Frederick Winslow Taylor

1856-1915

Influences - Family History

Father
Pennsylvania Quaker family Lawyer Owned farms and properties Very Wealthy

Influences - Family History

Mother - Emily Winslow (Delano)
New England Puritan Family Related to Franklin Delano Roosevelt Anti-slavery agitator Campaigner for womens rights Child rearing philosophy based on work, drill and discipline. Believe in definite instructions for Fred

Influences
Affluent family Attended Phillips Exeter Academy Destined for Harvard

Influences - Early Work

Started as an Apprentice 1878 - Midvale Steel as a Clerk
Moved down the company ladder - laborer Role changed almost monthly Keeper of tools, assistant foreman, foreman, master mechanic, director of research, chief engineer of the plan

1880-1883 Engineering at Stephens Institute

Influences - Other Than Mother

Adam Smith Process-driven model of management

Tendencies
Incredibly driven problem solver Inventor
Taylor-White process for treating tool steel Spawned over forty patents

Sportsman Passion for Order and Efficiency Persistent Personal Tendencies

Accomplishments & Theories

1889 - Bethlehem Steel Company
Tried wide ranging changes Fired in 1901 Experience laid the basis for theories of Scientific Management

Scientific Management
Workers engaged in soldiering Superiors had no idea how long a job should take No one thought to examine the nature of peoples work

Scientific Management
Armed with stopwatch, examined exactly what happened and how long it took Minute examination allows an observer to establish a best means of carrying out the job

Scientific Management
Workers would know what was expected Managers would know how much should be produced Reliable piecework rates, bonuses, penalties

Scientific Management
Quality of the work had to be stressed before striving for an increased Quantity of work Paid for performance, not attendance Advocated daily feedback Seventy five percent science and twenty five percent common sense

Scientific Management Exercise

Build 20 Pieces as specified:
Two Red 4x2 Two Black 4x2, crosswise One White 2x2, on middle

Scientific Management - Results

Watertown Arsenal (Labor Cost Reductions)
Packsaddle from $1.17 to $.54 6 Gun from $10,229 to $6,950

Typically, Schmidt increased production 400% while receiving 60% more pay Often boosted production

Scientific Management - Results

1910 - Harrington Emerson claimed the railroads could save $1 Million per day Immediate result was a dramatic cut in the cost of manufactured goods Potentially allowed for an increase in wages Also resulted in crude reductions in employee numbers

Frederick Taylor - Contributions

Invented Management as a Science Established the job of management as measurement Created middle management Intended SM to cover the whole organization First management consultant (Consultant to Management)

Frederick Taylor - Recap

Earned approximately $50,000 per year from 1900 to 1911 from consulting Had three maids, estate superintendent, cook, coachman and yard laborers Taught in France and Germany 1910 - refused his share of his fathers $900,000 estate 1915 - Taylors estate worth $700,000 Died after a lecture tour in Cleveland

Frederick Taylor - Supporters

First International Management Theory
Japanese Lenin Henri Le Chatelier

Frank & Lilian Gilbreth Peter Drucker Henry Gantt Henry Ford Hugo Munsterbuerg Champy/Hammer

Frederick Taylor - Criticisms

Relied on money to motivate Efficiency before ethics Views in accord with socialism Increased wages until competitions catches up Built on a lack of trust, a lack of respect for the worth, wit and intelligence of individuals

Frederick Taylor - Criticisms

Eliminated qualified, professional work Focus on making the task more stupid Believed people did not need to be told what was happening elsewhere in the organization Employees had to turn off their minds Denied people their individuality

Frederick Taylor - Criticisms

1909 - U.S. Steel, 3500 workers revolt 1911 - Taylor questioned at a special committee of the U.S. House of Representatives Nightmare visions explored in literature

Where Do We Go From Here?

Peter Drucker
Knowledge workers are abysmally unproductive Challenge of the next century is to increase the productivity of knowledge workers

Lucier and Torsilieri

Routine work (80%) needs to be standardized. Complex decisions should be outsourced