Compare And Contrast Scientific Management And Human Relation Approach

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According to Mary Parker Follet (1941), management is the process of “getting things done through people”. (Khan A. Imaad,2008). Over the course of the years many theories and perspectives have been created as a conclusive result of many research studies. Two such approaches are the theory of ‘Scientific Management’ and the ‘Human Relations’ approach.

Frederick Taylor’s Scientific Management is popularly known as the first theory in management history (Stoner, Edward, Gilbert, 2003). Scientific management (also known as TAYLORISM) is an approach that was created in order to increase the productivity of workers and to ensure that there was no hostility between the workers and the management. It included a set of principles that were drawn up as a conclusive result of systematic study of the work in industries.

The father of the ‘human relations’ approach is Elton Mayo (1880-1949). He is famous for his well-known “Hawthorne Studies”. It resulted in what is popularly known as the ‘Hawthorne Effect’, which is a 112%rise in productivity, by workers who are under the impression that they are being studied in some manner.

This essay aims to compare and contrast both these theories of management and provide an insight into the critical analysis of them. With relevant examples of the usage of these theories in today’s world this essay is intended to provide a complete and detailed investigation of these theories.

American engineer Frederick Winslow Taylor apprenticed at