Re-Tayloring Management: Scientific Management a Century On

Over a century has passed and yet there is growing evidence that knowledge workers across the globe today are as constrained by F.W. Taylor's much-maligned The Principles of Scientific Management, as factory workers were in the early twentieth century. Re-Tayloring Management looks critically at Taylor's philosophy on management and contrasts it with other perspectives that have since emerged, along with the professionalization of management and the growth in business and management education. The contributors demonstrate that despite the complexity and uncertainty that organizations face, instead of designing work systems where knowledge and service workers have the freedom to apply knowledge and skills at the point they are most needed, managers are obsessed with maintaining tighter control. This approach conflicts with contemporary job design principles, which emphasise ’job crafting’, whereby individuals are encouraged to craft their role in a way that is congruent with their identity. Drawing on insights from academics with diverse backgrounds and interests, and organised around 'past', 'present' and 'future' themes, this book is a thought-provoking read for professional managers, as well as for postgraduate students and academics teaching and researching organizational studies and management.

About the Author

Christina Evans is Principal Lecturer in Human Resource Management at Roehampton University Business School. Dr Evans' has a PhD from the Open University and a BSc (Hons) in Psychology from Brunel University. She worked in industry and as an Associate of Roffey Park Institute prior to developing her career in academia. Christina has written for academic and practitioner audiences. Leonard Holmes is Reader in Management at Roehampton University Business School, London. His PhD was awarded by the University of London. He has an MPhil from Lancaster University and a BA (Hons) in Philosophy from Nottingham University. He has held academic posts at the University of Bedfordshire and at London Metropolitan University, following a career in human resource management and development. Dr Holmes is a widely published author.