Influence of Scientific Management and Human Relationship Movement - Literature review Example

Work & Team Work Work & Team Work Introduction Industrialisation refers to the phase of economic and social change, which convertsa human faction from an agrarian culture into an industrial society (Clark 2007, p. 5). It is a part of a much wider modernisation course, where economic development and social change are strongly connected to technological innovation, mainly with the creation of large-scale energy, as well as metallurgy manufacturing. It is the wide-ranging organisation of a financial system for the aim of manufacturing. Industrialisation also institutes a form of philosophical revolution where individuals obtain a special approach towards their view of nature, in addition to a sociological process of omnipresent rationalisation (Clark 2007, p. 5). There is a huge volume of literature on the factors that facilitated industrial modernisation and also enterprise growth (how industrialisation changed the development of work in organisations) (Clark 2007, p. 5). Key constructive factors recognised by these literatures have varied from favourable legal-political environments for commerce and industry, to plentiful natural resources of a variety of kinds, to abundant supplies of fairly low-cost, skilled and malleable labour (Clark 2007, p. 8). As industrial workers wages rise, markets for goods and services of every kind appear to get bigger and offer a further stimulus to both economic growth and industrial investment (Clark 2007, p. 8). The earliest nation to industrialise was the U.K. in the Industrial Revolution, starting in the 18th century. East Asia, by the fall of the 20th century, had been identified as one of the most lately industrialised parts of the globe (Clark 2007, p. 8). This paper will how industrialisation changed the development of work in organisations and to what extent group work and team work responded to these changes. Features and the Development of Work Work refers to the aggregate of every mental and physical effort utilised in the production of goods and services (Clark 2007, p. 24). Work is a key element of production of goods and services (Clark 2007, p. 24). The range of a nations workforce is decided by the size of its grown-up population, as well as the level to which the grown-ups are either labouring or are ready to offer their effort for wages (DuBrin 2007, p. 45). Some of the key characteristics of work include performance of work on another person’s behalf, a contract, payment of remuneration, as well as subjection to supervision and direction. The contract-based feature necessitates that a work-relationship should be rooted in some sort of contract finalised between the employer and the worker (Scheiber 2012, p. 23). Even though, in terms of type this is typically a contract of employment, a work-relationship can also be developed because of other types of contract (Clark 2007, p. 24). The remuneration-payable feature necessitates that the worker does work in return for monetary pay or other reward. Any kind of reward that has financial value counts as recompense (Scheiber 2012, p. 23). The performance-of-work feature necessitates requires that the condition is one specifically involving the accomplishing of work. Any form of human activity, which has financial value can be considered as work, on condition that it is not “contra bonos mores” or unlawful (Clark 2007, p. 24). Finally, the direction-and-supervision necessitates that the performance of work occurs subject to the employers executive privilege. It is frequently the key principle recognising an employment relationship, as well as can be utilised as a test for differentiating work as a worker in an employment relationship from work performed as a sovereign self-employed individual (DuBrin 2007, p. 45). Historically speaking, the traditional norm putting an optimistic moral value on performing a poor job is a relatively current development in our society (DuBrin 2007, p. 49). Working hard was the custom for classical cultures (DuBrin 2007, p. 49). However, this was changed by the Protestant Formation movement where physical labour turned into a culturally acceptable norm for every individual, even the rich (Clark 2007, p. 32). Great philosophers such as Aristotle and Plato argued that the main aim for which most men worked was for the elite to engage in politics, mind-art and philosophy (DuBrin 2007, p. 49). In the past, work was not significant as people believed that morality, prudence and wisdom were openly proportional to the amount of leisure time they had. This is why work was left to slaves or was low paying (Clark 2007, p. 32). However, as time passed, beliefs and attitudes that endorsed hard work became secularised (DuBrin 2007, p. 50). The traits were furthermore woven into the traditions of the western world. People were no longer dedicated to a life of leisure. In the late 1800s, a majority of American production was being done in workshops and homes (Clark 2007, p. 32). However, in the factors that stood by then, craftsmanship and skill were being substituted by anonymity and discipline. After the fall of WWII, work environments were transformed to make motive and make the worker creative (DuBrin 2007, p. 