Literature Review on "Investigation Into the Knowledge and Skill to Get Things Done"

Literature Review 12 pages (4345 words) Sources: 12

[EXCERPT] . . . .

knowledge and Skills to get Things Done in the Past

Principal of management

The theory of management was developed by Fayol whereby he considered managerial excellence as a technical ability which can be acquired. His principals and theories of management are accepted universally. Some of his principals of management included the division of work whereby he considered division of labor to be similar to specialization. His other principal was authority and responsibility which are considered to be coexist so that a person given a responsibly should posses concerned authority. Discipline is another principal whereby it denotes the sincerity regarding enterprise and work, believing in the programs and policies of the business and implementing the instructions and orders of superiors. Unity of command refers to the subordinate taking order from only one person and being accountable only to him. Unity of direction refers having only one person directing the whole group. Other principals include the general interests being more superior to individual interests and employees being remunerated fairly (Marion).

Fundamentals of Scientific Management

Securing the employer maximum prosperity coupled with the employee also getting maximum prosperity is the principal object of management. To ensure that the prosperity is not fleeting, maximum prosperity denotes the development of every aspect of the business to the highest level of excellence and not just high dividends for the owner of company. Essentially the employee's maximum prosperity refers to each man's development to an efficiency of maximum state and not just high wages comparable to the men of his stature. This should empower him to be able deliver work that is of the highest possible grade that his natural abilities can allow him and whenever possible this class of work should be given to him.

Though it seems self-evident that the two important aspects of management ought to be the employer maximum prosperity coupled with employee maximum prosperity, this is not the case because in the industrial world the majority of the organization of employers and employees are belligerent and this may be so due to the fact that either side don't believe it's possible to have a mutual relation whereby their interests will be in harmony (Gomez-Mejia and Robert 20).

Though it's believed that the employers' and employees' principal interests are essential opposed, Scientific management is on its foundation the belief that the two true interests are indeed the same and one; that without the prosperity of the employee, then the prosperity of the employee cannot exist for a longer period of years and vice versa; and that granting the workman the high wages he wants and the employer the low labor cost he wants is possible.

Ideally it is aimed that the in the least those who don't totally concur with each of these aspects would be guided to change their views; that some employers will get a more liberal policy in regards to their employees and even pay them better rather than their previous view paying the smallest possible wage and expecting the amount of work to be the largest; and those workmen who resent a fair wage or even begrudge a lager profit to their employers by feeling they should be given all their labor's fruits and they are entitled to small amount of the capital invested.

It is a fact that only when an individual highest efficiency state is achieved is when the individual greatest prosperity exists i.e. when his daily output being turned is largest. It is perfectly clear in the case of the manufacturing establishment that the workman's greatest prosperity which is coupled with the employer's greatest prosperity results when smallest combined expenditure of nature's resources and human effort is used in doing the establishment work. Or put differently, achieving the greatest prosperity is due to the establishment's men and machines giving out the greatest productivity that it possible, when the machines and men are giving out the largest output possible; because the employer will be prevented by competition from paying the employees higher wages than the competitors are paying when the men and machines of the employers are not turning out more work daily than those in the same business like the employer. This truth of probability of two competing companies paying higher wages when they are competing beside each other as is for the entire districts in a country or of nations in competition. Hence unless there is maximum productivity, then there won't be maximum prosperity.

With kind of reasoning, it is imperative for an establishment to train and develop each individual to empower him to make use of his natural abilities and do work that is in the highest level within his abilities.

Though these principals appear common to many people but in reality it's not the case because most people would give their best in other activities like sport but fail to do the same in the industrial setting. They set out to deliberately do little work in a safe way for instance one third to a half of a proper days work. In industrial establishment this phenomena is very common universally and is referred to as under-working or "soldiering" in America or "hanging out" in England (Taylor 37).

Historical and universal causes of under working

The first cause it the misconception that which has been common since time immemorial that a large number of men will be thrown out of work in the trade with increment in material productivity of each man or machine. History of each trade development has shown that improvement in either bringing in a better method or a new machine being invented that will lead to men in the trade increasing their productivity in the trade and reduced costs rather than putting some men out of their work but put more work for an increased number of men. An article which is commonly used will reduce its costs if due to the demand for the article being incremented. Most workmen tend to be ignorant in their own trade regarding its history and the lesson that it has set before them but still continue to believe just as their fathers that turning out as much work each day as possible is not for their best interest. Most workers in many countries work slowly deliberately to limit the output basing on this fallacious notion. The rules made by most labor union are objectively to curtail their members output. This fallacy is continuously being spread by those individuals who influence the people greatly for instance the labor leaders (Melville).

The second cause is the commonly used management systems are defective and this necessitates the under-working of the workmen or slow working so as that their best interest may be protected. The workmen interest to soldier is brought out by the employer's ignorance of the proper working time for the various kind of work. In systematic soldering which greatly affects the establishment is that one done deliberately to ensure the rate of working of the employees is not known by the employer. This soldering is universal that it's very hard to find a workman who works competently either on a piece of a work or on contract work and still puts effort and time in studying his rate of working especially in a slow form and still make the employer believe that he is working at a proper pace. This is caused by the employers determining on the maximum sum what they perceive is fit for the employees classes daily earnings whether the employees work on a piece or by day. The employee realizes soon that this figure is intended for a particular case and that when his capability of doing more work is apparent to the employee, then he will be compelled to do more without proportional increase in pay. The knowledge of level of payment for the day's work of the given class of work of the employers is derived from their often hazy experience, from unsystematic and casual observation of their men or from records kept on the quickest way of doing a particular job.

Third cause of slow-working is the universal the rule-of-thumb methods being applied in most trades and which a larger component of the efforts of the workmen is lost on. An incremented output through large savings of time is possible to implement by elimination of unnecessary motions and replacement of slow by fast motions. This can be realized one has seen personally the enhancements resulting from time and motion study done by competent man. Since most of the employees in the trades are taught their work details through observation of the immediate people to them, same things can be done in many different ways and this is in common use, therefore depending on the class of the work, there are a variety of ways of implements. There is always one method and implement among the various ones that is better and quicker than the rest and this can only be discovered by studying and analyzing… READ MORE

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