The Management Styles Employed By Users Of Scientific...

The management styles employed by users of ‘Scientific Management’ and managers who adopt an approach introduced by ‘The Human Relations School’ are vastly contrasting. The scientific style, popularized by Henry Ford in the early 20th century, involves delegating simpler tasks among employees and creating a ‘production line’. This approach aims to maximize profitability and efficiency. Conversely The Human Relations School considers the Scientific approach to de-skill staff and not cater to their social needs. There are many other differences between these styles, which will be discussed further in this text. Perhaps the simplest way to illustrate the differences is to observe McGregor’s X and Y Theory of Management. The theory highlights†¦show more content†¦In the case of Scientific Management it is clear that the reasoning behind the, de-skilled or maximally specialized tasks is the newfound ability to divide the production process up into simple short tasks. Then it’s possible to train employees to specialize in one particular step. In doing this production rates can increase exponentially. Smith, A. (1776) was one of the first people to recognize this effect whilst he was studying a pin factory in France, productivity increased from 20 pins per 1 worker to 48,000 per 10 person teams. This was also picked up on by Henry Ford who later invented his iconic assembly lines for cars. This of course is an approach that is polar opposite to that advocated by The Human Relations School, and other advocates of job enrichment, however it may be surprising that the second style may also be used to increase efficiency whilst still maintaining job roles of higher responsibility. The Human Relations School believes that having employees tied to one position allows for flexibility within the organization, meaning managers can adapt the varying environments. However a mechanistic approach may be more applicable to more stable conditions. The enriched tasks also help to motivate employees, which therefore results in an increase in productivity, whereas extremely specialized tasks may leave staff