This essay looks at the similarities and differences of both the Scientific Management Era and the Human Relations Era. It assesses the main ideas of these eras and determines whether or not they have left a positive/negative impact. What is scientific management? According to Robert Hoxie: Scientific Management is “A system devised by industrial engineers for the purpose of sub serving the common interest of employers, workmen and society at large, through the elimination of avoidable wastes, the general improvement of the process and methods of production, and the just and scientific distribution of the product” (Witzel 2012). In contrast to the Scientific Management, Human Relation Management is more involved with the person and their social needs. However, there are also some similarities between the Scientific Management Era and the Human Relations Era along with the differences.
The Scientific Management Era (~ 1900 - 1923) emerged in the US. It was to provide industrial betterment. Organisations were seen as machines. The emphasis of the Scientific Management Era was based on increasing the productivity and motivation of employees with some kind of monetary rewards. This idea came from Henry Gantt (Witzel 21012) who introduced the bonus system, which motivated workers to complete duties by offering them a bonus on top of their basic pay. The Human Relations Era was somewhat different to the Scientific Management Era. The emphasis was on the employees and how they were motivated. Unlike the Scientific Management Era, the Human Relations Era(~ 1923 - 1955) took into account the employees social needs and interest. For example, employees in the Human Relations Era were not only motivated by money but by praise, they were given a sense of belonging. It also focused on the social welfare of the workers. By looking after employee’s health and well-being, it