Scientific Management

Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856-1915). F.W. Taylor called the Father of Scientific Management was an engineer by training. Taylor believed that management's principal object should be to secure the maximum prosperity for the employer, coupled with the maximum prosperity of each employee. The mutual interdependence of management and workers was a common message he expressed.

Taylor's view of science insisted upon the systematic observation and measurement of worker activities. He was driven by the notion of applying science to answer questions about efficiency, cooperation, and motivation. Taylor believed that inefficient rules of management inevitably lead inefficiency, low productivity, and low-quality work. He recommended developing a science of management, the scientific selection and development of human resources, and personal cooperation between management and workers. Taylor believed that conflict among employees would obstruct productivity and so should be eliminated.

Taylor advocated maximum specialization of labour. He believed the person should become a specialist and master of specific tasks. Also, he assumed that increased efficiency would result from specialization. Taylor was unhappy with anything short of the one best way. He searched through the use of scientific methods for the one best way to manage.

Taylor tried to find a way to combine the interests of both management and labour to avoid the necessity for sweatshop management. He believed that the key to harmony was seeking to discover the one best way to do a job, determine the optimum work pace, train people to do the job properly, and reward successful performance by using an incentive pay system. Taylor believed that cooperation would replace conflict if workers and managers knew what was expected and saw the positive benefits of achieving mutual expectations.

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II. Ответьте на вопросы:

1. What common message did Taylor express?

2. What did Taylor's view of "science" insist upon?

3. Why did Taylor try to find a way to combine the interests of both management and labour?

4. What was the key to harmony he believed in?

5. Why did Taylor advocate maximum specialization of labour?

Вариант 2

Managing the Future

What does it mean "managing the future"? It means paying attention to the past, to the present, and to past and current patterns of change in the world around you. In managing the future, understanding and initiating action are top priorities. Constant innovation and improvement are valuable action steps. Relying solely on the past is neither possible nor good business. Using a past orientation results in missing opportunities and not keeping up with changes in today's emphasis on the customer. The past-oriented manager wants to attract and retain customers, but focuses on other parts of the business: the accounting system, tax laws, the source and flow of available raw materials.

One future-oriented company that respects and has learned from the past and appreciates its founder is McDonald's. This fast-food firm knows that the past can't be repeated. This firm is in constant search of innovations to remain competitive, to build on its past reputation, and to improve its position in holding off more and more competitors. McDonald's innovations include the Big Mac, the Egg McMuffin, etc.

McDonald's keeps innovating and improving and learns from the past because it can't afford to be lazy and nonresponsive. The competition is too fierce and

opportunistic. The firm responds to its changing external and internal environment with new products, environmentally friendly waste products, improved service and better ways of doing business.

Whether McDonald's Corporation founder Ray Kroc ever studied or considered the historical roots of management isn't known. However, by reviewing Kroc's style and strategies, we get the impression that he used the past as a way of learning how to manage his and McDonald's future.

Kroc was an innovator who favored taking action to stay ahead of the competition. The firm's history clearly shows that his insistence on quality has become a part of McDonald's internal cultural fabric.

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II. Ответьте на вопросы:

1. What are top priorities in managing the future?

2. What is the difference between a past-oriented company and a future-oriented company?

3. Why is McDonald's a success?

4. Who was McDonald's Corporation founded by?

5. What has become a part of McDonald's internal cultural fabric?

Вариант З