The Principles of Scientific Management [Paperback]

Management proved inadequate to utilise human resources effectively in order to better production, and thereupon was solely reliant on the initiative and expertise of the workforce to do so.

Taylor's insight was a redefinition of the role of management in the production process. Applying scientific methodology to work management would result, according to him, into improved worker performance and the adaptation of labour to the needs of capitalism (all in favour of management).

In practice, Taylor's extensive experimentation resolved in the articulation of "scientific management", a form of labour organisation that involved the standardisation of labour techniques.

Taylor's ingenuity laid in the design of a universal managerial blueprint of work, which could be employed to address efficiency problems at different levels of complexity.

Production did no longer "wish" of workers to consume themselves mentally, but strictly physically. Man was now unconsciously caught up in a repetitive, mechanical production process founded on the premises of what once was his own mastery.

In time, Taylor's theories caught on with the industrial world and further ground for experimentation was provided. Taylor proceeded strong to formulate the principles of labour management that later on culminated in the publication of the Principles of Scientific Management (1911).

* More produced, at a lower cost. This actually implies "commodification" of labour under the piece-rate system. As man is enabled to produce more, he is expected to produce more than previously and hence his gain per unit produced diminishes.

However, this starting point does not set the tone for the rest of the book. Taylor and his Taylorism/task management is more human than most people will tell you. This can be seen from the first page of the first chapter, where Taylor explains the principal of object of management, which "should be to secure the maximum prosperity for the employer, coupled with the maximum prosperity for each employee".

Initially, Taylor starts with a short introduction and reasons of "soldiering" which he refers to as "deliberately working slowly as as to avoid doing a full day's work". Taylor then turns to his now-famous Scientific Management. The four elements which constitute the essence of scientific management are: First, the development of standardization of methods. Second, the careful selection and training of personnel. Third, extensive supervision by management and payment of bonuses. Fourth, an equal division of the work and responsibility between the workman and the management. Taylor uses some somewhat old-fashioned examples to explain task-management, such as pig-iron handling, bricklaying, and inspection of bicycle balls.

Just like other readers I expected something different from this book, since much of what is said about this book on MBA and management-courses is not true. I did enjoy reading this book, even though it is now somewhat out of date (originally published 1911), but it is amazing how much scientific management is still around us and the influence it still has on modern management (business process reengineering). It is written in simple English and is very thin for a management book with just 140 pages.

Prior to Taylor, management tried to create output by providing incentives to workers. But pressure from peers kept workers from doing more work. Everyone agreed that this would lead to fewer jobs.

The virtuous cycle of higher performance, lower prices, more sales, and higher pay for workers and shareholders was not yet uncovered.

Taylor sees the results of the higher productivity mostly being of help to consumers, with the remainder of the benefit split between shareholders and workers. In that he was prescient. Advanced thinkers today are rediscovering this old truth, first elaborated by Taylor.

What I found to be delightful in the book was the emphasis on trying to approach the ideal practice, rather than being satisfied with the best of today.

Here are the key principles for your reference:

(1) develop a science for each element of a task to determine the most productive way to do that task (quality and quantity considered in terms of total costs)

(2) scientifically select and train those who can do the task the most effectively in what needs to be done, and provide all of the help they need

(3) create an environment where the person doing the task can be productive (this often involves systems limitations, like input from others)

(4) management has a role in designing the work, selecting workers who are ideal for the work, and helping the work be learned properly. There is an equal division between the worker and management in creating the right result.

In reading this list, I am reminded of Bill Jensen's new book, Simplicity, in which he calls for something rather similar to the broad concepts of Scientific Management. So although many people consider almost all existing management Taylorian, a closer examination would say that management is not doing its job.

The basic problem with Scientific Management was not that it was flawed, but that it took slow long to do that it was impractical to try too many experiments. The time and measurement experiments took forever. The calculations of multivariate problems were hard to solve in precomputer days. The change process was slow (usually 3-5 years).

The experiments that we all know about and applaud now (team-based learning and self-directed work teams, TQM, reengineering, and so forth) could have been addressed by the Scientific Management method as soon as the limitations described above could be lifted.

As a result, I think it is incorrect to be pro TQM or reengineering and anti Scientific Management. I believe that the basic principles are more compatible than not.

At some point, all of this becomes merely philosophical. I think you will find the case studies in the book revealing about what the potential for improvement can be in tasks that people have been doing for centuries (like laying bricks).

I was impressed that Taylor was so good at locating stalls of disbelief, misconception, communication, and bureaucracy. He had a keen sense of where mental models were wrong, and how to bust those stalls. In fact, he may have been the 19th century's first business stallbuster.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in understanding more about how measurements can be useful to identifying ways to improve performance for all of society.