PROSCENIUM OF SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT

Abstract

During the last three decades of the nineteenth century, organizations developed rapidly, their managers began to realize that they had too frequent managerial problems; this awareness lead to a new phase of development of scientific management. Examining the titles published in that period, it can be concluded that management issues that pose interest related to payroll and payroll systems, problems exacerbated by the industrial revolution and related work efficiency. Noting that large organizations losing power, direct supervision, the managers were looking for incentives to replace this power . One of the first practitioners of this new management system was Henry R. Towne, the president of the well-known enterprise "Yale and Towne Manufacturing Company", which applied the management methods in his company workshops. Publishers of magazines "Industrial Management" and "The Engineering Magazine" stated that HR Towne is, undisputedly, the pioneer of scientific management. He initiated the systematic application of effective management methods and his famous article "The Engineer as Economist" provided to the company. "American Society of Mechanical Engineers" in 1886 was the one that probably inspired Frederick W. Taylor to devote his entire life and work in scientific management.

Headnote

Abstract

During the last three decades of the nineteenth century, organizations developed rapidly, their managers began to realize that they had too frequent managerial problems; this awareness lead to a new phase of development of scientific management.

Examining the titles published in that period, it can be concluded that management issues that pose interest related to payroll and payroll systems, problems exacerbated by the industrial revolution and related work efficiency. Noting that large organizations losing power, direct supervision, the managers were looking for incentives to replace this power . One of the first practitioners of this new management system was Henry R. Towne, the president of the well-known enterprise "Yale and Towne Manufacturing Company", which applied the management methods in his company workshops. Publishers of magazines "Industrial Management" and "The Engineering Magazine" stated that HR Towne is, undisputedly, the pioneer of scientific management. He initiated the systematic application of effective management methods and his famous article "The Engineer as Economist" provided to the company. "American Society of Mechanical Engineers" in 1886 was the one that probably inspired Frederick W. Taylor to devote his entire life and work in scientific management.

Keywords: objectives, organization, managers, workers, scientific management.

1. The beginnings of the American industrial development

During the second half of the nineteenth century, a new industrial era began in America, which brought: an expansion of mechanized industries, the abolition of slave labour and a modern form of organization initiated in 1862 with the establishment of anonymous companies with limited liability, an association of persons who had some characteristics of partnership and corporation. The association would actually form a corporation in which the shares were transferable; its existence was not affected by the death of a member. Therefore the management was entrusted to elected managers. This was similar to a partnership because every shareholder was responsible for all the company's debts and the relationships among the members were governed by the general law of partnership. The emergence of anonymous companies in the economy led to a distinction between the concept of capitalist and employer. In addition, this resulted in a division between capital and management. The owners consisted of many shareholders; not only a patron and managers were remunerated. As a result of these changes, large business companies have developed around financial personalities such as: Jay Gould, JP Morgan and Cornelius Vanderbilt. These organizations had major impact on the economic development of the U.S. throughout the nineteenth century.

During this period, the most dramatic company of America was the railway, which has increased unexpectedly in importance and status. The railroads have expanded and new territories were conquered. This competition for business was extremely sharp. After this initial period of expansion, managers began to strengthen positions and abilities to operate more efficiently and achieve higher profits. An example of this type of operation was "New York Central" which was reinforced by Cornelius Vanderbilt by bringing together competing railroads from New York with those of the Albany and Buffalo.

The managers of new American companies discovered that administrating a large organization involves a lot of problems within, completely new issues compared to those faced before. After the implementation of his own operating system, McCallum developed a plan, an organization chart, a tree structure where the President and Bureau Central (Executive Office) would represent the central part, the five main divisions of the company being presented as some branches of a tree. In February 1862, the U.S. Defense Secretary, Edwin M. Stanton, named him manager and supervisor of all U.S. railroads, granting him the power to use and operate all that was necessary to help track success war effort (it is civil war between South and North). McCallum distinguished in his new position by the superiority of management efficiency. Under his leadership, every day and in a single shipment were sent to 160 of which over 360 miles away to cater for the company of Sherman in Atlanta which disposed a hundred thousand people and sixty thousand animals. This made Daniel McCallum a unique and illustrious managerial career.

