Home > History Fact Finder > Economics and Business - What Is The System Of Scientific Management?
Economics and Business - What Is The System Of Scientific Management?
What is the system of scientific management?
Scientific management is a system developed by American industrial engineer Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856–1915) and used to gain maximum efficiency from workers and machinery. While working as a foreman in a steel manufacturing plant, Taylor conducted experiments to determine the "one best way" to do any given job. He created methods for performing tasks in order to increase productivity. According to Taylor, production processes should not waste time or material. He broke down processes into individual steps, each with its own most efficient techniques. In this way employers could quickly train new employees. After presenting his theories in 1903 to the American Academy of Mechanical Engineers, Taylor wrote The Principles of Management (1911), an important work on the subject of scientific management, also called Taylorism. Taylor became a consultant, hired...
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