas — together they form a unified whole that he called a "mental revolution" in attitude.

① Science, Not Rule of Thumb

Taylor pioneered the introduction of scientific inquiry into management practice. Different managers using different rules of thumb produce inconsistent results — efficiency varies wildly. Taylor argued that there is one best method to maximise efficiency, discoverable through study and analysis. Even loading pig iron into boxcars can be scientifically planned. Scientific method involves: investigating traditional methods through work-study, unifying the best practices, developing a standard method to be followed throughout the organisation. Today the use of the Internet has brought the same dramatic improvements in internal efficiencies and customer satisfaction that Taylor sought a century ago.

② Harmony, Not Discord

Factory production made managers a link between owners and workers. Class conflict — managers versus workers — helped no one. Taylor insisted on complete harmony between the two. To achieve this state he called for a complete mental revolution^? on the part of both management and workers. Both must transform their thinking — strikes become unnecessary.

Management must share gains with workers; workers must work hard and embrace change for the company's good. Both should be part of one family. The Japanese illustrate this perfectly — paternalistic style, complete openness, and even when workers go on strike they wear a black badge but work more than normal hours to gain management's sympathy.

③ Cooperation, Not Individualism

This principle extends Harmony — competition between workers and management is replaced by cooperation. Both realise they need each other. Management should reward constructive employee suggestions that reduce costs; workers must desist from strikes and unreasonable demands. With open communication and goodwill there is no need even for trade unions. Taylor argued that there should be an almost equal division of work and responsibility between workers and management — managers should work side by side with workers, helping, encouraging, and smoothing the way.

④ Development of Each and Every Person to His or Her Greatest Efficiency and Prosperity

Industrial efficiency depends largely on personnel competencies. Scientific management therefore stands for worker development. Each person should be scientifically selected, work assigned to suit her physical, mental and intellectual capabilities, and the required training given to acquire the "best method" developed through scientific study. Efficient employees produce more and earn more — ensuring greatest prosperity for both company and worker.

2.9 Techniques of Scientific Management

Taylor proposed several specific techniques — the practical engines of his four principles. Each was tested through experiments during his career.

2.9.1 Functional Foremanship

In the factory, the foreman^? is the lowest-ranking manager and highest-ranking worker — the pivot of production. Taylor identified a list of qualities a good foreman should possess: intelligence, education, tact, grit, judgment, special knowledge, manual dexterity, energy, honesty and good health. No single person could combine them all. Therefore Taylor proposed eight specialist foremen — separating planning from execution.

Functional foremanship is an extension of division of work and specialisation to the shop floor. Each worker takes orders from all eight specialists in their respective functions. Workers with technical mastery, intelligence and grit are assigned planning roles; those with energy and good health are assigned execution roles.

2.9.2 Standardisation and Simplification of Work

Taylor was an ardent supporter of standardisation^? — setting standards for every business activity. Standards may apply to process, raw material, time, product, machinery, methods or working conditions. The four objectives of standardisation are:

• (i) To reduce a given line or product to fixed types, sizes and characteristics.
• (ii) To establish interchangeability of manufactured parts and products.
• (iii) To establish standards of excellence and quality in materials.
• (iv) To establish standards of performance of men and machines.

Simplification aims at eliminating superfluous varieties, sizes and dimensions — reducing inventories, fully utilising equipment and increasing turnover. Standardisation devises new standard varieties; simplification cuts unnecessary diversity. Together they save costs of labour, machines and tools. Companies like Nokia, Toyota and Microsoft show the power of these techniques in their large market shares.

2.9.3 Method Study

The objective of method study is to find "the one best way" of doing the job. Right from procurement of raw materials till the final product is delivered, every activity is part of method study. Taylor devised the concept of the assembly line through method study — Ford Motor Company used it spectacularly for the Model T car, and auto companies still use it today. Tools include process charts and operations research. The whole exercise minimises the cost of production and maximises customer quality and satisfaction.

2.9.4 Motion Study

Motion study^? studies the movements — lifting, putting objects, sitting, changing positions — undertaken while doing a job. Unnecessary movements are eliminated so the job takes less time. Taylor's associate Frank Gilbreth applied motion study to brick-laying and reduced motions from 18 to 5 — productivity rose nearly four times. Body motions are classified into:

2.9.5 Time Study

Time study^? determines the standard time taken to perform a well-defined job. Time-measuring devices are used for each element of a task; the standard is fixed by averaging several readings. Method depends on volume, frequency, cycle time and measurement cost. Objective: determine the number of workers to be employed, frame incentive schemes, and determine labour costs.

2.9.6 Fatigue Study

A person tires physically and mentally without rest. Fatigue study^? determines the amount and frequency of rest intervals in completing a task — restoring stamina so the worker can return with full capacity. In a typical three-shift plant of 8 hours each, lunch and small rest breaks must be scheduled. Heavy manual labour needs frequent short pauses. Causes of fatigue include long working hours, unsuitable work, uncordial relations with the boss and bad working conditions — all of which must be removed.

2.9.7 Differential Piece Wage System

Taylor was a strong advocate of the differential piece wage system^? — paying efficient and inefficient workers at different per-unit rates so that high performers are rewarded. The standard time and other parameters are set scientifically through work-study. Workers are then classified as efficient or inefficient against these standards.

2.10 Mental Revolution — The Heart of Taylor's Ideas

The sum and substance of Taylor's ideas does not lie in any one principle or technique but in the change of mindset he called mental revolution. The shift is from competition (workers vs. managers fighting over a fixed pie) to cooperation (both teams enlarging the pie). Both should aim to increase the size of the surplus rather than quarrel over its shares. Management should share part of the surplus with workers; workers should contribute their effort so the company makes profits. In the long run, only the worker's well-being ensures prosperity of the business.

2.11 Applications & Modern Successors of Scientific Management

NCERT lists several spectacular contemporary applications of Taylor's ideas:

• Optimum shovelling load at Bethlehem: Taylor found 21 lb per shovel per worker — saved $75,000–$80,000 per year.
• Pig iron handling: 12.5 → 47 tons/day; wages up 60%; labourers cut 500 → 140.
• "The Art of Cutting Metals" — a paper that turned cutting into a science.
• Piece Rate Wage System with incentives at Bethlehem Steel.
• Gilbreth's brick-laying — reduced motions from 18 to 5 + adjustable scaffold + two-handed laying.