50). Rewards were also introduced to make the worker feel significant (Clark 2007, p. 32). In the 1950’s, company policies, salary and working conditions among other vital factors started to be reviewed. Today, the world is experiences some type of upward mobility to work, where the knowledge of the entire society is better for the organisation (DuBrin 2007, p. 50). Taylorism Taylorism, also known as scientific management, refers to the name applied for a specific body of techniques and principles of management, which have been advocated as pertinent to industrial undertakings (Scheiber 2012, p. 6). The elemental concept of Taylorism is that there is one best/paramount way of doing every act that requires to be accomplished in a workshop, plus it that it is the duty of the management to discover that the paramount way and make preparations, which will ensure that it is accomplished (Scheiber 2012, p. 6). The key features of Taylorism are systematic approach, minimise wastage, discards traditional management, mental revolution, demands rigorous observance of rules, increases the productivity of employees, an excellent choice for large companies and specialisation (Scheiber 2012, p. 15). Its main output is economic efficiency, mainly labour productivity. It was one of the first efforts to apply science to the engineering to management and processes (Scheiber 2012, p. 15). Taylorism encourages better use of resources by scientific techniques and also scientific training and selection of employees that lead to better a staff that ensures increase in efficiency. Taylorism also creates better opportunity for scientific development and training to enhance skills, competency and knowledge and also better working conditions (Scheiber 2012, p. 17). Finally, it creates better quality products for the society at much lower cost. Some of the disadvantages of Taylorism are that it is based on one paramount way and is appropriate for simple firms than that for today’s complex and dynamic organization and that it centers on individual work compared to group efforts and splits the workers into inefficient and efficient categories (Scheiber 2012, p. 17). This reduces creativity and innovation and enhances monotony. Fordism Fordism refers to a notion of a modern social and economic system rooted in a standardised and industrialised form of mass production (Baca 2004, p. 169). The idea is used in a variety of social theories and management studies concerning production and correlated socio-economic trends. It is connected to the idea of mass consumption and transformation of working condition of employees over time (Baca 2004, p. 169). The key features of Fordism industrial paradigm, which involves mass production of standardised products, national accumulation regime, mode of regulation, monopolistic competition, state intervention to protect full employment and finally mass transport, mass media and mass politics (Baca 2004, p. 170). These final three are all forms of the social life include in Fordism. The output of Fordism is to achieve highest production of automobile, not only in the United States, but the world over. It endeavoured to achieve through the creation of its mass assembly line (Baca 2004, p. 172). Some of the advantages of Fordism are that it encourages mass production of goods and services. This is because the entire philosophy aims at achieving higher productivity through standardising the output. Fordism also encourages supports urbanisation because key assembly lines are always situated in major towns (Baca 2004, p. 175). Finally, Fordism encouraged employment as it instilled a system of rewards in its procedures. The disadvantages of Fordism, on the other hand, it create little workplaces in rural areas as these regions are not capable of winning the competition of the larger manufacturing factories in urbanised towns (Baca 2004, p. 175). The spread of Fordism also led to economic inequality negative effects on the environment, culture as well as production itself. Post-Fordism Post-Fordism refers to the name provided by scholars to what they depict as the leading method of production plus consumption together with other associated socio-economic happenings, in a majority of industrialised nations as from the late 20th century (Antonio & Bonanno 2000, p. 33). It is compared to Fordism, the method created in Henry Fords automotive assembly factories, where employees labour on an assembly line, carrying out specialised tasks repeatedly. Explanations of the nature of Post-Fordism and its scope differ considerably and are a subject of debate among scholars (Antonio & Bonanno 2000, p. 37). Post-Fordism is typified by the following traits such as, Economies of scope, Small-batch production, new information technologies, specialised products and jobs, importance on types of clients in contrast to earlier importance on social class, and the feminisation of the labour force along with the increase of the white-collar and service worker (Antonio & Bonanno 2000, p. 37). Post-Fordism is more of a flexible system of production (Antonio & Bonanno 2000, p. 56). Post-Fordist can be witnessed in the reorganisation of the management system wherein there is a much better flexibility, leaner labour forces and specialisation in an entire