Taylorism

What is

Taylorism?

Frederick Taylor wrote The Principles of Scientific Management in 1911, these principles became known as Taylorism. Some of the principles of Taylorism include (Management for Productivity, John R. Schermerhorn, Jr. (1993)):

Develop a "science" for every job, including rules motion, standardized work implements, and proper working conditions.

Carefully select workers with the right abilities for the job.

Carefully train these workers to do the job, and give them proper incentives to cooperate with the job science.

Support these workers by planning their work and by smoothing the way as they go about their jobs.

Taylor makes the following statement:

"The principal object of management should be to secure maximum prosperity for the employer, coupled with maximum prosperity for the employee" The Principles of Scientific Management, Frederick W. Taylor (1911)

Becker and Steele make the following statement:

Taylorism has been a significant part of organizations from the early part of the century and has been polished by major American corporations for the last seventy-five years. Workplace by Design, Franklin Becker/Fritz Steele (1995)

How did Taylorism affect the organization during this time?

"The corporate order, with its assembly-line techniques, job differentiation, and increased organizational size, demanded a different type of office space and a more regulated and regimented flow of time." Engendering Business: Men and Women in the Corporate Office, A. Kwolek-Folland (1994)

Taylorism began to change how organizations functioned. Before this time, as mentioned on the Early Organizations webpage, organizations were usually setup in homes or in formal businesses where the workspaces were open. There were no barriers to communication and ideas could flow freely among employees. Taylorism abruptly changed this feature of organizations. Some of the following words describe the affects of Taylorism and Post-WWII on organizations:

Heiarchical leadership

Fixed, not fluid

Split locations for manufacturing and office work

Offices were compartmentalized

Work became specialized with divisional labor

Office features were a symbol of status

Product/outcome focused - not customer focused

Demand exceeded supply

Manufacturing and industrial companies were the main company types

The Diagrams below show the evolution from Taylor's organizational structure to New Age Organization

Diagrams desgined by John Thompson