“scientific management” born in 1899 ... just Myth Making 2.0
At the same moment was born the notion that management is a distinct function best handled by a distinct group of people—people characterized by a particular kind of education, way of speaking, and fashion sensibility. Taylor, who favored a manly kind of prose, expressed it best in passages like this:
… the science of handling pig iron is so great and amounts to so much that it is impossible for the man who is best suited to this type of work to understand the principles of this science, or even to work in accordance with these principles, without the aid of a man better educated than he is.
From a metaphysical perspective, one could say that Taylor was a “dualist”:
there is brain (grey)
there is brawn (brown)
Management theory came to life in 1899 with a simple question: “How many tons of pig iron bars can a worker load onto a rail car in the course of a working day?” The man behind this question was Frederick Winslow Taylor, the author of The Principles of Scientific Management and, by most accounts, the founding father of the whole management business.
management theory - core a collection of quasi-religious dicta - on the virtue of being good at what you do, ensconced in a protective bubble of parables (otherwise known as case studies).
exhortations: Think harder! Work smarter!
Management theory is part of the promise of America.
Replace the despotism of the old bosses with the rule of scientific law.
It offers economic power to all who have the talent and energy to attain it.
Management theory represents a covert assault on capital ... infuriatingly obtuse way of demanding more production for less payment.
capital (skilled labor) ... commodities
[negotiate exchange]
capital (secure credit) ... monies
DEMAND ++Product;
DEMAND --Cost;
Repeat;
Management Style = [efficiency, quality, customerservice, supplychain, self-satisfaction]
REPEAT;
Those who looked for the true meaning of “business process re-engineering,” the most overtly Taylorist of recent management fads, were ultimately rewarded with such gems of vacuity as “BPR is taking a blank sheet of paper to your business!” and “BPR means re-thinking everything, everything!”
Each new fad calls attention to one virtue or another—first it’s efficiency, then quality, next it’s customer satisfaction, then supplier satisfaction, then self-satisfaction, and finally, at some point, it’s efficiency all over again.
management theory is mostly a subgenre of self-help.
But just as most people are able to lead fulfilling lives without consulting Deepak Chopra, most managers can probably spare themselves an education in management theory.
Myth Making 1.0 ... Morality of Hard Work ... Reward in Heaven [Cats, Bulls, Carpenters Goats & Sheep] // Patriarchal Age
Myth Making 2.0 ... Morality of Hard Work ... Reward in America, subUrbia, and 401K retirement // Industrial Age
Myth Making 3.0 ... Morality of Hard Work ... Reward in Heaven here on Earth // New Age ... Spiritual-Scientific-Hybrid (3) ... 2 towers and the bridge?
1990s suggested an entirely new mode of human cooperation ... “information-based organization,” the “intellectual holding company,” the “learning organization,” and the “perpetually creative organization.” ... “end of bureaucracy” - Gifford Pinchot “intrapreneuring”
Death of a Farmer ... 1900s ... dawn of big Agri
Death of a Salesman ... 1950s ... dawn of big Corp
Death of a Manager ... 2000s ... dawn of big Bro Love Management
Many good things can be said about the “new” organization of the 1990s. And who would want to take a stand against creativity, freedom, empowerment, and—yes, let’s call it by its name—love? One thing that cannot be said of the “new” organization, however, is that it is new.
- “mechanistic” VS “organic” structure
- “lateral” VS “vertical” information flows
- “ad hoc” centers of coordination
- continuous redefinition of jobs
- The “flat” organization (1940s James C. Worthy)
- “bottom-up management” (1949 W. B. Given)
- “departmentalized” thinking (1920s Mary Parker Follett)
- change-oriented
- informal structures - Army of One
- 6 the perfect group number - Elton Mayo PhD Harvard Biz
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