Frederick Wilson Taylor’s Scientific Management Principles.

Scientific management is a theory of management that analyses and synthesizes workflows. Its main
objective is improving economic efficiency and labour productivity. It was one of the earliest attempts to
apply science to the processes of management. Scientific management is sometimes known as
Taylorism after its pioneer, Frederick Winslow Taylor. The scientific management approach in its literal
sense means a scientific way of managing an organization.

Frederick Winslow Taylor was an American mechanical engineer born on 20th march, 1856 and died
on 21st march, 1915. He is regarded as the father of the scientific management approach.. Taylor
believed that scientific management would alleviate the common work problems of inefficiency, slow
rate of work, and decreased productivity.

He proposed four principles of scientific management and asserted that even though the average
businessman believes that if workers were to go fast, thus increasing efficiency resulting in a money
saving decrease of workforce, just the opposite would be true. Taylor believed increasing the efficiency
of the workman scientifically would increase not only opportunity for more work, but also the real
wealth of the world, happiness, and all manner of worthwhile improvements in the life of the working
person. For Taylor, increased workman output will result in improved quality of life.

The basic principles(rules) of Taylor's Scientific management were:

1) Develop a science for each element of work: A scientific method for each job/task of a worker via
scientific observation and analysis of a particular job to find out the one best way to do that task that
would lead to reduced work for the worker as he could do more with limited number of movements.
Use of bench marked and standardized tools and equipments and methods would improve quality
control and inspections thus reducing cost of production and increasing efficiency. Taylor emphasised on
the ' right man for the right job' by proper selection and training and ensuring fair wages and reasonable
prices for standardised goods to consumers.

2) Equal division of work and responsibility between management and workers: At that time workers
had all the load of work and they were left to fend for themselves to complete the work. Thus Taylor
advocated that the management had to seriously undertake functions for which it was best suited to i.e.
planning, organising, controlling and determining methods of work instead of leaving all this to the
mostly uneducated worker who knew nothing of this and was only concerned with doing his job through
the skills he had. This principle according to Taylor would help create a mutual understanding and
dependence between the latter and the former in the long run that would eliminate all unnecessary
conflict and mistrust that was existing between the two at that time. He believed that this mutual
harmony instead of discord is the just and rightful characteristic of scientific management.
3) Scientific selection of workers and their progressive development: He advocated through this
principle the need for the management to study the nature and character of each job/work and then
scientifically choose the right worker who possess the necessary skills for the work/job. It is also the
duty of the management to study the limitations and possibilities of workers for their development as
Taylor believed that every worker had a definite potential for development. he advocated for a
systematic and thorough training of workers for the job after being selected . It is also important that
the worker accepts the new methods, tools and conditions in their own interest and does it sincerely.

4) Mutual collaboration of workers and management: According to this principle there should be active
cooperation and cordial relations between management and workers instead of discord and distrust in
order to increase the production and efficiency of the company/organization. A healthy environment
needs to be created. A formally prescribed scientific method of production in organizations will lead to a
lot of conflicts that occur due to lack of clear communication and confusion from top to bottom
between the latter and former disappearing.
 REFERENCES

1. Taylor F.W (1911) The Principles of scientific management, Harper and Brothers and Frank G Gilbreth,
Primer of Scientific Management new York, Van Nostrand.

2. WWW.WIKIPEDIA.COM/Taylor_F.W

3. Taylor, F. W. (1996).“ The principles of scientific management”. In J.M. Shafritz and J.S. Ott (Eds.),
Classics of organization theory (pp.66-79). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company.

4. WWW.ENCYCLOPEDIA.COM/Frederick_W._Taylor