...Running head: Human Resources Verses Operations Comparing Operations Project and Human Resources Management Principles Tami Webb Kaplan University MT 435- Operations Management June 22, 2015 Comparing Operations Project and Human Resources Management Principles The purpose of this paper is to discuss and compare the project principles of operations management (OM) to those of human resource management (HRM). OM and HRM have historically been separate parts of an organization. Competencies that were once defined by OM have now integrated with the HR professionals behavioral and technical competencies required to perform a specific role. I will begin with discussing operations program management principles and then follow with human resource management principles. Both areas are strategic initiatives for organizations to continue growth over time and both are keys to a company’s success. Success or failure in either area can make the difference in the overall effectiveness of the company goals and vision. Creating standardizations or certifications for particular skill sets is necessary for specialized work. Operations Project Management When organizations have a culture that encourages knowledge transfer and an atmosphere centered on professional growth, they create a value that encourages buy-in of company goals and visions. Knowledge transfer is not just on the job training, but rather a precise and methodical transfer of wisdom and insight from key...
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...Introduction The principles of today's management goes back to the mid 1990's when an article named the “principles of scientific management” was published by Fredric Winslow Taylor who pioneered the term ‘scientific management’ in 1911. He defined scientific management as a study to increase productivity by methodologically studying the correlation between the individual and the task for the purpose of reconstructing and improving the work process (Jones and George, 2003). In the 19th and 20th century working hours were long, intense and confined, which resulted in the workers performing their tasks slower (Brodner, 2007). These issues caught the attention of Fredrick Winslow Taylor who was from the industrial revolution era, which was previously characterized by mass production (Asyali and Bastug, 2014). His intention was to increase the efficiency of the workforce by scientifically studying how work was done and by improving each stage without wearing out the laborers (Ahlstorm, 2014). Principles of scientific management After conducting various experiments he derived 4 principles, which contributed to the various management practices upheld in the 20th century (Giannantonio and Hurley-Hanson, 2011). First, science not the rule of thumb. In the industrial revolution managers relied on their personal judgment to resolve issues also referred to as the rule of thumb but all such approaches by the managers would not be efficient. Taylor felt that to increase productivity...
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...Individual Behavior in the Workplace Exam I – Sample Question 1. You are the HR manager for a medium sized manufacturing company that produces batteries. Your supervisor has just returned from a conference where she met and spoke with a senior leader from UPS. The topic of time and motion studies came up during their discussion and your supervisor asks what you know about this topic and whether it might work for your company as well. What will you tell her? Time and motion studies involve attempting to determine the most efficient and “one best way” to deliver a service or create a product. This organizational approach began in the early 1900’s and is known as scientific management (Perrow, 1973). Frederick Taylor is said to be the leader of this movement. Scientific management focuses on efficiency and standardization and creating work processes or structures that maximize productivity while minimizing effort and resources. One of the disadvantages of this approach is that people are often viewed as machines. Scientific management fails to consider the importance of employee morale and satisfaction and its relationship to productivity. This relationship was not realized until the 1930’s following the Hawthorne Studies (Perrow, 1973). Although UPS uses the scientific management approach effectively with its emphasis on fast and efficient service, I do not think it would work well in our organization for several reasons. One reason is that we are attempting...
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...problems faced by BA at Terminal 5 could have been avoided if the management had applied their knowledge of Scientific Management’ Scientific management is a theory that was developed in the beginning of the 20th century as engineers looked for ways of developing a systematic approach to management. The most basic principles of the theory state that ‘there should be a scientific design to every task this known as being ‘the one best way’ approach, a scientific selection and training of workers and co-operation between management and workers to ensure that the work is done according to the science’ (Lewis n.d.). This essay will discuss scientific management and how it could have helped BA avoid the catastrophe of Terminal 5, a £4.6 billion ‘megaproject’ (Flyvberg & Priemas, 2008). Once the role scientific management could have played has been identified the piece will then move on to focus on the Human Relations theory and finally the Contingency approach. British Airways management broke the principles at the very core of the scientific management theory throughout the planning and indeed on the day the project was due for launch. Some staff told news reporters that the problems had been known of for some time but the management chose to ignore them and proceed with the opening of the terminal without giving real attention to the issues. Scientific management is a widely studied and renowned principle in management and any top manager especially one working on a complex project...
