Premium Essay

Essay on Political Economy of Work - Discussing Taylor's Ideas on Scientific Management

In:

Submitted By patrice1960
Words 2872
Pages 12
Essay in Political Economy of Work

Do Taylor’s ideas on scientific management have any application in the contemporary workplace? Discuss with reference to evidence and alternative insights.

Why for example do so many banks, health providers, and other companies ask you to key in your account number “for faster service,” when you will be asked to repeat it twice more to the people who are serving you? That is a symptom of Taylorism run rampant, a misplaced faith in technology unjustified by human experience. (Weisbord 2011: 12)

The nature of work and its organization has interested managers, economists and social scientists for as long as people have been employed by others to engage in productive activity. Indeed, managers have largely been interested in maximizing output from available resources. Economists and social scientists have raised questions about the organization of work in relation to issues of the individual and society in general. Historically, the emphasis was on finding the best way in which to manage the human resource through scientific and mechanical means. Frederick Taylor (“Taylorism”) and Henry Ford (“Fordism”) were both looking to make labour more efficient by fitting workers to jobs. To counteract the some of the worst features of Taylorism, the job redesign and human relations movements stressed the importance of an understanding of employees’ social, rather than simply economic, needs. It is easy to see why mentioning “Taylor” and “Taylorism” seems to talk as if it is history – that is, a management idea that existed in the past, but which is now outdated and old-fashioned. Taylor was indeed writing and practicing management at the start of the 20th century. However, his ideas are still alive today. For that reason, this essay will attempt to review a

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Business and Management

...Journal of Business and Management Editors Cristina M. Giannantonio, Ph.D. Amy E. Hurley-Hanson, Ph.D. Published by Chapman University’s Argyros School of Business and Economics Sponsored by the Western Decision Sciences Institute WDSI WDSI WESTERN DECISION SCIENCES INSTITUTE The Western Decision Sciences Institute is a regional division of the Decision Sciences Institute. WDSI serves its interdisciplinary academic and business members primarily through the organization of an annual conference and the publication of the Journal of Business and Management. The conference and journal allow academicians and business professionals from all over the world to share information and research with respect to all aspects of education, business, and organizational decisions. PRESIDENT Mahyar Amouzegar California State University, Long Beach PRESIDENT-ELECT Nafisseh Heiat Montana State University-Billings PROGRAM CHAIR/VICE PRESIDENT FOR PROGRAMS/PROCEEDINGS EDITOR John Davies Victoria University of Wellington VICE PRESIDENT FOR PROGRAMS-ELECT Sheldon R. Smith Utah Valley State College VICE PRESIDENT FOR MEMBER SERVICES David Yen Miami University of Ohio SECRETARY/TREASURER Richard L. Jenson Utah State University DIRECTOR OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS Abbas Heiat Montana State University - Billings IMMEDIATE PAST-PRESIDENT G. Keong Leong University of Nevada, Las Vegas REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT Vijay Kannan Utah State University Journal of Business and Management – Vol. 17, No. 1,...

Words: 52229 - Pages: 209

Premium Essay

Public Management to Public Value

...Australian Journal of Public Administration, vol. 66, no. 3, pp. 353–366 doi:10.1111/j.1467-8500.2007.00545.x RESEARCH AND EVALUATION From New Public Management to Public Value: Paradigmatic Change and Managerial Implications Janine O’Flynn The Australian National University Both practitioners and scholars are increasingly interested in the idea of public value as a way of understanding government activity, informing policy-making and constructing service delivery. In part this represents a response to the concerns about ‘new public management’, but it also provides an interesting way of viewing what public sector organisations and public managers actually do. The purpose of this article is to examine this emerging approach by reviewing new public management and contrasting this with a public value paradigm. This provides the basis for a conceptual discussion of differences in approach, but also for pointing to some practical implications for both public sector management and public sector managers. Key words: new public management, public value, role of managers Public sector reform has been a common experience across the world despite its different forms and foci (Pollitt and Bouckaert 2004). Commonly as scholars and practitioners we refer to the reforms of the last few decades as ‘new public management’ (NPM) which, for Hood (1991), represented a paradigmatic break from the traditional model of public administration. During this era several countries became exemplars...

