Frederick Taylor conducted time and motion studies on the Ford Motor Company assembly line 112 years ago. Taylor’s idea was to make every step along the assembly line more efficient and effective. No more guess work. The “one best way” became the mantra. And the Model T Ford was the first successful product of scientific management.
Scientific management is based on a simple principle. Workers are more productive when they are assigned narrow and clearly defined tasks. Creativity and guess work are removed. Taylor believed that productivity improved by eliminating unnecessary effort.
In 1908, the Model T Ford was priced at $825 and initially sold well over 10,000 cars.
When Taylor—the first and perhaps the most influential management ...
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