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...Scientific Management Frederick W. Taylor Introduction – Frederick W. Taylor was not only recognized but also criticized over his theory of Scientific Management and its validity. My primary source “ The ideas of Frederick W. Taylor: An evaluation” outlines both sides. Taylor’s main aim was to eradicate the inefficiencies found in the workplace, improving the relationship between labour and management through three main principles being standardization, task allocation and money bonus. His main theory was that management should be based on proven fact not tradition (Locke, 1982). The science behind it being that one can’t manage what one can’t measure. (Darmody, 2007) With the use of other readings I have been able to identify the most common criticisms regarding Taylors theory and whether the have merit. By applying Taylor’s theory to a contemporary example, Subway, I can distinguish the validity of it and outline how it reflects within the organization and how it benefits the employee- employer relationship Paragraph one – Topic Sentence: Standardization is Taylor’s first main principle within his theory of scientific management; a principle that is in fact is hard to dispute its validity. * In The primary source it highlights this and states how it’s become widely accepted in contemporary organizations and how it applies to all aspects (Locke, 1982) * Standardisation improved employee – employer relationships. (Taneja, Pryor & Toombs, 2011). ...
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...It is not difficult to find examples of Scientific Management in the 21st Century; the car and computer manufacturing plants, the work environments we go to everyday, the hospitals we are treated in and even some of the restaurants we might eat in, - almost all of them function more efficiently due to the application of Scientific Management. In fact, these methods of working seem so commonplace and so logical to a citizen of the modern world that it is almost impossible to accept that they were revolutionary only 100 years ago. Although Scientific Management does play an important role in the 21st century, it is necessary to note that this method of management contains weaknesses that limit its influence in current work environments, and consequently not all of its tenants are applicable to modern organizations. Scientific Management is perhaps best seen as an evolutionary stage in management ever developing history. This essay will attempt to highlight both the strengths and weaknesses of Scientific Management in context of the 21st century through examination of its application in several modern organizations. Scientific Management was developed in the first quarter of the 20th Century; its father is commonly accepted to be F.W. Taylor, although some variations of the theory have been developed by Gantt and Gilbreth. Taylor recognized labor productivity was largely inefficient due to a workforce that functioned by “rules of thumb,” and a mentality that equated increased...
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...Introduction Scientific Management tries to increase productivity by increasing efficiency and wages of the workers. It finds out the best method for performing each job. It selects employees by using Scientific Selection Procedures. It provides Scientific Training and Development to the employees. It believes in having a close co-operation between management and employees. It uses Division of Labour. It tries to produce maximum output by fixing Performance Standards for each job and by having a Differential Piece-Rate System for payment of wages. Frederick W. Taylor was one of the most influential management theorists and is widely acclaimed as the ‘father of scientific management’. According to Northcraft and Neale (1990, p.41), “Scientific management took its name from the careful and systematic observational techniques it used to design jobs and arrange work for the rank-and-file factory worker”. Principles of Scientific Management The techniques, contributions and general principles of Scientific Management Theory are as follows:- 1. Performance Standards F.W. Taylor found out that there were no scientific performance standards. No one knew exactly how much work a worker should do in one hour or in one day. The work was fixed assuming rule of thumb or the amount of work done by an average worker. Taylor introduced Time and Motion Studies to fix performance standards. He fixed performance standards for time, cost, and quality of work, which lead to uniformity of work...
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...Increasing application of Scientific Management principles 'The increasing application of Scientific Management principles of work organisations to services is, despite its limitations, inevitable and irreversible'. Discuss. I Introduction From the outset of this essay it is necessary to define the basic principles of Scientific Management in order for the statement to be fully understood and why if at all such a practice is 'inevitable' and indeed 'irreversible' within a service industry context. The underlying belief that scientific management, or rationalisation= , is able to provide the basis for separating management from the execution of work. 'The rationalisation of work has the effect of transferring functions of planning, allocation and co-ordination to managers, whilst reinforcing the managerial monopoly of decision-making, motivation and control'. Hales (1994). Taylor (1856-1915) has been referred to as the father of Scientific Management. He believed that management, not labour, was the cause of and potential solution to problems in the industry. Taylor concluded that workers systematically 'soldiered' because they believed that faster work would put them out of a job and because hourly or daily wages destroyed individual incentive. Taylor believed that in order to discourage, and indeed halt, this 'soldiering' a 'mental revolution' was required. He believed this could be achieved via four vital principles: (1) the development of the best work method,...
