2. The Industrial Revolution
• The Industrial revolution is when human power was substituted with
machine power, making it possible to manufacture goods in large
volumes in factories, more economically.
• There thus emerged a large scale business which required managerial
skills to produce goods in an efficient and profitable manner
• The growing size and complexity of business organisations led to the
requirements of managers to handle various business related tasks
like assigning tasks to factory workers, supervising the production and
sale of goods, maintaining quality standards, assessing the demand of
goods, ensuring the availability of raw materials
3. • The enable managers discharge their many activities and
responsibilities, the need to develop thought on management
practices was felt.
• This led to many scholars responding by how to manage effectively,
leading to the development of various management theories.
4. Classical Theories of Management
• The classical school of thought evolves in the late 1800s and early 1900s and
continued into the 1920s.
• The classical management approach focused on attainment of efficiency and
productivity in an organisation.
• The major features of different classical theories are as follows:
i. Emphasis was placed on the economic rationality of the individual employee.
This was based on the assumption that people choose that course of action
which would maximize their economic reward
ii. The assumptions of Classical theorists are generally based on negative views of
the human nature with respect to performance of role and responsibility in an
organisation al setting
iii. The classical theorists recognized that humans have emotions but they felt
emotions can be controlled by a logical and rational structuring of jobs and
work
5. Scientific Management
• Advocated by Fredrick W Taylor at the end of the 19th century and the beginning
of the 20th century to improve labour productivity by analyzing and improving the
work flow process.
• Apart from Taylor, Gilbreths and Gantt also advocated Scientific management
• According to this approach, management is all about analyzing work in a scientific
manner to identify one best way of doing a particular task and then ensuring that
the task is done in the identifies way only
• Taylor define scientific management as a means of knowing exactly what people
do and then seeing that they do it in the best and cheapest way.
• The focus of this approach is not to work according to the rule of thumb or
generally held assumptions , but in scientific manner by classifying the given
work into simple, routine tasks that can be done efficiently with little training.
• The approach focuses on improving organizational productivity by developing an
appropriate man-machine relationship
6. • Scinetific management emphasizes that jobs should be designed in a
manner that they economise on time, human energy and other
productive resources.
• Each worker needs to have a specified , well controlled task that can
be performed as instructed by following clearly laid out procedures
and methods with no exceptions.
7. Principles of Taylor’s Scientific Management
• Scientific Job Analysis: It includes replacing rule-of-thumb work methods
with methods based on measurement and scientific study of various tasks
and providing detailed instructions and supervision to each worker on how
to perform each discrete task
• Scientific Selection and Training of Personnel: Select persons who are right
fit for a job and then train and develop them to perform the job efficiently
and effectively
• Management Cooperation: Inculcate harmony between management and
workers while performing group action to achieve cooperation instead of
individualism
• Functional Supervision: Divide work between managers and workers such
as managers focus on planning the work and supervision, while workers
focus on carrying out assigned tasks
8. • Standardization: Firstly, an attempt is made to identify one best way
of doing a task and then standards should be developed with respect
to its execution. Uniformity of tools, practices, procedures, processes
should be ensured in the task execution so that the entire
organisation adopts uniform ‘one best way’ to do that task
• Financial Incentive: Management should provide adequate financial
incentives that are linked with the output of workers. This approach
believes that workers would act in a rational manner and put
optimum level of energy and commitment to attain additional
financial rewards
9. • (i) Science, not the rule of the thumb.
• (ii) Harmony, not discord.
• (iii) Co-operation, not individualism.
• (iv) Maximum production, in place of restricted production.
• (v) Development of each person to the greatest of his capabilities.
• (vi) A more equal division of responsibility between management and
workers.
• (vii) Mental revolution on the part of management and workers.
10. Practices in Scientific Management
• (1) Determination of a fair day’s task for each worker through
scientific methods (including the best way of doing a job).
• (2) Scientific selection and training of workers.
• (3) Standardisation of raw materials, tools and working conditions.
• (4) Functional foremanship.
• (5) Differential piece-rate system of wage-payment.
11. (1) Determination of fair day’s task for each worker through scientific
methods (including the best way of doing a job).:
• For determining a fair day’s task for each worker, Taylor recommended the
use of scientific methods involving the conduct of the following types of
work studies, viz.,
Time study
Motion study
• An average worker (or representative worker) is first selected for
conducting the above work-studies. In case otherwise, the standards of
work fixed would be either too high or too low.
• The above work-studies (i.e. time, motion studies) are to be considered
together to arrive at a fair day’s task.
