Scientific Management The Gilbreth Studies
BA Business Studies Management Philosophy Coursework “Discuss and critically evaluate the work of the scientific management team, Frank and Lillian Gilbreth.” “Scientific Management is the theory focused on the shop floor and the techniques that could be used in order to increase productivity” (Pinney 1989). The work of motion study pioneers; husband and wife team, Frank and Lillian Gilbreth can be understood to be the most thought-provoking, significant and influential studies of the scientific management era an the early 1900‘s. The work of F W Taylor, Henri Fayol and the Gilbreth’s has had an enormous impact on the performance of organisations and the way in which firms attempt to achieve full rationalisation and efficiency. ... Taylor used his time study experiments, Fayol created his principles of management and the Gilbreth team took the latter theorists ideas and developed them further, making many improvements to Taylor’s studies, specialising in ‘Motion Study‘. ... The Gilbreth’s developed scientific management to a contemporary level, by means of studying the worker’s ability and their movement in effect to boost their daily productivity, much like Taylor. What made the Gilbreth’s a lot more distinguished to the pursuit of motion study is that their research possessed a clear respect and dignity towards the everyday worker and the employee’s ability rather than just whether they could do the job or not. ... This ‘classical’ style of management leads back to the early work, in the early 1880’s, of F W Taylor and Henri Fayol. Taylor’s studies attained him the title “The Father of Scientific Management”. ... He believed that managers should control the workplace, using timed motion studies and also by paying workers by piece-rate rather than by the hour. These ideas were implemented by his ’Objectives of Management’. Taylor devised a practical method of applying these objectives to all types of work based on the “Division of Labour” into the hands of managers and the creation of rigid borders between shop floor and management. ... This allowed him to create his 14 ‘Principle Of Management’. These principles clearly stated that managers were the key decision makers in every possible aspect of the job, this reinforced Taylor’s ideas and paved they way for the term ‘Scientific Management’.