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...Review of Management Articles Article assigned ANALYSING the thinking of F.W. Taylor using cognitive mapping Introduction Scientific management is one of the three major branches within the classical approach to management. Although the concept was suggested approximately a century ago, it still makes a significantly important role in 21st century management with new conditions and a considerable number of challenges. Frederick Winslow Taylor who was regarded as the father of scientific management suggested his concepts in 1911. Scientific management is defined as a theory that emphasises careful selection and training of workers, and supervisory support (Taylor, 1911). Taylor (1911) believed that precise procedures that were developed after careful study of an individual at work should replace the tradition on decision-making. The purpose of this essay is to review three articles that analyses the Taylorism and present how Taylorism is applied in current management sphere. Analysis of Assigned Article Cossette, P. 2002. Analysing the thinking of F.W. Taylor using cognitive mapping. Management Decision, 40 (2): 168-182 The author of this article used the cognitive map and the Decision Explorer to present and analyse the thinking of F.W.Taylor to produce a more in-depth and detailed knowledge and understanding of his ideas. Cossette (2002) demonstrated that the two key variables in Taylor’s scientific management were “Maintenance of a rapid pace…Loafing or soldiering”...
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...Scientific Management Scientific Management was a new form of management that evolved in the late 1800’s that was based on a number of principles that analyzed the activities of individuals, which in turn, optimized efficiency and productivity. In this essay I will discuss the major advances that were pioneered by Frederick Winslow Taylor, Henry Gantt and Frank and Lillian Gilbreth. Frederick Winslow Taylor was thought of as the most influential business guru of the twentieth century. (154) Taylor was a well -educated man that started his work as a laborer and quickly moved up to a chief engineer at Midvale Steel Company. Through his various positions and experience within this company he discovered many problems that were apparent between management and laborer. His first attempt in his creation of Scientific Management was to combat a process called “soldiering”. Taylor observed how the process of soldering led to low production because workers had intentionally worked slow, while making management believe they were working faster. Taylor identified two types of soldiering that workers practiced: natural and systematic. Natural soldiering was referred to as the “the natural instinct and tendency of men to take it easy.” Managers tried to overcome natural soldiering by forcing workers to be more productive. (123) Systematic soldiering was when workers all together would reason with one another to work slower. Taylor believed that workers systematically soldiered...
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...Outline in full the principles of scientific management. What does this theory contribute to management in contemporary organisations? The main objective of management is maximum prosperity for both the business or owner and the employees. Maximum prosperity for a business means higher dividends and the development to its highest state of excellence. For employees it means higher wages than given in other businesses of the same industry and the ability to work at their highest rate of efficiency. Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856- 1915) published the book The Principles of Scientific Management in 1911, with which he abolished the then present rule-of-thumb method and introduced and entirely new system of scientific management. With ‘time and motion study’ single tasks would be thoroughly studied, timed and then analysed with the goal of determining one best way of performing a job. It dramatically improved productivity in many businesses and therefore helped achieve maximum prosperity. Taylor shows a negative bias towards workers in his book. He alleged that most employees deliberately do as little as they safely can. Reasons for what he called ‘Soldiering’ were; fear that increased output would mean fewer workers would be needed and that increased pay would not increase with productivity. Taylor believed that if his principles of scientific management were applied, this issue of Soldiering would be avoided. In order for the scientific methods to be applied correctly, workers...
