Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Job Specialization
Adam Smith (1723-1790)
Realized that job specialization resulted in much higher efficiency and productivity
Breaking down the total job allowed for the division of labor in which workers became very skilled at their specific tasks.
Scientific Management
Characterized by a worker-task relationship, with efficiency as its primary goal Associated with the industrial era in Europe and the U.S. Defined by Fredrick W. Taylor (1856-1915)
Taylors Principles:
1. Study the way workers perform tasks and experiment with ways of improving them 2. Determine rules and SOPs that govern task performance 3. Select and train (according to the rules) the worker for the task 4. Establish a performance standard, and develop a pay system that rewards above-standard performance
How were these applied? What were some side-effects? Managers didnt always reward increased output Jobs became dull or stressful Increased turnover Workers restricted output (sandbagging)
Followers of Taylor
Frank (1868-1924) and Lillian (1878-1972) Gilbreth Time-and-motion study Also studied job fatigue
Concerned with how to design the organizational structure for high efficiency and effectiveness
Closed System
System that operates as though it is self-contained Likely to experience entropy and disintegrate
Contingency Theory
The idea that the organizational structures and control systems are contingent on characteristics of the external environment
Contingency Theory
Mechanistic structures: Central authority Clear tasks and rules Close supervision Organic structures: Decentralized More authority to middle and line managers More cross-functioning and empowerment