Such railways, industries were also growing in terms of machinery and capacity, with the advancement of new markets and the U.S. rail complex.

During the last three decades of the nineteenth century, managers of these organizations, with rapid development, have begun to realize that they had managerial issues too often. This awareness led to a new phase in the development of scientific management.

2. The initiators of scientific management movement

In the legitimate request for finding solutions, the managers of the industrial companies began to debate the issues that have come out, support lectures and read articles in front of various associations (such as, for example, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers). Valuable publications in the field of management identified solutions to managerial inefficiencies that affected railways in those days. A list of these publications on management prepared by the New York Public Library in 1917, showed that until 1881 there was no American title presenting eleven titles in 17 years, from 1881 until 1897 and six titles three years, from 1897 - 1899 (Metcalfe HC - Scientific Foundations of Business Administration, Baltimore, The Williams and Wilkins Co.., 1926, p 196).

Examining the titles published during that period, it can be concluded that management issues which presented interest were related to payroll and payroll systems. This problem, emphasized by the industrial revolution was linked to work efficiency. Noting that large organizations were losing power and direct observation, the managers sought incentives that would replace this power. One of the first practitioners of this new management system was Henry R. Towne. He has been president of enterprise known "Yale and Towne Manufacturing Company" for 48 years. Moreover, he contributed to the practice of the management methods with workshops in his company.

The editors of magazines "Industrial Management" and "The Engineering Magazine" stated that HR Towne is undeniable the pioneer of scientific management. Thus, Towne has initiated systematic application of effective management methods and his famous article "The Engineer as Economist year" showed to the company "American Society of Mechanical Engineers" in 1886 was the one that probably inspired Frederick W. Taylor to devote his life work and scientific management (Industrial Management, The Engineering Magazine, LXI, 1921, p 232).

In his article, Towne emphasized that management is as important as effective targeting technology and engineering in the enterprise. He recognized the need for information management workshop, but said he cannot find a way to share knowledge default. Towne acknowledged management as a science with its own literature and its associations with logs. Only by exchanging ideas, sharpen them, entrepreneurs can benefit from the experience of others.

In his second article, "Gain Sharing", published in 1896, argued that profit sharing was not an equitable adjustment or a proper solution to an economic problem.

The gain that a department can achieve by increasing its efforts may be lost by another.

For this reason, he advocated for the cost of each element of the production. The employees who have earned a department can be returned to their merits. For this reason, he called his plan "gain sharing" and not "profit". Towne's plan ensure accurate employee rate for each employee and each department gain that you achieve over standard derived scientifically divided equally between employer and employee. Towne realized that this standard should be determined by an experimental study of 3-5 years to prevent rate cuts.

In the third article, "Evolution of Industrial Management," written in 1921, Towne found something very important: the contrast between the scientific management from 1886 and 1921, noting in particular the introduction of industrial management courses in technical colleges and FW's universities lending Taylor the founder (Apostle) of scientific management.

The main contribution to scientific management of Henry R. Towne is that he has initiated a climate, an atmosphere for further application of scientific methods. Certainly not less important is the plan about sharing as a system of wage earning. While Towne has developed the ideas from "Yale and Towne" Captain Henry Metcalfe explored the intricacies management "Frankford Arsenal".

Immediately after taking control on management, Metcalfe found out that traditional organization and control methods used by industry were wasteful and ineffective. The solutions proposed by him in 1881 were the development of a control system, which was so full that continued to be used by Arsenal many years after Metcalfe left the organization. Both FW Taylor and the American Management Association recognized the managerial genius of Metcalfe - Taylor by recognizing that it has a duty to his ideas, and the American Management Association because it demonstrated the practicability of Metcalfe's system, which is used today.