12. 2. Scientific selection and training of workers:
• This aspect of scientific management is, in fact, the staffing angle of it. The
workers, under scientific management, must be properly selected by adhering to
a carefully- designed selection procedure. Further, selected workers must be
imparted training in best methods of performing a job
3. Standardisation of raw materials, tools and working conditions:
• By standardisation, Taylor implies two varieties of standardisation:
• (i) Raw materials, tools, machines and other facilities of work must be of a
reasonably good quality; so that the quality of production is reasonable.
• (ii) Another variety of standardization which Taylor refers to is uniformity in
providing work-facilities and work conditions to all workers, doing a similar type
of job.
13. 4. Functional Foremanship:
• The scheme of functional foremanship recommended by Taylor is, in
fact, an introduction of managerial specialisation-at the shop-level. In
Taylor’s view, instead of a single foreman performing all the aspects of
the foremanship task, there must be a number of foremen-each
concerned with only a particular aspect of foremanship.
• Each foreman, being a specialist in performance of his role, is a
functional foreman. Hence, the nomenclature of the scheme as
‘functional foremanship’.
14. • (i) Route Clerk:
• The route clerk is a foreman who would lay down the route (or journey) of raw materials from the raw-material stage to the finished product
stage as passing through different processes and machines.
• (ii) Instructions Card Clerk:
• The instructions card clerk is a foreman who would determine the detailed instructions for handling a job; and prepare a card containing
such instructions.
• (iii) Time and Cost-Clerk:
• The time and cost clerk is a foreman who would record the time taken by a worker in completing a job; and would also compile the cost of
doing that job.
• (iv) Shop Disciplinarian:
• The shop disciplinarian would look after the maintenance of discipline in the workshop and deal with cases of absenteeism, misbehavior and
other aspects of indiscipline.
• (v) Gang Boss:
• The gang boss is the supervisor proper. He would see to it that all work-facilities are made available to workers and they start their work as
per the instructions imparted to them.
• (vi) Speed Boss:
• The speed boss is a foreman who would determine the optimum speed at which machines are to be operated; so that both-over speeding
and under-speeding of machines are avoided. In this way, less depreciation is caused to machines; industrial accidents are averted and
quality of production is also maintained.
• (vii) Repair Boss:
• The repair boss is a foreman, who would look after and take care of the repairs and maintenance of machines.
• (viii) Inspector:
• The inspector is a foreman who would look after the quality of production.
15.
16. • (5) Differential piece-rate system of wage-payment:
• In order to motivate workers positively as also negatively to produce the standard
output, Taylor devised a scheme of wage payment, known as the ‘Differential piece-rate
system of wage-payment.’
• The inherent features of this scheme are:
• (i)A standard output for each worker is determined in advance through scientific work
studies.
• (ii)Two rates of wage-payment (based on piece rate system) are established-
• (a) A higher rate per unit of output; and
• (b) A lower rate per unit of output.
• (iii)Workers who produce the standard output or exceed the standard are paid according
to the higher rate for all the units produced by them. Those workers who are unable to
come up to the standard are paid according to the lower rate for all the units produced
by them.
17. Advantages of Scientific Management
1. Made a significant contribution of efficient production methods which
led to major gains in productivity
2. The systematic and rational approach of determining the best way to do
an individual task was an early proponent of quality standards
3. Scientific management is based on the philosophy that measurement
enables improvement
4. It advocates direct reward mechanism for workers rather than end of
year profit sharing schemes
5. It led to improvement in the living standards of workers through higher
wages on one hand and availability of goods at lower price on the other
18. Disadvantages of Scientific Management
• Led to the exploitation of workers by employers
• In many cases, this led to conflicts between management and labour unions.
• It is not very useful to deal with the people who are working together in groups or teams
as it emphasizes individual productivity
• It ignored psychological and sociological aspects
• It advocated the separation of planning function from doing. This is why, it is not very
useful in organisations with large number of knowledge workers. In organanisations
creativity, initiative and thinking is required, this approach is not suitable
• There is an overemphasise on measurement and systematic working, as though human
beings are machines.
• The human elements was largely ignored
• It focuses on the development of the individual not for his own self-worth but for the
advantage of the organisation
19. Henry Gantt
• Believed in the application of scientific analysis to every aspect of organizational
work to attain industrial efficiency.
• Gantt made a significant contribution to management thorugh the development
of Gantt Charts.
• Gantt Charts are graphical representation of tasks against progression of time.
• These charts are used for scheduling multiple overlapping tasks over a time
period to mange a project in an efficient manner
• Gantt also focused on the importance of motivational schemes by laying
emphasis on rewards for good work rather than penalties for poor work
• He developed a pay incentive system with a guaranteed minimum wage ands a
bonus system for people on fixed wages.
• Gantt designed the ‘task and bonus’ system as a variation of Taylor’s differential
piece rate system.
