Managing an organisation needs to be done by proper application of strategies so that workers can live in harmony at the workplace. In order to do so, different principles are applied so that the work can be carried on in a smooth manner (Cavusgil et al. 2013). Some of the principles date back over 100 years ago that are still in effect in the modern world. The report analyses one such method that is applicable to organisations located in various countries. The report focuses on the application of Ford and Taylor's principles that deal with managing employees by using a scientific approach to management.
The report analyses the use of these principles in modern organisations such Wesfarmers and Tesco. Wesfarmers is one of the leading retail stores that are located in Australia. Tesco, headquartered in the UK, is another famous retail store that provides all types of daily products to its customers. The report identifies the use of this principle in call centres in which the scripts are already laid down before the people.
Acceptance of Taylorism in modern business
The theory proposed by Taylor is one of the most accepted theories all over the world (Aitken 2014). In a world of competition among different business entities, the application of the scientific principle can help an organisation to remain competitive in the market. The organisations along with the employees within organisations also competed with one another. This is mainly in order to gain recognition and provide value to the organisation. In developed countries such as Australia, UK and the USA, this theory is accepted and applied in a proper manner. This is because most organisations tend to compete with one another in every department. Organisations like Wesfarmers and Tesco are two of the leading companies that adopt such a practise.
The aim of Tesco is to develop its horizons and expand the company in order to increase the revenue and the reputation of the company (Tesco plc 2017). Application of the scientific management can help the company to achieve the aim by proper recruitment of employees.
On the other hand, Wesfarmers aim to increase the efficiency of production in the country (Wesfarmers.com.au 2017). The organisation adopted the policy of division of work in which skilled employees are placed in departments and roles that match their potential in the organisation. Hence, the performance of the organisations justifies the fact that the use of Taylorism in the modern world is a continuing process. The fact that the application of such principles can help an organisation improve its current state is appreciated by the managers and strategically implemented in the organisations.
Application of Taylorism in scripts of call centres
In a call centre, every employee is given a script based on which the business is conducted. The clients are dealt in a similar manner and the employees make little or no changes owing to the response from the clients. However, as stated by Shafritz, Ott and Jang (2015) the job role of the call centres are different from one another. Some call centres engage in selling products to the customers while others aim to provide after sales services to the customers. Either way, the goals of the call centres are to satisfy customers and increase the profitability.
Thus, in this regard, it can be said that the systematic manner in which the approach is based suggests the application of scientific principles. Every employee working at the call centres aims to increase the rate of the calls so that more profit can be earned. The application of Taylorism in the call centres can help in increasing the rate of calls and the services of the employees. This is because the scientific management believes that division of work can help in the progress of an organisation (Aitken 2014). Moreover, the relationship between the employers and the employees also need to be good in order to improve the performance.
Application of Taylorism after 100 years of business
The video which was taken about 100 years ago consists of business that is totally different from the modern world (YouTube.com 2017). This is because the development of technologies and competitors were less during that time. However, certain factors like profit-making motive and motivating employees still remain same and organisations need to apply techniques that can help in attaining such things.
Managing people have evolved drastically in the modern world owing to the emergence of technology and competitors. The increased number of competitors in the modern world proves to be a challenging factor for business organisations (Waring 2016). In order to mitigate this, it is important that every business organisation develop strategies that can help it to maintain the status of the market. The application of Taylorism can help in mitigating these changes without bringing back the functioning of organisations that was seen 100 years ago.
Certain factors such as motivation of the employees can be done by applying different theories that can help in understanding the factors that motivate the employees. Organisations such as Wesfarmers and Tesco use these principles in order to ensure that the work done by the organisations does not harm the society. Instead, it helps in bringing profitability of the organisations and improves the manner in which business is conducted by the organisations. Hence, it can be said that the application of Taylorism in the modern world can be effective as it was 100 years ago. Certain business elements such motivation and profit-making purpose remain the same that needs to be addressed with this principle (Stoller 2015).
Conclusion
Thus, after analysing the effectiveness of the theory it can be concluded that the application of Taylor’s principle in the modern business world is important for every organisation. Even though the principle was developed 100 years ago, the effectiveness of the principle still exists and helps in the development of the organisations. Reputed organisations such as Wesfarmers and Tesco use the principles to continue with the work progress and improve the opportunities for the company.
Reference
Aitken, H. G. 2014. Scientific Management in Action: Taylorism at Watertown Arsenal, 1908-1915. Princeton University Press.
Cavusgil, S. T., Knight, G., Riesenberger, J. R., Rammal, H. G., and Rose, E. L. 2014. International business. Pearson Australia.
Shafritz, J.M., Ott, J.S. and Jang, Y.S., 2015. Classics of organization theory. Cengage Learning.
Stoller, A. 2015. Taylorism and the logic of learning outcomes. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 47(3), pp. 317-333.
Tesco plc. (2017). Tesco PLC. [online] Available at: https://www.tescoplc.com/ [Accessed 10 Dec. 2017].
Waring, S.P., 2016. Taylorism transformed: Scientific management theory since 1945. UNC Press Books.
Wesfarmers.com.au. (2017). Home. [online] Available at: https://www.wesfarmers.com.au/ [Accessed 10 Dec. 2017].
YouTube.com (2017). Ford and Taylor Scientific Management (Edited). [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PdmNbqtDdI [Accessed 22 Aug. 2017].
