Question
Download Solution PDFComprehension
Read the following passage carefully, and answer the questions.
Scientific management is a theory of management that analyzes and synthesizes workflows. Its main objective is improving economic efficiency, especially labor productivity. It was one of the earliest attempts to apply science of engineering processes to management. Scientific Management is also known as Taylorism after its pioneer, Frederick Winslow Taylor.
Taylor began the theory's development in the the United states during the 1880 s and 1890 s within manufacturing industries, especially steel. Its peak of influence came in the 1910s. Although Taylor died in 1915, by the 1920s scientific management was still influential but had entered into competition and syncretism with opposing or complementary ideas.
The Midvale Steel Company, "one of America's great armor plate making plants," was the birthplace of scientific management. In 1877, Frederick W. Taylor started as a clerk in Midvale, but advanced to foreman in 1880 . As foreman, Taylor was constantly impressed by the failure of team members to produce more than about one-third of what he deemed a good day's work. Taylor determined to discover, by scientific methods, how long it should take men to perform each given piece of work; and it was in the fall of 1882 that he started to put the first features of scientific management into operation. Although scientific management as a distinct theory or school of thought was obsolete by the 1930s, most of its themes are still important parts of industrial engineering and management today.
Fredrick Winslow Taylor started his career in the Midvale Steel Company during:
Answer (Detailed Solution Below)
Detailed Solution
Download Solution PDFThe correct answer is 1870s
Key Points
- Frederick Winslow Taylor started his career at Midvale Steel Company in the 1870s:
- The passage states that Taylor began as a clerk in Midvale in 1877, which clearly places the beginning of his career in the 1870s.
- Understanding timelines is important in evaluating a company or theory’s growth in a financial enterprise — recognizing that management principles like Taylorism emerged in a specific industrial era can inform modern applications in corporate efficiency and workflow optimization.
- In a financial enterprise context, Taylor’s early experiences reflect how systematic workflow analysis and time studies became foundational in cost control and budgeting techniques, still vital in corporate finance today.
Additional Information
- 1860s:
- This is incorrect as Taylor would have been too young to start a professional career in the 1860s. The passage specifies he joined Midvale in 1877.
- 1880s:
- Although Taylor became a foreman in 1880 and began implementing his management methods in 1882, his career at Midvale had already begun earlier in the 1870s.
- 1890s:
- This is inaccurate as Taylor's foundational work in scientific management began well before the 1890s, including his early experimentation in the 1880s.