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...Topic 1: Scientific Management How was Taylorism received outside the USA? Contrast the reception of Taylorism in two different countries, one western, one Asian, in your answer. Introduction Before looking in to whether scientific management has always been successful outside of USA, there is a need to look at scientific management when Frederick W. Taylor first introduced it in the late 1890s and early 1900s. Started experimenting at Midvale Steel Company where he tried to improve the efficiency of the workers for increased productivity, he has then already faced the problems and critics of his scientific management that it is still facing today. This includes the time study of work to define the optimal standards for workers while using stopwatches and other devices; critics are against this as they feel the method in measuring performance violates the fair treatment of workers. While it is safe to say that Taylor was a central figure in the development of management thought where his emphasis on efficiency using scientific management, it must be stressed that many others who have applied it, has also adapt and refine additional methods to suit their needs contribute to the success of scientific management (Wren & Bedeian 2009). This paper seeks to discuss how Taylorism is received outside USA as well as compare and contrast the receptivity of Taylorism in Russia and Japan. The global spread and development of Taylorism in the 1950s and 1960s greatly enhanced...
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...Euro. J. History of Economic Thought 14:1 55 – 78 March 2007 Alfred Marshall’s critical analysis of scientific management* Katia Caldari The value of a machine to a business can be calculated on the basis of its efficiency for its immediate work. But the value of an employee must be estimated (. . .) with a view to the probable development of his capacities: and the difficulty of this task is increased by the conditions of modern business. (Marshall 1919: 350) The dependence of industrial leadership on individuality and creative faculty has not been greatly effected by the predominance of routine in staple manufacture. (Marshall Library Archive, Red Box 1) 1. Introduction In 1911, in America, F.W. Taylor published his famous book, Principles of Scientific Management, in which new principles of industrial organization are suggested and the advantages of an extreme division of labour and mechanization are stressed. Taylor’s theory of scientific management played a very important role in shaping the early twentieth century factory system, both in America and in Address for correspondence University of Padua, Italy; e-mail: katia.caldari@unipd.it * An earlier draft of this paper was presented at the History of Economics Society’s Annual Meeting, 4 – 7 July 2003, Duke University, Durham. I would like to thank all the participants to my section for their helpful comments, in particular James Henderson, Mary Morgan, Michel Que ´ and Malcolm Rutherford. For...
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...Scientific management is an approach that involves using scientific methods - based on proven fact rather than on tradition, rule of thumb, guesswork, precedent, personal opinion, or hearsay and is in opposition to traditional management. (Taylor 1911/1967 cited in Locke,1982, p14). Scientific management is very important when talking about business activities and performing managerial jobs efficiently. But there are still a number of criticisms concerning whether Taylor’s theory can exactly describe the job of managers and be used in today’s management. This essay will first discuss negative articles which aim to show that scientific management do not suit contemporary organisations. Following this, it will discuss some affirmative articles which argue the opposing position. Finally, it will give a conclusion as to whether Locke’s opinion is suitable for the developments of recent times. The scientific management decision making of Taylor has played a pivotal role in managerial practice in the 20th century (Wren 2011). But at the same time, increasing numbers of management authors doubt whether the availability of scientific management is still effective in today's organizations. They argue, for instance, that Taylor violated his own principles of scientific management in many instances. In the case of Bethlehem Steel Plant time studies were not systematically followed for paying the workers. Instead, Taylor used Gantt's task and bonus remuneration scheme (Taylor 1903, 1911...
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...Outline in full the principles of scientific management. What does this theory contribute to management in contemporary organisations? The main objective of management is maximum prosperity for both the business or owner and the employees. Maximum prosperity for a business means higher dividends and the development to its highest state of excellence. For employees it means higher wages than given in other businesses of the same industry and the ability to work at their highest rate of efficiency. Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856- 1915) published the book The Principles of Scientific Management in 1911, with which he abolished the then present rule-of-thumb method and introduced and entirely new system of scientific management. With ‘time and motion study’ single tasks would be thoroughly studied, timed and then analysed with the goal of determining one best way of performing a job. It dramatically improved productivity in many businesses and therefore helped achieve maximum prosperity. Taylor shows a negative bias towards workers in his book. He alleged that most employees deliberately do as little as they safely can. Reasons for what he called ‘Soldiering’ were; fear that increased output would mean fewer workers would be needed and that increased pay would not increase with productivity. Taylor believed that if his principles of scientific management were applied, this issue of Soldiering would be avoided. In order for the scientific methods to be applied correctly, workers...
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