In 1885, four years after Metcalfe has introduced his work "The Cost of Manufactures and the Administration of Workshops Public and Private" was published by John Wiley & Sons.

The book was greeted as a pioneering work in the field of management science.

Like McCallum, Metcalfe's management theory was based on a control system. He foresaw and insisted that all power should emanate from a given source, a reaction mechanism based on detailed information on expenditure and achievements.

This does not mean that Metcalfe was a generator of records, evidences and reports, on the contrary, he ordered the removal of 13 types of records and reports that were regularly used at Frankford Arsenal and retained only those necessary and important.

After being transferred to the arsenals of Benicia, California and Waterville, New York, Metcalfe continued to experience the improving of the managerial techniques of control. He ended his career teaching at West Point.

An important role in synthesizing ideas about wages had Frederick Halsey, who in 1891 presented a paper in front of society "American Society of Mechanical Engineers" fundamentally at odds with Towne's gain sharing ideas because he believed that profits appear and grow from many sources, not just the production worker, lazy workers that can benefit from the good work of diligent workers, the increase in payment was felt as much time to the acquisition of gain and that, ultimately, it was honest workers to share the profits as long as they share and losses. In addition, he disagrees with the practice of prevailing standard payment reduction when the piece workers earn too much money (Drury HB - Scientific Management, New York, Columbia University Press, 1915, p 43).

To overcome these weaknesses, Holsey's "awards plan" covered the determination of normal time to achieve pregnancy rate pool (about a third of the normal rate of pay) for employees who have saved time.

The plan would guarantee each worker a full payment for a day's work plus an award if his activity worth it. Fixed rate was simpler than other plans pay rates given that no attempt was made to determine the possible production worker. The outcome achieved was taken as the employee's standard or norm. In other words, according to the plan of Halsey workers were allowed a same time to achieve a certain production as well as the one they had before. If they managed to increase production in that time period, two-thirds of the gain was for employers and third workers. Halsey outlined other advantages of his system. Each worker was guaranteed a daily rate of gain regardless the production. Some traditional friction management - worker urge arises that work was eliminated because employees are paid an award soon began producing additional studies are needed May we complicated working time. Halsey did not believe that it is possible to find out exactly how fast it could or should be achieved pregnancy. Based on this belief, he developed a pool plan. There have been developed many pool plans, but that of Halsey is considered to be an original contribution to the development of management for at least a few reasons.

3. Management training

In 1881 a new challenge came up in managerial field. Acknowledging the need for management training, a businessman and industrialist from Philadelphia, Joseph Worthon donated $ 100,000 - an enormous sum in those days - to the University of Pennsylvania to establish a department where young people can acquire the necessary education and training in management careers. According to Worthon's conception, colleges of that time prepared only certain people (doctors, lawyers and clergy) to the duties of daily life; he considered that management training should be incorporated into a superior "echelon". He wanted the new department from the University of Pennsylvania to incorporate education regarding free business in a total curriculum, covering issues such as strikes, principles of cooperation, economic legislation - business law, clearing functions, causes of financial crises and the nature of actions and dividends, to name a few.

Thus, Whorton School was the one who initiated an important area in management, the training. For 17 years it was the only school with these concerns. In 1898 "University of Chicago" and "University of California" established their business schools. By 1911 there were 30 such schools in operation.

4. Scientific management and his apostles

At the end of the American Civil War, a new industrial climate began to develop for American business. During the years following the War, the industry disseminates and diversifies, trying to win and boost the public's appetite for more goods. On the other hand, technological unemployment begins to be felt.

During this period, large businesses have widened the separation between management and workers. The development of a managerial class in the industry became apparent. In this era, the management began to change from day to day. The control concepts, for example, have been developed to replace the visual supervision of the boss. Leaders like Towne and Metcalfe also began to develop and implement a unified management system instead of the usually applied like "win or lose" or "make a killing or fail". Every action, every part, every problem were seen in the new light of its relationship with other parts of the whole and the whole in general.