Words: 8523 - Pages: 35

Premium Essay

Simply Wooo

...UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULA AND FACULTY 2007 – 2011 Proposed 2009 – 2013 2 Requirements for the BBA degree: Foundation Courses 40-41 Credits Core Courses 45 Credits Departmental Requirement 24 Credits Minor 15 Credits Total variable requirement for Graduation 124-125 Credits Foundation Courses Communication Skills ENG 101 ENG 102 ENG 105* ENG 106 ENG 202 Listening and Speaking Skills English Reading Skills Business English Advanced English Skills Introduction to English Literature 40-41 Credits 9 3 3 3 3 3 * Prerequisite ENG 101 & 102 Note: students not exempted from ENG 101 and ENG 102 will have to take ENG 101, ENG 102 and ENG 105. Note: students exempted from ENG 101 and ENG 102 will have to take ENG 105, ENG 106, ENG 202 Computer Skills CIS 101* CSC 101** Fundamentals of Computer System Introduction to Computer Science 3 3 3 * For students without basic knowledge of computer **For students with basic knowledge of computer & mandatory for students with Major in subjects offered from the SECS Numeracy MAT 100* MAT 210* Basic University Mathematics 1 Basic University Mathematics 2 6 3 3 3 *MAT 100 and MAT 210 mandatory for SLAS majors(English, Media & Communication, Anthropology) other than Sociology MAT 101* MAT 211* MAT 102* MAT 212* Intermediate University Mathematics II Probability and Statistics Introduction to Linear Algebra & Calculus Probability & Statistics for Sc. & Engr. 3 3 3 3 **MAT 101and MAT 211 mandatory for...

Words: 16148 - Pages: 65

Premium Essay

Will Do Next Time

...Instructor’s Manual and Test Bank to accompany A First Look at Communication Theory Sixth Edition Em Griffin Wheaton College prepared by Glen McClish San Diego State University and Emily J. Langan Wheaton College Published by McGraw­Hill, an imprint of The McGraw­Hill Companies, Inc., 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020. Copyright Ó 2006,  2003, 2000, 1997, 1994, 1991 by The McGraw­Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. The contents, or parts thereof, may be reproduced in print form  solely for classroom use with A First Look At Communication Theory provided such reproductions bear copyright notice, but may not be reproduced in  any other form or for any other purpose without the prior written consent of The McGraw­Hill Companies, Inc., including, but not limited to, in any  network or other electronic storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance learning. PREFACE Rationale We agreed to produce the instructor’s manual for the sixth edition of A First Look at Communication Theory because it’s a first-rate book and because we enjoy talking and writing about pedagogy. Yet when we recall the discussions we’ve had with colleagues about instructor’s manuals over the years, two unnerving comments stick with us: “I don’t find them much help”; and (even worse) “I never look at them.” And, if the truth be told, we were often the people making such points! With these statements in mind, we have done some serious soul-searching about the texts that so many teachers—ourselves...

Words: 159106 - Pages: 637

Premium Essay

Treasures

...CSS 105 COURSE GUIDE COURSE GUIDE CSS105 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE Course Developer Dr. Derin K. Ologbenla University Of Lagos Akoka – Lagos. Dr. Derin K. Ologbenla Course Writer University Of Lagos Akoka – Lagos. Course Co-ordinator Dr. Godwin Ifidon Oyakhiromen National Open University of Nigeria Lagos. NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA ii CSS 105 COURSE GUIDE National Open University of Nigeria Headquarters 14/16 Ahmadu Bello Way Victoria Island Lagos Abuja Annex 245 Samuel Adesujo Ademulegun Street Central Business District Opposite Arewa Suites Abuja e-mail: centralinfo@nou.edu.ng URL: www.nou.edu.ng National Open University of Nigeria 2006 First Printed 2006 ISBN: 978-058-434-X All Rights Reserved Printed by Goshen Print Media Ltd For National Open University of Nigeria iii CSS 105 COURSE GUIDE Contents Introduction......................................................................... Aims................................................................................... Objectives........................................................................... Working through the Course.............................................. Course Materials................................................................ Study Units........................................................................ Textbooks and References.................................................. Assessment.......................................

