The appearance of Taylor's scientific management theory is of epoch-making significance in the history of management thought development, which makes management a science. Its main contents include production and operation management. Organizational management and management philosophy. Taylor's scientific management thought has a great influence on enterprises in China.
Keywords: Taylor; Scientific management; China ...
China Library Classification Number: C93 Document Identification Number: A Document Number:1002-6908 (2008) 0610013-02.
Taylor's scientific management theory plays an irresistible role in the progress of social production, the change of modern thought and the development of management theory, and is a valuable ideological heritage of human society. Taylor's scientific management is a symbol of the transformation of enterprise management from empirical mode to scientific and reasonable management mode under the background of capitalist industrial production. The spread and application of Taylor's scientific management in China began with 19 1 1. Scholars represented by Cao Yunxiang, Yang Xingfo and Mu 'ou Primary School have made great contributions to the spread of scientific management ideas in China.
First, the main content of Taylor's scientific management principle and its influence in China.
Taylor's scientific management thought aims to solve the contradiction between labor and capital at that time, and then improve the work efficiency of enterprises. On the basis of a series of targeted practical explorations, the management thought has been improved. This principle has the following five aspects:
(A) two basic principles
Principles of homework research. This principle includes the operation method of improving efficiency and making rational use of working hours.
2. The principle of time research. On the basis of action decomposition and job analysis, the time required for workers to complete each action is further observed and analyzed. Considering the time needed to meet some needs and the time delayed by inevitable circumstances, in order to determine the labor quota of workers, the standard working hours are formulated for the standard method.
Three basic starting points
1. Efficiency is paramount. That is, to seek the highest working efficiency, and the central issue of management is to improve labor efficiency.
2. Any method that can be adopted in order to seek the highest working efficiency.
Both employers and employees should cooperate with each other.
(3) Four tasks
1. Conduct scientific research on every movement of workers to replace the traditional empirical method.
2. Choose workers scientifically, train and educate them, and let them learn to work.
3. Work closely with workers to ensure that all work is completed according to established scientific principles.
4. The work and responsibilities between management and workers are divided, and the management is doing the work that it is more competent than the workers, thus changing the management mode that almost all the work and most of the responsibilities were pushed to the workers in the past.
(D) the contents of scientific management
1. Labor management
Activity-based management is one of the basic contents of Taylor's scientific management thought, which consists of a series of scientific methods.
First, formulate scientific working methods. Taylor believes that the central issue of scientific management is to improve labor productivity and fully tap the potential of workers to improve labor production. It is to sum up and combine the experience and skills accumulated by workers for many years, find out which are * * * and laws through analysis and comparison, and then standardize and standardize them, thus forming a scientific method. Taylor further pointed out that it is the primary responsibility of managers to formulate scientific working methods.
Second, formulate scientific training methods for workers. In order to improve labor productivity, we must first make full use of people's talents, choose the most suitable people for work, that is, choose "first-class workers" suitable for each job, and on this basis, carry out scientific training for them to achieve the highest efficiency.
Third, implement an incentive and reward system. Taylor put forward the "differential wage system" in 1895. Its main contents are as follows: (1) to formulate a scientific standard quota system; (2) Take different wage rates according to whether the workers have completed the quota; (3) Pay the remuneration according to the actual performance of the workers, not the type of work and post. Its ultimate goal is to arouse the enthusiasm of workers. So as to improve work efficiency.
2. Organization and management
First, Taylor separated the planned function from the implemented function. The method of working by experience has been changed and replaced by scientific working method to ensure the completion of management tasks. The planning function is undertaken by a special planning department. The main task is to formulate scientific planning tasks, complete steps and methods on the basis of investigation and study, and conduct effective comparative research and control. The function of execution is to strictly implement the plan and ensure the completion of the plan.
The second is to improve the system of functional foreman. Taylor's functional foreman system is formed by further refining the division of labor according to the specific operation process of workers. In workers' work, foreman has special qualities (9 kinds), and the functions of foreman need to be further divided, and each foreman only undertakes one management function. Therefore, Taylor designed eight functional foreman to replace the original foreman to ensure orderly and scientific management.
Thirdly, Taylor put forward an important principle of organizational management-exception principle. It means that the senior management of an enterprise entrusts the general daily affairs to the subordinate management, while retaining the decision-making power and control over the general important exceptions.