Sensing the needs that arose from new economic reality Towne, as we have seen, asked managers to form organizations, publish journals and exchange ideas, visions and revelations. It was a time of genesis in terms of management thinking. Towne called this new philosophy as scientific management and precision management. In this generative atmosphere of innovation and managerial expectancy appeared FW Taylor.

5. Taylorist development and managerial approach

Unknown as engineer in Philadelphia, Frederick W. Taylor raised himself from this environment with a totally new concept of management. Instead of punishing people, managers, according to Taylor, they will have to develop a new philosophy and approach to manageability. They will adopt a broad and comprehensive vision for their tasks to incorporate elements of planning, organization and control.

Taylor did not appear on stage of managerial thinking with complete or mature thesis from the start. His ideas were generated as he felt them practicality in the various companies he has worked since 1878 beginning with the Midvale Steel Company. At Midvale he advanced from apprentice to chief engineer, job he had in 1884, at the age of 28 years.

During this period, he began, first, to identify some of the many drawbacks of factory operation, which then referred to his work. He noted, for example, that management does not have a clear concept of worker-management responsibilities, labour standards were not applied effectively and that no incentive was used to improve worker performance. Systematically "truancy" existed currently and management decisions were based on assumptions, intuition and past experience or empirical rules. He also noted that in general no study was conducted to incorporate a full conception of the flow of work among departments and workers were absurdly clumsy, assigning them the task for which they had skill or skills. Last but not least, management ignores the obvious truth that the achievement of performance in production means a reward for both the management and the workers.

In that time, he was also faced with the typical conflict between foremen and workers in the quantity of production and attempted to employ the usual methods of the time - some persuasion and coercion part - with unsatisfactory results, defending and creating resentment is an atmosphere of division and struggle. Realizing he could direct the efforts of workers on the technical aspects of duties, Taylor initiated a series of experiments relevant to the ways in which people handle materials, machines and tools - the study of movement and time. These experiments lasted more than two decades and have led to the development of a coordinated system of workshop management. From this approach at the workshop, he expanded the concepts to a philosophy that ultimately will become known as scientific management.

To understand the management principles laid down by Taylor, a goodbye would be useful, in short, the chronological steps involved in the "studio system." First, he wanted to know how long it takes, or should it be necessary for a machine or a worker to complete a given process (manufacture of parts) using specific materials and methods under controlled conditions.

Systematically, he explored different ways to get this information, and finally he decided that the timing of the various performance studies determine a precise practical result. This one has been able to establish workable standards per hour per man or machine and usually higher current average performance.

Secondly, Taylor wanted to develop a uniform method for routine preparation and directing the efforts of those responsible for establishing the condition in which these standards can be set and achieved. With this goal set, he developed techniques such as instruction booklets, brochures and booklets control work, the success of routine material specifications, inventory control systems and material handling standards. Through their use, and other similar techniques, Taylor has coordinated and organized the operation, or the total exploitation of the workshop to the point where working conditions, materials and methods of the work flow were standardized so as to make the worker performance levels possible and meaningful.

Thirdly, Taylor recognized the need for a method that would allow one to assess and determine the most appropriate worker for a certain task, taking into account its initial capabilities and its potential for learning.

Fourthly, with a certain level of skills and careful allocation of tasks, Taylor identified the need for rigorous monitoring of employees and their working conditions. Based on this need, he developed concepts regarding functional managing with specialists employed at each stage of supervision to ensure operating performance; finally, he wanted to diminish the role of persuasive master, offering workers incentives of upper payment resulting in increased productivity.

