SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT THEORY
The Scientific management theory/approach is one of the most important theories of traditional
public administration formulated by Frederick Winslow Taylor who was an engineer by
profession and always viewed each and every thing and its aspects scientifically and since he
was into the production field,he was to be concerned with increasing efficiency of workers to
increase production within the least possible time with the least possible resources. Thus,ruling
out wastage to the maximum and increase profits to the hilt.
Taylor is regarded as the father of the Scientific management approach.The Scientific
management approach in its literal sense means a scientific way of managing an organization.
His theory helped pave the way for many modern management approaches and
techniques,some opposed him whereas some supported him but there is no denying that his
theory was the one that started their very existence.
He was employed at a time when the Industrial revolution was at its peak and matured (the 19th
century) and industries were trying to find a solution to the complex problems of organizations
due to the same. The Industrial revolution no doubt brought alongwith it enormous capital but
also there was an ever increasing demand of goods and production had to be speeded up to
meet the demands around the world.Taylor advocated the scientific approach towards industrial
work,processes as well as management to increase industrial efficiency and economy as well
as profit. to solve all those problems since the traditional conditions and work methods as well
as tools and non standardized procedures in existing factories were pitiful.Workers used their
own methods of working and thus there was inconsistent performances.
All this led Taylor who worked his way from bottom to the top management and knew the nitty
gritty of the job to suggest scientific management as the best solution. Scientific Management
as a term was coined by Louis D. Brandies in 1910 and subsequently used by Taylor in his book
" Principles and Methods of Scientific management". Though Taylor had written his theory much
before the essay by Woodrow Wilson, he got the fame after the publication of the essay and the
mass interest that it generated on the lines of having a separate administration from politics and
to develop it as a true science.
Taylor as an engineer and manager developed and invented many tools for cutting steel and
shoveling and many more that lead to a great decrease on the workload of the worker as well as
increased efficiency with minimum number of movements for a particular job thus leading to
high profits.
The basic principles(rules) of Taylor's Scientific management were:
1) Standardisation of work methods: 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
efiiciency. 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