3. Management philosophy
Scientific management is not only a management theory composed of some principles and principles, but also a management philosophy that changed people's re-examination of reasonable practice at that time. Taylor believes that scientific management essentially includes asking workers and managers to carry out a comprehensive psychological revolution. This psychological revolution is that "both sides turn their attention away from the most important issue, which is the distribution of surplus, and * * * turn their attention to increasing surplus until the surplus is greater than the increase, so there is no need to argue about how to distribute surplus". Instead of confrontation, employers and employees work together in a friendly way to greatly increase the profits of enterprises. This is the beginning of the great psychological revolution and the first step to realize scientific management. Taylor's scientific management is actually a kind of management that changes human nature, and it is an ideology that transforms the traditional consciousness of small farmers into modern socialized mass production, which is also a very arduous revolution.
Taylor's scientific management shows us a scientific management thought:
First, pay attention to the optimization of efficiency. In all aspects of production and operation, we strive to find the "best point" to achieve high efficiency and high efficiency.
Second, pay attention to the spirit of practice. In order to explore the mystery of "best", he led his assistant to conduct a long-term management experiment, which lasted only 26 years. Taylor respects practice and insists that practice precedes theory. In his speech three weeks before his death, he said, "I'm going to give up any plan or theory and support what I can find better."
Third, scientific investigation and research methods. In the long-term management experiment, Taylor invented scientific methods of investigation and research such as "time action research", which closely combined qualitative research with quantitative research.
Fourth, the management mode of managing factories according to law. Taylor's scientific management focuses on the establishment of scientific rules and regulations, the management of factories according to law, clear rewards and punishments, strict external supervision and severe punishment measures. This kind of management is characterized by excluding emotional color and showing no mercy, so it is also called "rational management".
Scientific management makes enterprise management on a standardized, institutionalized and scientific track, which greatly promotes the improvement of production efficiency. At the same time, in practice, its essential weakness-neglect of workers, is accompanied by high production efficiency, as well as workers' boredom with work and intensification of labor-capital conflicts.
Second, scientific management is a top priority for most enterprises in China.
Experience management, scientific management and cultural management are the trilogy of enterprise management modernization. However, for most enterprises in China, the urgent task is not to climb the steps of cultural management, but to enter the palace of scientific management.
Undoubtedly, there are many excellent enterprises in China, especially large and super-large enterprises with about 1 000. After reform and opening up and strengthening management, they have basically entered the stage of scientific management, and some have already stepped onto the stage of cultural management. But it must be noted that most enterprises in China, especially township enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises, are still in the stage of experience management. Their main features are:
1. Weak basic management. Many enterprises have no scientific quota, clear standards, perfect statistics and measurement, lack of systematic training of personnel, and chaotic management of job sites. Some are similar to workshop-style management levels.
2. The rules and regulations are not perfect. Many enterprises only have sporadic systems, which are incompatible or even contradictory. The only rules and regulations are not effectively implemented, or there are laws (rules) that are not followed, or the law enforcement (rules) is not strict, and the illegal (rules) are not changed, and even the law enforcement (rules) is illegal (rules). The imperfection of the system, on the one hand, causes the inefficiency of management, on the other hand, it forms many black holes of management, resulting in the waste and loss of a large number of state-owned (collective) property.
3. The organization is not standardized. Many enterprises have imperfect and irregular organizations, incomplete functions, overlapping functions, or bloated institutions, which lead to low efficiency, slow response, rigid operation and aging organizations. Workers' congresses often exist in name only, and the functions of supervision and discipline inspection departments are weak.
4. Poor management stability. Since the implementation of the factory director (manager) responsibility system, the administrative power of the factory director (manager) has been guaranteed and the ability of business decision-making has been strengthened. The overall effect is good. However, due to irregular organization and imperfect rules and regulations, many people take the factory director (manager) responsibility system as "one person has the final say". Therefore, the management of these enterprises is very humanized. The management mode and enterprise order are greatly influenced by the personal influence of the factory director (manager), which leads to poor management stability. If a factory director (manager) is changed, the order and management of enterprises often fluctuate greatly, even beyond recognition.
5. Decision-making only depends on personal intuition and experience, that is, only the director (manager) slaps his head and only one head. Lack of in-depth investigation and prediction, lack of perfect decision support system, and failure to follow scientific decision-making procedures, this decision-making method is neither scientific nor democratic, so the decision-making quality is poor and the decision-making error rate is high.
Third, scientific management in China is the premise and guarantee of scientific management in China.
How can China enterprises get out of the quagmire of experience management and embark on the road of scientific management? Should we follow in the footsteps of the United States, or should we take the road of scientific management with China characteristics in light of China's national conditions? The conclusion is of course the latter.