corporation. The approach of Fordism was fully centered on mass consumption: producing an entire vehicle to be purchased by millions, but post-Fordism, on the other hand, is mainly concerned with customer choice together with the segmentation of the market (Antonio & Bonanno 2000, p. 58). The major disapproval of post-Fordism is that it oversights the nature of the Fordist uprising and that Fordism was not a catastrophe, but was only evolving and will go on to evolve. Other disapprovals are that post-Fordism never existed, but coexists together with Fordism (Antonio & Bonanno 2000, p. 72). The automobile business has combined both post- and Fordist strategies using flexible specialisation and mass production. Ford brought in flexibility into mass production in order for Fordism to continue to evolve (Antonio & Bonanno 2000, p. 72). Japanese Work Environment A lot of people share the depiction of the Japanese work environment, which is rooted in a concurrent recruiting of fresh graduates, as well as a lifetime-employment form utilised by large corporations and a repute of long hours of work and strong attachment to ones corporation (Kopp 2012, p. 15). This atmosphere is said to echo economic conditions starting in the early 1920s, when huge firms competing in the global marketplace started to accumulate the same prestige, which had usually been attributed to the daimyo-retainer association of feudal Japan and also government service found in the Meiji Restoration (Kopp 2012, p. 15). At the extreme top, a majority of the prestigious firms would recruit and keep their best employees through providing better benefits and justly lifetime job security (Kopp 2012, p. 15). In the 60s, employment at a huge prestigious firm had turned into the goal of young people of the then middle class, the hunt of which needed mobilisation of resources of the family and high personal perseverance so as to attain success in the severely aggressive education system. Workers are anticipated to work hard and show loyalty to the company, in return for some level of job security plus benefits, such as good insurance, housing subsidies, bonuses, the exploitation of recreation facilities and pensions (Kopp 2012, p. 16). Income starts low, but rank is rewarded with promotions rooted in a combination of ability and seniority. Leadership is not derived from boldness or rapid decision making but on the skill to generate consensus, considering the needs of subordinates (Kopp 2012, p. 16). Studies point to continued partiality for employers who are demanding but show worry for workers personal lives over less-demanding employers concerned only in the performance of the job (Kopp 2012, p. 17). Influence of Scientific Management and Human Relationship Movement Scientific management was logically appealing to company executives of planned financial systems since central financial planning depends on the notion that the expenses, which go into financial production, can be accurately calculated and can be optimised through design (Scheiber 2012, p. 78). The reverse theoretical pole would be laissez-faire thinking wherein the imperceptible arm of free markets is the only likely "designer". In reality, a majority of financial systems nowadays are someplace in between (Scheiber 2012, p. 78). Even though, scientific management was obsolete by 1930s, a majority of its ideas continue to be significant parts of industrial engineering, as well as management, today: efficiency, empiricism, best practice standardisation, elimination of waste and experience transfer between workers and from workers into processes, tools and documentation (Scheiber 2012, p. 78). At its core, Taylorism (scientific management) discards traditions kept for their own sake or to defend the social status workers with unique skill sets (Scheiber 2012, p. 79). Human relations movement, on the other hand, became a concern of numerous companies to perk up the job-oriented skills of workers (DuBrin 2007, p. 59). Today there is what people call "soft skills" training, which is an endeavour of teaching these job-oriented skills to workers. Companies now require their workers to be capable of successfully communicating and conveying information and interpret others feelings, which will enable them to solve conflicts plus arrive at resolutions (DuBrin 2007, p. 59). Through acquiring such skills, workers in management positions, as well as their clients, can maintain more well-matched relationships. References Antonio, R J & Bonanno, A 2000, A new global capitalism? From Americanism and Fordism to Americanization-globalization, American Studies vol. 41, no. 2-3, pp. 33-77. Baca, G 2004, Legends of Fordism: between myth, history, and foregone conclusions, Social Analysis vol. 48, no. 3, pp. 169-178. Clark, G 2007, A farewell to alms: a brief economic history of the world, Princeton University Press, Princeton. DuBrin, A J 2007, Human relations interpersonal job-oriented skills, 9 edn, Pearson Prentice Hall, New Jersey. Kopp, R 2012, Over worked and underpaid Japanese employees feel the burden of Sabisu Zangyo, Japan Intercultural Consulting vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 15-17. Scheiber, L 2012, Next taylorsim: a calculus of knowledge work, Peter Lang Press, Frankfurt. Read More