Words: 55473 - Pages: 222

Free Essay

Globalization

...Globalization and the Information Economy: Challenges and Opportunities for Africa1 Derrick L. Cogburn, Ph.D. University of Michigan School of Information and Global Information Infrastructure Commission – Africa Catherine Nyaki Adeya, Ph.D. United Nations University Institute for New Technologies Prepared as a working paper for the African Development Forum '99 24-28 October 1999, United Nations Conference Centre United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 1 Copyright © 1999 Derrick L. Cogburn (dcogburn@umich.edu) and Catherine Nyaki Adeya (nyaki@intech.unu.edu). This paper reflects the opinions of the authors and not necessarily those of the institutions represented. Comments on the paper are welcome, and an updated version can be found at: www.si.umich.edu/~dcogburn/info_econ.htm. and www.intech.unu Derrick L. Cogburn and Catherine Nyaki Adeya ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors would like to thank the officers and staff at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa for their untiring patience and assistance on the st preparation of this paper. Special thanks to the team organising the 1 African Development Forum. Dr. Cogburn would like to thank his colleagues at the Global Information Infrastructure Commission for their assistance and support on the paper. Also, at the University of Michigan, he thanks his friends and colleagues at the School of Information, the Alliance for Community Technology, and the Centre for AfroAmerican...

Words: 24263 - Pages: 98

Premium Essay

Manajemen

...Management Revised Edition Peter F. Drucker with Joseph A. Maciariello Contents Introduction to the Revised Edition of Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices Preface 1 2 3 Part I 4 5 6 7 Part II 8 9 10 11 Part III 12 Introduction: Management and Managers Defined Management as a Social Function and Liberal Art The Dimensions of Management Management’s New Realities Knowledge Is All New Demographics The Future of the Corporation and the Way Ahead Management’s New Paradigm Business Performance The Theory of the Business The Purpose and Objectives of a Business Making the Future Today Strategic Planning: The Entrepreneurial Skill Performance in Service Institutions Managing Service Institutions in the Society of Organizations vii xxiii 1 18 26 35 37 45 51 65 83 85 97 113 122 129 131 iv Contents 13 14 15 16 Part IV 17 18 19 Part V 20 21 What Successful and Performing Nonprofits Are Teaching Business The Accountable School Rethinking “Reinventing Government” Entrepreneurship in the Public-Service Institution Productive Work and Achieving Worker Making Work Productive and the Worker Achieving Managing the Work and Worker in Manual Work Managing the Work and Worker in Knowledge Work Social Impacts and Social Responsibilities Social Impacts and Social Responsibilities The New Pluralism: How to Balance the Special Purpose of the Institution with the Common Good The Manager’s Work and Jobs Why Managers? Design and Content of Managerial Jobs Developing...

Words: 243737 - Pages: 975

Premium Essay

Communication Theory as a Field

...Communication Theory as a Field May 1999 Pages 119-161 This essay reconstructs communication theory as a dialogical-dialectical field according to two principles: the constitutive model of communication as a metamodel and theory as metadiscursive practice. The essay argues that all communication theories are mutually relevant when addressed to a practical lifeworld in which “communication” is already a richly meaningful term. Each tradition of communication theory derives from and appeals rhetorically to certain commonplace beliefs about communication while challenging other beliefs. The complementarities and tensions among traditions generate a theoretical metadiscourse that intersects with and potentially informs the ongoing practical metadiscourse in society. In a tentative scheme of the field, rhetorical, semiotic, phenomenological, cybernetic, sociopsychological, sociocultural, and critical traditions of communication theory are distinguished by characteristic ways of defining communication and problems of communication, metadiscursive vocabularies, and metadiscursive commonplaces that they appeal to and challenge. Topoi for argumentation across traditions are suggested and implications for theoretical work and disciplinary practice in the field are considered. Communication theory is enormously rich in the range of ideas that fall within its nominal scope, and new theoretical work on communication has recently been flourishing.’ Nevertheless, despite...

