The Relevance of Scientific Management in the 21st Century

Subject: Management
Pages: 1
Words: 286
Reading time:
2 min
Study level: Bachelor

The efficiency of the use of scientific management in the 21st century is complicated due to the lack of relevant research on the shifts in business practices. According to the researchers, it is explained by the fragmentation of available knowledge as a result of the neglect of emerging conditions in the field (Chen & Hitt, 2019). For example, the information, which is not updated with regard to technological progress and web-based platforms, distorts the outcomes of its implementation within organizations and prevents from establishing appropriate management systems (Chen & Hitt, 2019). From this perspective, its adoption is more of a threat rather than a source of advantage, and these results lead to criticism of its spread among professionals.

Although this approach does not seem beneficial for organizing the regular operations of present-day companies, it still presents a useful instrument for controlling employees’ productiveness. It is mostly defined by the fact that the initiative of one worker does not make a difference in the success of various projects, and combining efforts is a more optimal solution (Chen & Hitt, 2019). Nevertheless, cooperation does not necessarily correlate with effectiveness and, therefore, should be approached with caution.

To summarize, the dubious feasibility of scientific management as applied to modern enterprises requires additional consideration due to the presence of various benefits and drawbacks. The former includes the possibility to affect the productivity of corporations and ensure the suitability of adopted measures to theoretical models. In turn, the latter is connected to the lack of recent studies on this method’s actual advantages with respect to the continuously changing business environment. As per the alternative arguments, it is still valuable for companies’ activity, which means that reassessment of this tool is necessary.

References

Chen, V. Z., & Hitt, M. A. (2019). Knowledge synthesis for scientific management: Practical integration for complexity versus scientific fragmentation for simplicity. Journal of Management Inquiry, 1-16.