The Taylorismus or the Scientific management (dt. scientific management or w. Management) goes back on the American Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856-1915). Taylor believed in it, management, work and enterprise with a purely scientific approach (Scientific management) optimizes, thus social problems solves and "„prosperity for all "“to reach to be able.

Analysis of the starting situation by Taylor

For the starting point of its analysis Taylor took the so-called loafing (the achievement restraint) the worker. The question was, how one could induce the workers (with same wages) to more work. He came to the conclusion that firm expirations could be understood as a struggle for power between workers and management and that this fight was won by the workers, as long as only they know and control the work. In order to change and induce thus the workers to more achievement this distribution of power in favor of the management, Taylor suggested three substantial principles.

Beyond that Taylor represented a mechanistical view of the individual worker. "„Workers obey similar laws as parts of a machine "“(Taylor). Outgoing from this mechanistical aspect, he tried to restructure the flow charts due to purely rational considerations and too "„scientific "“.

Three basic principles of the Taylorismus

1. Work should be based on precise guidances, which the management gives. The acceptance is appropriate for this principle to reason that there is a best way, a work to master (one best way principle).
2. The first principle can be realized only by a high division of labor, because only very small jobs can be prescribed in the detail precisely or analyzed at all by the management. Beyond that starting from a certain complexity the one best way principle fails to the work, since there can be then several similarly good ways to the accomplishment of the work.
3. Money is used as motivation factor, i.e. the payment is made dependent on the furnished achievement. This led for instance to piece-work, premium wages (in its height did not reflect the full productivity increase), more generally "„compression "“and better "„use "“of the work and/or the worker etc.

Development and application of the Taylorismus by Taylor

Starting from 1882 Taylor let large-scale time-studies accomplish, introduced premium wage systems and developed new, scientifically justified detailed courses of motion and work for the increase of the achievement of the workers. Thus it came to a strongly increasing rationalization in the enterprises: The workers got a standard environment with standardized lighting, tools and flow charts. In response self certainty and sole responsibility were more and more denied to them. The worker was now only responsible for the work actually, no more for the release from problems.

Consequences of the Taylorismus

The productivity increase of the American economy after the Second World War decreased/went back according to opinion of many experts to a not insignificant part on rationalizations, which had their basis in the Taylorismus. Most strictly realized itself the Taylorismus with Henry Ford (see: Fordism), which introduced 1913 assembly-line production and with its Ford model T occasionally more than 50 % market share reached.

Among the workers however a dissatisfied attitude prevailed to the associated alienation of the work during the total process of production opposite the Taylorismus, particularly due to the monotonous activity, which demanded no more independent thinking, ("„everyone is only a tiny gear wheel in an enormous mechanism "“, sees also: Modern times of Charlie Chaplin). Besides the reduction of individual work procedures led this to a higher clock frequency and fewer time buffers between the work procedures, increased the working intensity and affected themselves increasingly negatively on the health of the workers. Finally also the enterprises got the consequences of these bad states to feel: The workers showed participation lacking, identified themselves less with the enterprise and the product (quality losses) and had more time absent (due to the health consequences). It came to conflicts between management and workers, and to an increasing drift of employees into the service sector.

Reaction and criticism

Starting from center of the 1960er years began substantial reactions to the Taylorismus, which pushed on humanization and democratization of the working sphere (see: Relation movementmovement relation movement). The assumption of the Taylorismus in the administrative reform not only Anglo America but e.g. also in Germany in the context particularly between 1980 and 1995 virulenten new Public management led (and leads still) to large problems of capacity and effectiveness.

Due to one-sided action orientation the approach Taylors is not by any means as scientific as postulated by Taylor. Thus by it no theories were provided and examined, but met by means of experiments statements, which were then considered as postulate. The experiments (e.g. the shovel size investigation) were observed partially only at two or three workers during a short period and published then generalizing. Explanation beginnings, why the workers behave opportunistisch, engineers planned as leaders however, are not missing.

A wrong appropriation of the Taylorismus is its - quite frequent - transmission on the higher management or the Entrepreneure (or in the administration then on the leading officials); Taylor had seriously excluded this in the Principles themselves.

Experiments of Taylor

An experiment of Taylor was the shovel size experiment. It assumed for one "„Schaufler is optimal "“a certain weight per shovel movement. In addition it took good Schaufler as observation objects. In order a reliable result too received, these workers to extra wages received. Then the loads on the shovel became (by the shovel size) for these workers and also different one the work of circumstances concerned continuously changed over some weeks. With the fact it found out that a Schauffellast of 9,5 kg is optimal for earthwork.

Criticism at this study: their is not given. "„First-class "“workers were selected and to only isolated samples were taken. The extra wages as motivation were not considered. The period was too short, in order to be able to close on long-term effects.

Articles in category "Taylorismus"

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