Sociology

Scientific management was a technique aimed at increasing workers’ productivity by paying them according to the amount that they produced. It was pioneered by Frederick Taylor in the nineteenth century in the USA. Scientific management involves the subdivision of labour, whereby work is broken down into small tasks; the measurement and specification of work tasks; the selection and training of staff to ensure that the best people for each job are chosen and perform to the best of their ability; motivation and reward, as workers are paid by the amount that they produce; individualism rather than extensive social contact with colleagues; and the separation of management from labour. 548-549