Words: 19908 - Pages: 80

Free Essay

Handbook

...Issues Course Descriptors Mathematics Introductory Microeconomics Introduction to Sociology Current Issues of the European and Global Economy Academic Writing Introduction into Business Introductory Macroeconomics Introduction into Economic Analysis Economics of Integration Information Technology Intermediate Microeconomics Issues in Macroeconomic Policy Mathematical Economics Statistics Regional Economics Introduction to Strategic Management Banking and Finance International Business Law Research Proseminar Accounting Managerial Economics International Economics Intermediate Macroeconomics Econometrics Research Methods Social Policy Game Theory Public Finance Investment Analysis BA Seminar Electives Financial Accounting Monetary Theory and Policy - The Impact of Global Crisis Principles of Marketing The World Economy – Retrospective View The Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SME) Sector Economics of Telecommunication Demography and Economics of Contemporary European Migration Personal Finance in Practice (with Excel) Contemporary China - Genesis and Background of Chinese “Economic Miracle" Negotiations and Communication Tax Policy Energy Security and Climate Protection in The European Union Risk Management 2 Lazarski School of Commerce and Law Student’s Handbook- Bachelor of Arts in Business Economics Introduction to Intercultural Management Accounting in...

Words: 47436 - Pages: 190

Premium Essay

Administration

...Administration/Management has following objectives: Understand the concept of public administration/ management/organization Understand the evolution of the concept of public administration and its importance Understand the role of government Understand the role and core functions of public manager Understand the structure of government /organizations Create understanding about the skills required by the public manager in imparting duties Understand the changing role of government and role of public managers. Importance of Course: The course on public administration/management is important as every citizen must understand the functioning of government. Besides, whether one works in private or public organization, or one is doing ones own business or whatever the profession, this course is useful as it helps understand organizations and their functioning. It also helps us understand the environment in which we are working. Introduction: definitions, concepts & setting At the end of lecture the students should be able to understanding: • The meaning of PA • The practice of public administration (PA) • Public administration as a subject of study • Definition of Public administration • Public administration, democracy and rights of citizens The Meaning The word ‘administration’ has been derived from Latin words ‘ad’ = to and ‘ministiare’ = serve and ‘Public’ =people or citizens Thus the word administration means to execute the policy of government to serve public. Management is also defined...

Words: 60164 - Pages: 241

Free Essay

Organizational Behaviour

...Introduction to Organisational Behaviour for Managers and Engineers This page intentionally left blank An Introduction to Organisational Behaviour for Managers and Engineers A Group and Multicultural Approach First Edition Duncan Kitchin AMSTERDAM  BOSTON  HEIDELBERG  LONDON  NEW YORK  OXFORD PARIS  SAN DIEGO  SAN FRANCISCO  SINGAPORE  SYDNEY  TOKYO Butterworth-Heinemann is an imprint of Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann is an imprint of Elsevier 30 Corporate Drive, Suite 400, Burlington, MA 01803, USA Linacre House, Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8DP, UK First edition 2010 Copyright Ó 2010 Duncan Kitchin. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. The right of Duncan Kitchin to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Permissions may be sought directly from Elsevier’s Science & Technology Rights Department in Oxford, UK: phone: (þ44) 1865 843830, fax: (þ44) 1865 853333, E-mail: permissions@elsevier. com. You may also complete your request online via the Elsevier homepage (http://elsevier.com), by selecting ‘‘Support & Contact’’ then ‘‘Copyright and Permission’’ and then ‘‘Obtaining Permissions.’’ British Library Cataloguing in Publication...

