TAYLOR’S THEORY

-By Nirvaan Mehra

Grade 11
Taylor (1911)
Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856-1915), an American
Engineer and inventor, advocated the use of piece-
rate payment systems, suggesting, “What the
workmen want from employers beyond anything
else is higher wages.” Taylor’s principles of
scientific management assumed that employees
are primarily motivated by money and that
productivity could be improved by setting output
and efficiency targets related to pay.
 Taylor’s theory of scientific management was highly influential
in the 1920s. It was most famously adopted by Henry Ford
who used conveyor belt technology to mass produce Ford
Model T cars.

 Today, McDonald’s still uses a system of scientific

management. Its catering procedures, such as cooking
temperatures and cooking times, are the same all over the
world. McDonald’s even has its own university to ensure that
senior managers are trained to perform their tasks in exactly
the same way, wherever they work in the world.

 It is the managers who routinely inspect production

processes in their restaurants to ensure that things run
smoothly. Waged-staff are paid using a differentiated
piecework system and have no input into how things are
done.
 Taylor’s theory has been criticized for ignoring the non-physical
contributions of workers. It can be difficult to measure physical
output in some professions, e.g. teachers, doctors, and social
care workers. Hence, scientific management is rather ineffective
when referring to jobs that focus on mental rather than physical
output.

 Subsequent studies have also shown that people are not only
and simply motivated by money. Taylor’s theory ignored non-
financial factors that motivate people.
  Due to higher levels of educational attainment in modern societies,
workers do not simply want to be told what to do but prefer to have a say
in how things are done. Taylor failed to acknowledge that workers can be
innovative and independent thinkers.

 A final criticism is that scientific management can entail repetitive and

monotonous tasks, thereby leading to job dissatisfaction. Although it
rewards hard work, employees do not necessarily feel that the financial
compensation is sufficient relative to the drawbacks of such a system
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FUN FACTS

Taylor also advocated the
use of differentiated
piecework whereby workers
are paid a standard level of
output and receive a higher
rate if they exceed that level.
Essentially, it is an incentive
scheme that rewards more
productive workers.
Taylor suggested that workers ought to be
scientifically selected for jobs, based on their
abilities rather than managers subjectively
making decisions based on their perceptions of
potential employees.
 He believed it was a manager’s duty to
decide how each and every individual task
should be completed, i.e. it was the
manager’s role to plan, direct and control.
 He suggested that ”In the majority of
cases, man deliberately plans to do as
little as possible.” and that factory
workers were ill-equipped to plan their
own work but only sought to maximize
their economic rewards from work.
 Hence, Taylor promoted the use of
division of labor (breaking down
different aspects of a job or task and
assigning different people to each
particular part of the work) thus
specializing in the production
process to improve efficiency and
output.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.

Paul Hoang Business Management text book, 4th Edition