In 1886, Taylor joined the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and heard Henry Towne reading his famous article "The Engineer as Economist year." This article has had a profound impact on Taylor, being considered the first impulse that has directed his attention to management as something separate and additional to innate executive ability. He said that management should include a comprehensive collection, an orderly arrangement and analysis of all pertinent facts and records (salaries, supplies, supplies and expenses), these effects on output and production cost.

During the remainder of the nineteenth century, other managers presented papers oriented to communications narrower aspects of management. Some of the exceptional studies in this category were Taylor's article "A Piece Rate System" (System work the piece) in which he described one management system that has developed, showing that it contains the principles which should be used in any pay system which offers a differentiated reward. Unfortunately, the title and the emphasis of his article focused exclusively on differentiated payment system, neglecting the general concepts of management.

In 1903, Taylor again appeared before the society to present a second article: "Shop Management" (Management Workshop) where he focused primarily on management philosophy and then on the payroll. In essence, the following statements, theses can be learned from this article:

The objective of performance management is to pay high wages and reduce unit costs of production. To achieve this goal, management must apply scientific methods of research and experimentation to formulate principles and standard processes that will enable remote manageability operations. Employees should be scientifically allocate tasks and materials and working conditions must, in turn, selected scientifically so that standards can be achieved.

Employees will be trained scientifically and accurately to improve their skills and capabilities to perform a task. We have cultivated a climate of friendship and close cooperation between management and workers.

6. The Taylorist concept of management

Taylor's philosophy of management was much deeper than it seems at first examination of its principles. He believed, honestly, that man is endowed from the beginning with a certain amount of time and human resources that only means their use implied effort. Moreover, he thought, with the utmost sincerity, that effort is proportional to wealth. To maximize results - actual production or services - for a given level of effort, Taylor showed that scientific methods should be applied to the selection of the worker, to determine load, creating proper environment, etc. In these circumstances, the worker, if he obtains a level of performance expressed as results will be rewarded accordingly and if the standard of production and the expected results are not achieved, he is penalized.

Taylor said and demonstrated repeatedly that management has neglected to carry out its functions - in fact, the effort to apply the methods and obtain the result (output) was directed only towards labour, denying any responsibility and accountability. Taylor said that this mode of action was extremely harmful. Management must fulfil the task for which it is appropriate - planning, organizing, controlling, determining methods and others - and not to transfer the entire burden on the shoulders of workers. He estimated that over 50% of the labour work must be undertaken by management, resulting in a highly centralized planning function with specialized instructors. Only through the full application, Taylor found that employers 'and workers' interests can be best served. Under these conditions of harmonious cooperation, emphasis will be given to increasing the whole and not just of a particular part; the overall result is increased production, sales, and the emergence of opportunities for jobs, higher wages, profits and overall welfare. By stating these ideas, Taylor outlined overall management function.

Taylor pointed out that the basis of scientific management must stand following fundamental principles:

- Study all traditional knowledge, recording, classifying them and transforming this knowledge into scientific laws.

- Scientific selection of workers and improving their qualities and knowledge.

- Implementation of the survey work by trained scientific workers.

- Almost equal distribution of the work carried out in the enterprise, between workers and managers.

- Establish cooperation between people rather chaotic individualism.

Taylor said that mixing these principles are scientific management, which is something more conceptual and philosophical than mechanical. He emphasized on the confusion is between the mechanisms of management and scientific management philosophy in this regard emphasizing some of these mechanisms:

- The study of working time, the implementation and the mechanisms of their realization.

- Management of operational, functional or divisional and operational management to the superiority of the old type based on one foreman or supervisor.

- Standardization of tools and devices used or workers movements for each class of labour.

- Desirability of a planning department.

- "Principle design" in management.

- Using computers and rulers of similar tools for saving time.

- Occasional worker instructions.

- The idea of task management accompanied by substantial premium for the successful completion of the task.

- Use of "differentiated" for payments.

- Technical systems for classifying manufactured products as well as tools used in manufacturing.

- A system based on an operating flow.

- A modern record of costs etc..

