Question

Explain how Taylorism and Fordism contributed to control over the workforce and the creation of more efficient forms of working

Answer 1

Taylorism: Taylorism is also known as scientific management theory, which focuses on analyzing and optimizing the workforce as per the requirement and demand in the organization. This theory was developed by Fredrick Winslow Taylor, who was a management consultant and mechanical engineer.in his book called The Principle of Scientific Management. After publishing this theory, it changed the way organizations view their workers and their performance in the organization. Before that managers used to think that workers are lazy and inefficient in their roles and too slow to finish their work within the time duration.

Taylorism changed this view of managers and provided a revolutionary solution. This theory helps the organization to analyze their workforce in terms of workflows and improve economic efficiency especially labor productivity.

Taylorism theory or scientific management has four core principle that has its influence even today's organization, these four core principles are discussed in the below points,

a. The organization should select or hire the right worker for the task and each worker should be trained to get maximum efficiency.

b. Each job or task should be carefully looked scientifically to analyze and determine the best way to perform the job. This has changed the way workers were doing their job previously by selecting their own ways to finish the job.

c. Each task and way to finish the job should be explained in detail and the organization should arrange the training when needed.

d. The organization should divide the work between management and workers. The management would have the responsibility to make plans and train the workers and workers would help in executing the tasks as per the guidance by the management.

Taylorism theory\s main principle is that the management should work closely with their work and train them as per the requirement of the tasks and supervise them. Tylor also suggested the variable pay rates for the workers for the work delivered by them. When a worker finished his tasks accurately and within the time limit suggested by the management, the worker should be received additional wages that could be 30 to 100% high from his current wages.

Fordism:

Fordism is one of the other theories that helped in controlling the workforce and created a more efficient form of working. Fordism is the stage of economic development in the 20th century. Fordism is the theory that is basis of modern economic and social processes in industrialized, mass consumption, and standardized mass production.

Fordism is the theory that refers to the introduction of systems for mass production and mass consumption that was the main characteristic of a highly developed economics in 1940-1960. Under Fordism era, mass consumption was linked with the mass production to have sustained economic growth and material advancements. Fordism was the symbol of transformation from the agriculture era to the industrial era and mass production economy.

The main transformation in the Fordism era was from craft production to mass production. and creating a market based on economies of scope and economies of scale. Fordism helped the organizations built on functional specialization and different divisions of labor. Economies of the scale were the main characteristics of Fordism theory, where economies of scale were produced by dividing fixed expenses over larger volumes of goods that helped in reducing per-unit cost. On the other hand, economies of scope were produced by using labors for multi-department and produce multiple goods at fewer costs. For example, workers engaging in departments such as finance, accounting, quality control, reporting, purchasing, etc started working for several departments and product lines to reduce costs.

Fordism also helped in getting mass production by using a process engineering and helped in producing standardized products, components by using a standardized manufacturing process. Fordism has first started the assembly line and made it possible that each worker was performing a single and repetitive task that was helping in improving the efficiency and productivity of the worker. The use of assembly lines and electric motors in that use special-purpose tools that is useful for unskilled workers to contribute to production. In this era also, workers were paid higher wages to make them enable to buy products that they manufacture. The main contribution of Fordism in the organizations was dividing complex tasks into smaller ones with the help of tools and machines. It also cut down the manpower and the organizations were recruiting only the required number of workers in the factory.