Words: 91601 - Pages: 367

Premium Essay

Study Habits

...most comprehensive and reliable guide to organisational theory currently available. What is needed is a text that will give a good idea of the breadth and complexity of this important subject, and this is precisely what McAuley, Duberley and Johnson have provided. They have done some sterling service in bringing together the very diverse strands of work that today qualify as constituting the subject of organisational theory. Whilst their writing is accessible and engaging, their approach is scholarly and serious. It is so easy for students (and indeed others who should know better) to trivialize this very problematic and challenging subject. This is not the case with the present book. This is a book that deserves to achieve a wide readership. Professor Stephen Ackroyd, Lancaster University, UK This new textbook usefully situates organization theory within the scholarly debates on modernism and postmodernism, and provides an advanced introduction to the heterogeneous study of organizations, including chapters on phenomenology, critical theory and psychoanalysis. Like all good textbooks, the book is accessible, well researched and readers are encouraged to view chapters as a starting point for getting to grips with the field of organization theory. Dr Martin Brigham, Lancaster University, UK McAuley et al. provide a highly readable account of ideas, perspectives and practices of organization. By thoroughly explaining, analyzing and exploring organization theory the book increases...

Words: 230271 - Pages: 922

Free Essay

One Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.

...Reo Joe: Work, Kin, and Community in Autotown, U.S.A. Van Gosse and Richard Moser, eds., The World the Sixties Made: Politics and Culture in Recent America Joanne Meyerowitz, ed., History and September 11th John McMillian and Paul Buhle, eds., The New Left Revisited David M. Scobey, Empire City: The Making and Meaning of the New York City Landscape Gerda Lerner, Fireweed: A Political Autobiography Allida M. Black, ed., Modern American Queer History Eric Sandweiss, St. Louis: The Evolution of an American Urban Landscape Sam Wineburg, Historical Thinking and Other Unnatural Acts: Charting the Future of Teaching the Past Sharon Hartman Strom, Political Woman: Florence Luscomb and the Legacy of Radical Reform Michael Adas, ed., Agricultural and Pastoral Societies in Ancient and Classical History Jack Metzgar, Striking Steel: Solidarity Remembered Janis Appier, Policing Women: The Sexual Politics of Law Enforcement and the LAPD Allen Hunter, ed., Rethinking the Cold War Eric Foner, ed., The New American History. Revised and Expanded Edition E SSAYS ON _ T WENTIETH- C ENTURY H ISTORY Edited by Michael Adas for the American Historical Association TEMPLE UNIVERSITY PRESS PHILADELPHIA Temple University Press 1601 North Broad Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19122 www.temple.edu/tempress Copyright © 2010 by Temple University All rights reserved Published 2010 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Essays on twentieth...

Words: 163893 - Pages: 656

Premium Essay

Management

...THE EARLY SOCIOLOGY OF MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATIONS THE EARLY SOCIOLOGY OF MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATIONS VOLUME I Scientific Management Frederick Winslow Taylor Comprising: Shop Management The Principles of Scientific Management Testimony Before the Special House Committee VOLUME II The Philosophy of Management Oliver Sheldon VOLUME III Dynamic Administration: The Collected Papers of Mary Parker Follett Edited by Henry C.Metcalf and L.Urwick VOLUME IV Papers on the Science of Administration Edited by Luther Gulick and L.Urwick VOLUME V Management and the Worker F.J.Roethlisberger and William J.Dickson VOLUME VI The Human Problems of an Industrial Civilization Elton Mayo VOLUME VII Organization and Management: Selected Papers Chester I.Barnard VOLUME VIII On the Shop Floor: Two Studies of Workshop Organization and Output T.Lupton THE EARLY SOCIOLOGY OF MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATIONS Edited by Kenneth Thompson VOLUME II The Philosophy of Management Oliver Sheldon LONDON AND NEW YORK First published 1924 by Isaac Pitman & Sons Ltd, London This edition published 2003 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore...

Words: 100722 - Pages: 403

Free Essay

Networks

...networks. 3. Computer networks—Social aspects. 4. Computer networks—Economic aspects. I. Title. HM851.B457 2006 303.48'33—dc22 2005028316 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 STRANGE FRUIT By Lewis Allan _ 1939 (Renewed) by Music Sales Corporation (ASCAP) International copyright secured. All rights reserved. All rights outside the United States controlled by Edward B. Marks Music Company. Reprinted by permission. For Deb, Noam, and Ari “Human nature is not a machine to be built after a model, and set to do exactly the work prescribed for it, but a tree, which...

Words: 214717 - Pages: 859