It is not difficult to find examples of Scientific Management in the 21st Century; the car and computer manufacturing plants, the work environments we go to everyday, the hospitals we are treated in and even some of the restaurants we might eat in, - almost all of them function more efficiently due to the application of Scientific Management. In fact, these methods of working seem so commonplace and so logical to a citizen of the modern world that it is almost impossible to accept that they were revolutionary only 100 years ago.

Although Scientific Management does play an important role in the 21st century, it is necessary to note that this method of management contains weaknesses that limit its influence in current work environments, and consequently not all of its tenants are applicable to modern organizations. Scientific Management is perhaps best seen as an evolutionary stage in management ever developing history. This essay will attempt to highlight both the strengths and weaknesses of Scientific Management in context of the 21st century through examination of its application in several modern organizations.

Scientific Management was developed in the first quarter of the 20th Century; its father is commonly accepted to be F.W. Taylor, although some variations of the theory have been developed by Gantt and Gilbreth. Taylor recognized labor productivity was largely inefficient due to a workforce that functioned by “rules of thumb,” and a mentality that equated increased productivity with a cutting down of the labor force. Against the backdrop of Bethlehem Steel plant, Taylor carried out studies to insure that factual scientific knowledge would replace the traditional “rules of thumb”. The backbone of this activity was his “Time And Motion Study”, as Dale explains, “Taylor employed a young man to analyze all the operations and the motions performed in each