Scientific Management Analysis

Scientific management is also known as Taylorism. It is basically a management theory that analyzes how work flows. Scientific management aims at making better the efficiency of the economy and specifically ensuring that productivity of labor has gone up. It is indeed one of the first attempts in a bid to use science to the processes of engineering and in management. Fredrick Taylor developed the scientific management theory in the processing factories in the 19th century (Latham, 2007).

On the other hand, human relations movement deals with those experts who do study how individuals behave in their specific areas of work.

The movement came into being in 1930 through Hawthorne’s studies which basically dealt with issues regarding motivation and productivity of employees. The movement’s sole responsibility was to look at employees from a psychological point of view as opposed to interchangeable sections. This article focuses on the pros and cons of Taylor’s motivation theory as well as Elton’s theory of motivation.

There have been so many theories in the offing on how to boost the morale of the workers. The two mentioned theories above have been in the viewing for over ten decades now. Although the two are meant to motivate employees, the conclusions that come with each one of them is different. Fredrick Winslow Taylor in his motivational theory holds onto the idea of motivating workers through pay (Appley & Cofer, 2006). His scientific management theory deduces that, employees do not derive any pleasure from working and therefore need to be supervised closely besides being controlled.

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The theory continues to state that the supervisors should ensure that work is done in small doses. Employees should be taken for training and later be provided with necessary tools in order to work efficiently (Latham, 2007). Taylor’s theory of motivation also advocates for workers to be paid according to what they have produced. The employer can in return expect the employees to increase productivity besides working hard.

Elton mayo theory of motivational holds that, apart from money, employees need to have their social life well taken care of. The human relation idea lays emphasis on the importance of supervisors having a special interest in employees alongside looking at them as individuals who have important opinions besides their need for interaction. After carrying out a research in Hawthorne Company, he concluded the following: there is need for communication between the supervisors and employees, and the employees would be more productive if they work in groups. He finally drew a conclusion that companies should contemplate reorganizing themselves in a bid to ensure that the management involves itself in the lives of the workers (Latham, 2007).

The benefit that comes with Taylor’s theory of motivation includes maximized levels of productivity and reduced costs of production. The disadvantage on the other hand is that employees get tired of doing the same thing every now and then and therefore work like machines (Pride et al 2009). Another disadvantage is the risk of being sacked as a result of maximized productivity. This eventually leads to protests of workers.

Elton’s theory comes with a benefit of bringing the workers closer to the management and therefore solving a thorny issue becomes a simple task. However, the disadvantage is far reaching as the idea of working as a team cannot recognize individual’s effort. As a result, many workers will pretend to work while in actual sense they are doing a lot of nothing (Appley & Cofer, 2006).

In conclusion, as a manager of a company, Elton’s theory is the best method to motivate employees. This is because it makes the employees feel wanted unlike when they are just given money and everything seems to end there. When the employees are catered for socially, they can work freely without any stress (Pride et al 2009). Taylor’s theory reduces employees into machines and when they go on strike, the company’s reputation and profits are worse hit.