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For a contrary opinion, try Matthew Stewart. His book, "The Management Myth," was nicely excerpted in the Atlantic [1]. He's particularly harsh on Taylor's ea

For a contrary opinion, try Matthew Stewart. His book, "The Management Myth," was nicely excerpted in the Atlantic [1]. He's particularly harsh on Taylor's early experiments, which claimed to be scientific but were anything but. [1] http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2006/06/the-management-myth/4883/?single_page=true http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2006/06/the-mana...

yuhong 15y ago
"How many tons of pig iron bars can a worker load onto a rail car in the course of a working day?" That should be a big sign that Taylorism and scientific management is basically only suitable for industrial manufacturing.
paganel 15y ago
> He's particularly harsh on Taylor's early experiments, which claimed to be scientific but were anything but. I found it recently of how great an influence Taylorism also had on the 1920s' and 1930s' Soviet industry (which, in retrospect, makes perfect sense). From here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_management#Soviet_Union http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_management#Soviet_Un... """ Historian Thomas P. Hughes[23] has detailed the way in which the Soviet Union in the 1920s and 1930s enthusiastically embraced Fordism and Taylorism, importing American experts in both fields as well as American engineering firms to build parts of its new industrial infrastructure. The concepts of the Five Year Plan and the centrally planned economy can be traced directly to the influence of Taylorism on Soviet thinking. Hughes quotes Joseph Stalin: American efficiency is that indomitable force which neither knows nor recognises obstacles; which continues on a task once started until it is finished, even if it is a minor task; and without which serious constructive work is impossible.... The combination of the Russian revolutionary sweep with American efficiency is the essence of Leninism.[24] """

yuhong 15y ago

"How many tons of pig iron bars can a worker load onto a rail car in the course of a working day?" That should be a big sign that Taylorism and scientific management is basically only suitable for industrial manufacturing.

paganel 15y ago

> He's particularly harsh on Taylor's early experiments, which claimed to be scientific but were anything but. I found it recently of how great an influence Taylorism also had on the 1920s' and 1930s' Soviet industry (which, in retrospect, makes perfect sense). From here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_management#Soviet_Union http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_management#Soviet_Un... """ Historian Thomas P. Hughes[23] has detailed the way in which the Soviet Union in the 1920s and 1930s enthusiastically embraced Fordism and Taylorism, importing American experts in both fields as well as American engineering firms to build parts of its new industrial infrastructure. The concepts of the Five Year Plan and the centrally planned economy can be traced directly to the influence of Taylorism on Soviet thinking. Hughes quotes Joseph Stalin: American efficiency is that indomitable force which neither knows nor recognises obstacles; which continues on a task once started until it is finished, even if it is a minor task; and without which serious constructive work is impossible.... The combination of the Russian revolutionary sweep with American efficiency is the essence of Leninism.[24] """