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Title: The Principles of Scientific Management by Frederick Winslow Taylor ISBN: 0-486-29988-0 Publisher: Dover Pubns Pub. Date: 20 January, 1998 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $5.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.42 (12 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A seminal work
Comment: F.W. Taylor is where the serious student of scientific management begins. I believe that it's one of the best books on the subject that I've ever read - and it was an academic paper presented by Taylor almost 100 years ago. It's funny at times (and probably not meant to be), written in the academic style of the early 20th century. His movements back and forth between the theory and real life examples prove that he was one of the better economists of his day.
Taylor had humble beginnings (he was a shop laborer early in his career), and later he switched to consulting for various types of manufacturers. Peter F. Drucker and other scientific management gurus owe Taylor a debt of gratitude, which I'm sure they would readily acknowledge. All of us owe a debt to him as well. How can a firm reach greater efficiencies? Taylor suggested that firms do it in ways that even today are resisted and misunderstood by management. Increase workers' pay. Give them mandatory breaks throughout the day. Timing rest breaks between heavy lifting optimizes productivity. Please don't ignore these examples in the information age - Taylor was ahead of his time and perhaps even ahead of ours. Today's intelligent manager can still discover many useful ideas in this book.
It's not a terribly long work, and it's fun to read. I'm surprised that I was able to earn a BSBA without being required to read it, or parts of it. It's invaluable for firms and workers in any country, developed or undeveloped, and the firms that dare to utilize the ideas will be quite happy with the result: increased productivity, and therefore, increased profits. econ
Rating: 5
Summary: A classic that must be read in context
Comment: Taylor is viewed as the grand father of business process re-engineering and the intellectual foundation for much of the work on business process change. Unfortunately few people who invoke Talyor's name have ever read his origional work on sought to understand his ideas. Most authors latch on to the essense of his ideas -- to look at the work, organize it as best as possible, measure it and improve it.
While these are important aspects of modern management, most people fail to understand the issues Taylor is trying to address. He must be read in the context of his times -- the late 19th and early 20th century when work was moving out of being a craft and into scientific-mass produced factory labor. When you consider the context-Taylors work is really about removing "slack" from work practices and standardization more than anything else.
Given that people are now talking about "knowlege work and empowerment" references to Taylor fall somewhat flat. The economy is moving back from factory to craft work based on knowledge.
The pamphlet is a good read for someone who wants to understand the intellecutal underpinnings of a process/workflow approach to management. In that regard it is higly recommended even it it takes some time to get through and you have to remember that this is a man of the 1870's and 1900's else you will get hung up on his ethinically insensitive comments -- particularly if you are Irish and other ideas.
Rating: 5
Summary: Still relevant
Comment: Although dated this short book contains intersting lessons. The book presents scientific management. Scientific management applies to the management of industrial processes and is based on four principles:
- Development of a science: The various ways of doing the task are analyzed and the best way is identified (note that further progress may be made due to new innovation);
- Selection and training of the work force: The most suitable people are hired and trained to perform according to the science;
- Constant help and feedback: The employees receive regular feedback on their work and help if they are falling behind;
- Deep management involvement in production: Management plans ahead to make sure that the tasks are performed in the best possible way.
The book also emphasizes the human aspect of management: change can only be done slowly and by convincing the employees of the benefits. This explains why it takes a long time to switch to scientific management. Employees need financial rewards for performing well and employees who create better practices should also be recognized and rewarded.
Most examples in the book are dated and not particularly relevant today. They still provide data to judge the improvements that scientific management may provide. The language is also dated and politically incorrect. However if you do not let this distract you, the core of the book remains relevant. Even for modern intellectual work, there are many lessons that can be learned from the book. For example, for software engineering (which I am familiar with):
- Make sure that you use the best practices ;
- Hire smart people and give them the right tools;
- Give feedback on performance and training when needed;
- Actively manage the project, especially the scope of the project when changes occur.
Although scientific management can be applied to turn employees into automata, there is something good about its emphasis on hard numbers and best practices.
I suggest that you read the book with an open mind and pick the core material that applies to your situation.
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Title: The Functions of the Executive by Chester Irving Barnard, K. R. Andrews ISBN: 0674328035 Publisher: Harvard Univ Pr Pub. Date: January, 1971 List Price(USD): $21.95 |
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Title: The Practice of Management by Peter F. Drucker ISBN: 0887306136 Publisher: HarperBusiness Pub. Date: 26 May, 1993 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: The Human Side of Enterprise: 25th Anniversary Printing by Douglas McFregor ISBN: 0070450986 Publisher: McGraw-Hill/Irwin Pub. Date: 01 August, 1985 List Price(USD): $80.35 |
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Title: Strategy and Structure: Chapters in the History of the American Industrial Enterprise by Alfred D. Chandler ISBN: 0262530090 Publisher: MIT Press Pub. Date: 15 August, 1969 List Price(USD): $32.00 |
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Title: My Years with General Motors by Alfred Sloan ISBN: 0385042353 Publisher: Currency Pub. Date: 01 October, 1990 List Price(USD): $21.95 |
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