7. New scientific approaches to management

Ramifications of Taylor's ideas, the impact these concepts have had on economic welfare are really obvious. The review and reconsideration of management innovations that he has formulated and proposed at the turn of the last two centuries shows that they have retained the best part, valid. Most consider him the father of modern management. Regardless of the role assigned to him, he was and is, undoubtedly, a perfectionist and a master in his work who highlighted and deepened the comprehensive role of management.

Despite these enlightens and contributions, the audience achieved in 1903 the American Society of Mechanical Engineers was not up to the significance of its concepts. Moreover, in 1911 he is interviewed at the Interstate Commerce Commission about his views on the effectiveness of railway companies and then by a special committee, House of Representatives Committee, about effects of Taylorist system applied to Watertown Arsenal, the public being more interested in sensational testimony than scientific management concepts.

However, even from this point of view, the public was aware of the existence of scientific management. Debates were held and worn by managers not only from U.S. but also from France, Italy, Germany, Holland, Russia and Japan and even Romania.

This upsurge of interest in scientific management can be explained only by the fact that the idea of a need to respond promptly. Management requires an answer to all its problems, and this need was born from a body of logical and practical principles embodied in a comprehensive management techniques. For decades, the interest management for self-improvement has been increasing, being expressed in congresses, conferences and works of great scientific importance.

This increase in interest was manifested in a number of techniques to reduce cost, cost allocation, improve control systems, each one making the actual management practices more efficient, without modifying them too much. As expected, all this led to a series of articles and books on the subject of "management". But this did not happen on a large scale until after the hearings on the case "Eastern Rate Case" in 1911 that Taylor's ideas are wide and well known.

The testimony of the effectiveness of Taylorist appealed to intelligent practitioners and managers who wanted to understand and study management, so the general concepts of scientific management were addressed to all those who were involved in a productive business. Taylor's ideas began to fruition. Although his views flourished rapidly, they ended in court. Of course this has only made Taylorist ideas to spread and strengthen.

These hearings even though "helped" Taylor end and hastened his death, gave him another chance to express and defend his ideas of scientific management. In his testimony, his views are clear on the essence of scientific management "Scientific management is not some tool to ensure efficiency, it is not even a lot of efficient tools. It is not a new system of representation costs is not a new scheme to pay people, it is not a payment agreement is not an award, it is a way of monitoring human or description of things that it has to do with work, it is the study or analysis of movement and the movement of people is not printed in the description of rules based on one ton of paper for a crowd of people. It is not functional or divisional management; it is not a tool that the average man and one imagines when talking about scientific management. The ordinary man thinks of one or more of the above things you hear the phrase "scientific management," but scientific management is not one of these tools. Not outraged or desperate about systems reduce costs, the study of working time or operational management, either on the new and improved remuneration schemes or tools to streamline, if they are real means performing efficiency. I believe in them, but what we emphasize is that this means, in whole or in part, that this is not scientific management; these are helpful tools of scientific management, as also other tools supporting management systems.

In essence, scientific management involves a complete mental revolution of the workers employed in any industrial organization or any profession - a complete mental revolution on the part of these men on tasks, but also to co-workers and their employers to. Also, scientific management involves a complete mental revolution and the management - foreman, supervisor, business owner - a complete mental revolution on the duties to the partners to Actual workers and to all the daily problems. Without this complete mental revolution on both sides, there is no scientific management. This is the essence of scientific management, great mental revolution "(FW Taylor - Scientific Management, New York, Harper & Bros.., 1947, pp. 26-27).

If all these concepts now seem merely to routine and traditional Orthodox practice, we must have in mind that at the turn of the last two centuries they were the vanguard truly one nine, and were rightly classified as revolutionary. Many of Taylor's ideas, of course, have been suggested ancestors but Taylor's genius lies in assimilating and conceptualizing all the previous elements and applying these ideas as a unified approach for effective management.

References

References

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