Scientific management in the United States is based on American private ownership and individualism values, and there are negative consequences such as "ignoring human nature", instrumentalization of workers, low morale of workers, and tension between labor and capital. When we study the theory and method of scientific management, we must never forget that it has the limitations of the times and classes, mainly manifested in its duality-"on the one hand, it is the most ingenious and cruel means of bourgeois exploitation, on the other hand, it is a series of the richest scientific achievements." While studying Taylor's optimization thought and scientific investigation and research methods, we should clearly realize that Taylor values people over people, only regards employees as economic animals, and simply emphasizes heavy rewards and heavy penalties. This so-called "rational management" idea of carrots and sticks is not desirable. Not only was it fiercely opposed by European and American trade unions at that time, but with the improvement of productivity level, its disadvantages were exposed more and more, and it was increasingly impossible to mobilize workers' labor enthusiasm.
We should abandon this management concept of "seeing things but not people". In the implementation of scientific management, we should pay attention to arouse people's enthusiasm and creativity, and cultivate excellent corporate culture suitable for scientific management.
Four, China scientific management should pay attention to the problem.
While implementing scientific management, Chinese enterprises should combine this management mode with China traditional culture and socialist value standards, and with corporate culture with China characteristics and corporate personality. Specifically, we should pay attention to the following three points:
First, China is a socialist country, and employees are the owners of enterprises. While running factories according to law and strict management, we should not treat people as crops, nor should we just treat employees as economic people. We should fundamentally see the enthusiasm of workers, respect their status as masters of the country, and wholeheartedly rely on the working class to run enterprises well.
Second, China has thousands of years of Confucian cultural traditions, the essence of which is the precious nutrition of today's corporate culture. Excellent traditions such as "prospering the country by getting rich", "giving consideration to justice and interests", "diligence and thrift", "familism" and "valuing harmony" have made great contributions to the revitalization of enterprises in Japanese, Korean and other East Asian countries, and should also become an integral part of the micro-culture of enterprises in China today. It is necessary to fully stimulate the workers' spirit of "loving the factory and making them feel at home", so that they can consciously abide by rules and regulations and improve labor productivity, instead of becoming slaves of the system and passive recipients of scientific management.
Third, in China's socialist construction, there have been good enterprise traditions, such as Daqing's "iron man spirit", "old four strict" style, and "Angang Constitution" with "two participation, one reform and three combination" as the main content. These cultural traditions of socialist enterprises are not in contradiction with the basic spirit of scientific management. We should not treat employees with iron core, iron fist and iron face like Taylor's pure rational management, but should establish a new labor relationship with employees that is both serious, strict, friendly and equal.
If the above three points are achieved, the transformation of "scientific management in China" will be basically completed, and scientific management will take root and blossom in many enterprises in China, and will bear rich economic benefits.
Since the reform and opening up, China's business circles have been learning and drawing lessons from the theories and methods of scientific management with great enthusiasm, which is a powerful driving force for most enterprises in China that are still in the stage of experience management. Enterprises have generally strengthened personnel quota management, standardized management, measurement management, personnel training and on-site management, and gradually embarked on the track of managing factories according to law, and achieved remarkable results. For example, in a short period of 10, Maotai Distillery, which is well-known at home and abroad, has developed from a backward workshop-style enterprise with no legal basis to a large modern enterprise with perfect rules and regulations, scientific technological process, advanced production equipment and high quality employees. While carrying out scientific management, the factory has carefully cultivated Maotai culture with the enterprise spirit of "loving me Maotai and winning glory for our country" as the core, and established a good corporate image. Management brings benefits and competitiveness. In a short period of 10, the fixed assets of Maotai Distillery soared by 12 times, and the sales revenue soared by 12 times. 6 times, profits and taxes soared more than 20 times! Facts have proved that stepping onto the step of scientific management from the stage of experience management has injected and will continue to inject vigorous vitality into China enterprises.
The Proposal adopted by the Fifth Plenary Session of the 14th CPC Central Committee not only emphasizes the benefits of scientific management, but also emphasizes the need to strengthen the construction of community culture, rural culture, enterprise culture and campus culture. This has pointed out the direction for China enterprises to strengthen management. As long as China enterprises take the road of scientific management, they will show stronger vitality and competitiveness in the market competition.
refer to
Liu Xiaohong. History of Management Thought, Hubei People's Publishing House, 2007.
[2] Guo Xiangang. History of Western Management Thoughts, China Economic Publishing House, 2003.
[3] Taylor. Principles of Scientific Management, China Social Sciences Press, 1998.