C/M/281. Under the system of scientific management employers simply have to work out the most efficient way of organising work and then tie monetary reward of the work to the level of output achieved by the individual. Discuss critically with reference to the limitations of such an approach

Scientific management is one of the most famous theories in business and management studies. The paper analyses the concept of scientific management (Taylorism) and its principles. The author examines both the advantages and disadvantages of the theory from the point of view of operations management and organisational behaviour and work psychology. Various organisational behaviour theories and models are applied in the course of the analysis: expectancy; valence; instrumentality; Maslows hierarchy of needs; job satisfaction; job rotation, enlargement, and enrichment and others. It is argued that, although barely any company practises scientific management in its original form today, many have adopted models which are direct descendants from the theory. These include: just-in-time, benchmarking, work standards, process re-engineering, Gantt charts and so on.