Taylors Four Principles of Management

Taylors Four Principles of Management

Frederick Winslow Taylor
Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856 1915) is
famous as the father of scientific management. He
worked as a mechanical engineer during the late 19th
century and exercised a great effect on the
development and improvement of management with
the help of his experiments. During his 26-years of
career, he worked at Midvale Steel, Simonds Rolling
Machine and Bethlehem Steel companies, and
performed a large number of experiments in this
practice of management. (Chyung, 2005)
Principal Object of Management/Leadership
Taylor, in his book the Principles of Scientific Management stated that The principal
object of management should be to secure maximum prosperity of the employer, coupled with
the maximum prosperity for the employee. (Taylor, 1911)
Problem Statement Presented by Taylor
Taylor examined and described the inexcusably inefficient work practices in the steel
industry, which he found during his career. He reported a number of criticisms of managerial
skills; some specific criticisms are as follows: (Thakur, 1998)

Taylors Four Principles of Management

Workers were employed on the basis of a first-come, first-hired policy without keeping
into concentration the ability and skills of worker.
The training, provided to workers, were completely disorganized, which uses only basic
apprentice systems in minimal extent.
Tasks were done through a general rule-of-thumb without any defined standard times,
method, or motions.
Workers themselves defined machine speed and workspace.
Nearly all workers determined their work and most of the responsibility for that work
themselves.
Managers worked along with the workers, while ignoring their basic managerial
functions and responsibilities, such as planning and organizing the work.
The concept of managers as a group of employees performing uniquely important tasks
was not broadly adopted.
Taylor believed that as they used a variety of differential techniques to do the same job,
they focused on take-it-easy principle during their job and as a result, worker output was only
one-third of what they can actually and possibly do.
Four Principles of Management
Taylor, while keeping in view the defined problems in the work practices, spent more
than two decades for defining the one best way for each job to be done. In his experiment, he
got able to define a clear guideline for enhancing and improving production efficiency. He
specified the correct conditions and situations for the employment of correct workers for the jobs
to be done.
Taylor gave four principles of management, which are as follows:

Taylors Four Principles of Management

1. Develop a science for each element of an individuals work, which will replace the old
rule of thumb method.
2. Scientifically select and them train, teach, and develop the worker.
3. Heartily cooperate with the workers so as to ensure that all work is done in accordance
with the principles of the science that has been developed.
4. Divide work and responsibility almost equally between management and workers.
Management takes over all work for which it is better fitted than the workers.
The principles results in prosperity for both workers and managers. It also results in the
overall increase in the production level and hence, decreases the cost of production. Thus, he
recreated the field of management, making it much more efficient and widely accepted than the
old field.
Best Known Experiment of Taylor
Taylor introduced scientific experiment with the help of his first experiment, known as
pig-iron experiment.
Structure of Experimental Workplace
Working in the Bethlehem Steel Company,
Taylor tested to handle pig iron on task work. At the
beginning of the Spanish War, it was found that there
were almost 80,000 tons pig irons placed in small
piles in an open field bordering with the works. At
that time, the prices for pig iron were so low that it cannot be sold at profit, and therefore it had
been stored. But, with the passage of time, the prices increased and a large amount of iron has

Taylors Four Principles of Management

been sold. Taylor found it an excellent opportunity to take the advantages of task work (the one
best way of work) while doing the fairly large-scale business.
Working
For many years, the pig-iron team was handled the five blast furnaces of the Bethlehem
Steel Company. Originally, this team consisted of 75 men. These men include both well-skilled
and average pig-iron handlers.
The work practices that are
originally designed were as follows:
there is a railroad switch along the
edge of piles of pig iron that run out
into the field. An inclined plank was
placed against the side of a car. Each
worker loaded his pile of pig-iron
weighing about 92 pounds, walked
through the inclined plank and
unloaded it on the end of the car. Thus,
this team was found to be loading the
total 80,000 tons of pig irons at an average of 12.5 tons per worker per day.
Taylor found during the study of this low loading rate issue that the well-skilled pighandlers did this work at an average of 47 to 48 tons per day, instead of 12.5 tons. He examined
that whether an average of 47 tons of pig-iron per day handled by the well-skilled is achievable
or not. As he found that it can be possible, he determined that it was the duty of the managers to

Taylors Four Principles of Management

organize the work practices in such a way that the total 80,000 tons of pig-iron should be loaded
onto the cars at the rate of 47 tons per man per day, rather than 12.5 tons. Further investigation
added another duty for the managers that this work should be done without any strike among the
workers, as well as without any quarrel with the workers. Thus, it was the duty of the managers
to get the work done with the help of happier and better contented workers.
Taylor started with the scientific selection of appropriate workers who can load 47 tons of
pig-iron per day. Firstly, he carefully observed 75 workers of the existing team for three or four
days in the workplace and chosen four workers who are physically able to work at his defined
rate. Then, he separately interviewed each of four workers, as he believed that every worker has
his own unique skills, abilities and limitations and determined their habits, character and
ambition.
Finally, we selected only one worker, with which he should examine the influence of
wage incentive on the production level. He was a little Pennsylvania Dutchman, whose name
was Schmidt. It was been observed that this man who walked back to home for a mile or more
was as fresh in the evening as in the morning when he walked up from the home. Also, with only
a wage of $1.15, he had purchased a land to make a home for him on it and also he managed to
put up the walls of a little home in the morning before he came to workplace and in night after
going back.
During a long discussion of Taylor with Schmidt, Taylor called him a high-priced man
and offered him a higher rate of $1.85 in order to convince him to work at a rate of 47 tons per
day. He accepted the offer and next day, he worked hard and loaded 47.5 tons of pig-tons onto
the cars.

Taylors Four Principles of Management

Result
It was found after that, when all the workers were fully trained and provided $1.85 (60
percent more than original wage), they all have increased their average loading rate and thus, the
productivity level increase.
Conclusion
Taylor succeeded in his experiment and he concluded that if proper workers are selected
scientifically, and provided with correct extra wage incentives on their effective performance,
then the productivity level can be increased. As a whole, Taylor became successful in obtaining
that level of productivity by using different combination of procedures, techniques and tools for
one best way of work (task work).
Use of Taylors Four Principle of Scientific Management by Todays Managers
The rules that Taylor defined are still being used in almost all organizations. Eliminating
wasted motions, hiring the best qualified workers for a job, providing incentive systems based on
output and performance, the managers are able to enhance productivity, build strong relationship
with workers and help them to work in a peaceful environment happily. As a result, this helped
them in making their small firms, large multinational companies, rat can make huge profits.
References
Chyung, S. Y. (2005). From Taylor's Scientific Management to Gilbert's Behavior Engineering
Model. Performance Improvement Journal , 44 (1), 23-28.
Taylor, F. W. (1911). The Principles of Scientific Management. New York: Harper & Brothers.

Taylors Four Principles of Management

Thakur, M. (1998). Management today: Principles and practice. New Dehli, India: Tata
McGraw-Hill Education.