Principles of Scientific Management in Modern Times-myassignmenthelp

Question: Write about thePrinciples of Scientific Management in Modern Times. Answer: It is a well known fact that Frederick was hired by Henry Ford of the Ford Motor Company and by implementing the principles of scientific management given by Winslow, Henry was able to mass-produce his cars at affordable prices(Foundation). Frederick Winslow Taylor was an American born in 1856. He was one of the first mechanical engineers who experimented throughout his working life to improve inefficiencies in a business organization. Frederick Taylor was the most influential management guru of the early 20th century(Schumpeter, 2015). In the year 1911, he wrote a book discussing about the work environment in a company, the drawbacks and limitations, and how these could be eliminated. This book was called as "The Principles of Scientific Management". In his book, he wrote in detail about how a business could be better run by removing the inefficiencies in its functioning and he came up with several guidelines or principles that can be followed by any organization to perform better. Following are discussed some of the principles Winslow wrote about in his book. These will help in understanding better if these principles are useful in the modern times as there has been a vast and rapid change in the technological advances. Instead of following any rules of thumb, business organizations need to take a more scientific approach in their day to day working, by determining the most efficient, effective and speedy ways to complete even the smallest of tasks. Rule of Thumb means decisions taken by manager as per their personal judgments(R). This holds true in the modern day times of advanced technologies as well. By following a scientific approach, one can get maximum output with minimum input. A perfect example of this principle can be seen in the biggest fast food chain on the planet known as McDonalds. No matter which country one visits, every McDonalds has the same method of preparing food and serving customers. All the McDonalds store throughout the world undertake any simple task like mopping and cleaning the same way (one best way)(Jain, 2016). Therefore, getting rid of the rule of thumb and using a scientific way of completing even the simplest of tasks. So, instead of the workers just throwing in a few slices of tomatoes or cheese to make a burger, there is a certain set of instructions that the employee has to follow and repeat it as many times as required in order to make the burger. The second principle given by Winslow was that work should be assigned to laborers on the basis of capability instead of randomly assigning tasks to individuals. The organization should select, train, teach and develop(Lupa, 2010). It is given that when tasks are assigned on the basis of a worker's ability, he or she will be able to perform the given tasks more efficiently as compared to someone who is either not motivated enough or not capable enough to complete a given task in the given time. McDonalds has been able to accomplish this in the McDonalds Home Office Campus in Oak Brook with a faculty of 30 resident professors where management training, operations developments, equipment familiarity practices and interpersonal skills courses are offered to workers(Markadrianus, 2014). McDonalds also provides motivation to employees by encouraging them to work harder, have more sales and better customer services. Every month, an Employee of the Month is selected which creates a healthy competitive environment within the organization. Although, some people argue that this principle is not valid in modern times. They argue that in todays world, people are not just motivated by the economic benefit of being efficient in their workplace as opposed to the workforce which worked working solely for economic reward(Priestley, 2005). The third principle of Winslow's scientific management involved proper monitoring of the employees as well as timely inspection and supervision. The third principle involved the managers developing formal working relations through establishing teamwork(Essays, 2013). Most business organizations today indulge themselves in proper follow up of their employees. Some even go ahead and have policies that allow the employers to carry out timely inspection of the employees laptops, computers or workstations. The fourth and the last principle involved equal division of work amongst the labor workforce as well as between the managers and the laborers. This allows the managers to manage their time schedules better and the workforce to be more efficient. If employers have more efficient workers, profit margins increase(Lupa, 2010). This principle was implemented by a number of businesses worldwide and almost all the organizations who put this principle to use reported greater efficiencies and outputs by up to three times. A well known example would be Dominos Pizza. Work is equally divided between workers attending customers, those involved in chopping vegetables and preparation of food items, cleaning and maintenance of the pizzeria and delivery guys. All of this is done under the supervision of managerial staff. This principle is also found being implemented in many other food outlets such as Starbucks, Pizza, Subway and KFC amongst others. The above mentioned are the four main principles that were tried and tested by Winslow. He indulged himself in a number of time based experiments and concluded the above principles. To sum it all up, Winslows four main principles of scientific management can be summarized by saying that he believed in breaking bigger tasks down into smaller ones, supervise and train the employees, keep a check on how much they work in a given period of time and motivate them by linking the amount of work they put in with their paychecks and obviously, paying more to people who perform better. In modern times, with the advances in technology and artificial intelligence, the work of humans is more of supervision nature instead of actual labor. Even so, most of the scientific management principles given by Frederick Winslow still hold true. Many organizations till date have based their business models on these principles and they continue to reap great benefits. Not only are these businesses raking in e xtreme profits but they are also able to provide their customers with better quality products at affordable or at least comparatively cheaper prices. In conclusion, it can be seen that Scientific Management is still very much a part of any organization in the 21st Century(Priestley, 2005). References Essays, U. (2013, november). Taylor's Scientific Management and its Influence on Modern day. Retrieved august 19, 2017, from UK Essays: https://www.ukessays.com/essays/management/taylors-scientific-management-law-essays.php Foundation, T. S. Scientific Management Theory and the Ford Motor Company. Jain, H. (2016, January 23). Liverpool, London. Lupa. (2010, october 23). F. W. Taylors Scientific Management Theory in Modern Day Workplace. Retrieved august 19, 2017, from Lupa4eve's Blog: https://lupa4eve.wordpress.com/2010/10/23/f-w-taylors-scientific-management-theory-in-modern-day-workplace/ Markadrianus, M. (2014, may 6). Scientific Management of McDonalds. Retrieved August 19, 2017, from michaelmarkadrianus : https://michaelmarkadrianus.wordpress.com/2014/05/06/scientific-management-of-mcdonalds/ Priestley, S. (2005, november 5). Scientific Management in 21st Century. Retrieved august 19, 2017, from Article City: https://www.articlecity.com/articles/business_and_finance/article_4161.shtml R, K. (n.d.). 5 Principles of Scientific Management: Propounded by Taylor. Retrieved august 18, 2017, from Business Management Ideas: https://www.businessmanagementideas.com/management/5-principles-of-scientific-management-propounded-by-taylor/2294 Schumpeter. (2015, september 10). Digital Taylorism. Retrieved august 19, 2017, from The Economist: https://www.economist.com/news/business/21664190-modern-version-scientific-management-threatens-dehumanise-workplace-digital