Q&A - Explain Taylor’s theories of motivation at work

Taylor put forward the idea that workers are motivated mainly by pay.  His Theory of Scientific Management argued the following:

• Workers do not naturally enjoy work and so need close supervision and control
• Therefore managers should break down production into a series of small tasks
• Workers should then be given appropriate training and tools so they can work as efficiently as possible on one set task. 
• Workers are then paid according to the number of items they produce in a set period of time- piece-rate pay. 
• As a result workers are encouraged to work hard and maximise their productivity.

Taylor’s methods were widely adopted as businesses saw the benefits of increased productivity levels and lower unit costs. 

Taylor’s approach has close links with the concept of an autocratic management style (managers take all the decisions and simply give orders to those below them) and Macgregor’s Theory X approach to workers (workers are viewed as lazy and avoid responsibility).

However workers soon came to dislike Taylor’s approach as they were only given boring, repetitive tasks to carry out. Firms could also afford to lay off workers as productivity levels increased.  This led to an increase in strikes and other forms of industrial action by dissatisfied workers

Revision Presentation - Training [17 May 2012]
The Downsides of Downsizing - Does Retrenchment Work? [4 Apr 2012]
Happiness in the workplace still proving elusive [6 Feb 2012]
Leadership - Tough decisions to turn Starbucks around [29 Jan 2012]
Unemployment and motivation [28 Dec 2011]
Ho! Ho! Ho?  No No No! Motivation and the Xmas Party [4 Dec 2011]
The Simpsons and Financial Motivation [11 Oct 2011]
De-layering: do firms need middle managers? [5 Oct 2011]
Motivation in a time of austerity - financial benefits become more important [27 Jul 2011]
CSR - Can better social responsibility boost the UK economy by £17bn? [12 May 2011]
The UK Economy - Private and Public Sector Pay [14 Mar 2011]
Partners in profit - the JLP way [10 Mar 2011]
8 minutes of Daniel Pink on What Motivates Workers [7 Mar 2011]
Q&A - What is absenteeism and what can businesses do about it? [28 Dec 2010]
Starbucks - Two Examples of Financial and Non-Financial Methods of Motivation [19 Dec 2010]
Bruce Poon Tip exploits a huge Gap in the adventure market [12 Dec 2010]
Business Pricing Tactics Under Scrutiny [12 Dec 2010]
A great example of off-the-job-training - Starbucks Coffee College [16 Oct 2010]
Maltesers and Motivation [8 Oct 2010]
Can performance-related pay motivate the SCD celebs? [18 Jul 2010]
Is this the worst job in the world? [15 Jul 2010]
Are fringe benefits being cut? [5 Jun 2010]
Linking corporate objectives to management performance - the Vodafone way [4 Jun 2010]
Managing People - Will Staff Turnover Increase as the UK Emerges from the Recession [2 Jun 2010]
Flexible Working More Popular than Bonuses as a Source of Staff Motivation [2 Jun 2010]
The Dark Side of the iPad and iPhone? [26 May 2010]
Strategy Case Study - Vauxhall/Opel restructuring [24 May 2010]
Motivation, Leadership & Culture: Ban the Boss (BBC) [24 Mar 2010]
Motivation and management at John Lewis [11 Mar 2010]
Strategy in the UK Recession - What 69 UK CEOs Did About It [22 Feb 2010]
Money as a motivator in social work? [20 Feb 2010]
Taking Demand-based Pricing To Extremes [8 Feb 2010]
What business students can learn from how businesses have handled the recession [1 Feb 2010]
Introducing business and the economic environment with Darling’s debt dilemma [27 Jan 2010]
Revision presentation - motivation in theory [17 Jan 2010]
Revision presentation - motivation in practice [17 Jan 2010]
Revision Presentation - Protecting Staff through Legislation [30 Dec 2009]
Teaching Motivation - Classic Video(s) [17 Dec 2009]
Starter Video Clip for Motivation [17 Nov 2009]
Office of National Statistics publishes annual survey of hours and earnings [12 Nov 2009]
The UK: A nation of accidental managers [10 Nov 2009]
Q&A - What is Leadership? [30 Oct 2009]
Leadership styles in action - Dead Poets Society [28 Oct 2009]
The Jenson Button Business Lesson [21 Oct 2009]
The gentle touch in city finance [14 Oct 2009]
Motivation in action - the stairs theory [12 Oct 2009]
Forget motivation theory - lets try to demotivate people [5 Oct 2009]
The Changing Face of Human Resources [11 Sep 2009]
Motivation in practice - how not to do it - lessons from Britain’s bosses [1 Sep 2009]
Fantasy Football hit by the weakness of sterling [17 Jul 2009]
How to improve profitability? - give customers a “staff appraisal” [12 Jul 2009]
Q&A - Outline the main costs and benefits of inflation [1 Jul 2009]
Work For Free?  Or Pie In The Sky? [16 Jun 2009]
A stunning example of how wage costs can differ for the same job [10 Jun 2009]
Q&A - Explain “delayering” [1 Jun 2009]
Q&A - What are the main drawbacks to an entrepreneur of starting a business [22 May 2009]
Motivating employees - the end of the mobile phone sales shark? [17 May 2009]
Motivation in Action - Is this the Worlds Best Job? [7 May 2009]
Q&A -  What is share capital [2 May 2009]
Q&A - What is profit-sharing? [1 May 2009]
Q&A - What is commission and when should it be used in a pay package? [1 May 2009]
Q&A - What is “piece-rate” pay? [1 May 2009]
Q&A - Explain “time-rate” pay [1 May 2009]
Q&A - What factors should a business consider when deciding what to pay employees? [1 May 2009]
Q&A - What is job enlargement? [1 May 2009]
Q&A - What causes an exchange rate to change? [1 May 2009]
Q&A - How are businesses affected by changes in interest rates? [1 May 2009]
Q&A - What are the main methods of financial reward? [1 May 2009]
Q&A - How does a business benefit from having a well-motivated workforce? [1 May 2009]
Q&A - What is motivation? [1 May 2009]
Q&A - What is credit and why do businesses need it? [1 May 2009]
Staff retention in a recession?  Give them more holidays (and a pay cut too!) [20 Apr 2009]
Flight to value at Waitrose [15 Mar 2009]
Q&A - What is meant by the production process? [1 Mar 2009]
Q&A - What are the disadvantages to a start-up of setting up as a franchise? [1 Mar 2009]
Q&A - What are the financial objectives of a new business? [1 Mar 2009]
Q&A - What is meant by adding value [1 Mar 2009]
Video case study - Google’s Non-Financial Methods of Motivation [6 Feb 2009]
Linking customer service and motivation theory [2 Feb 2009]
Video case study - starting a business in a recession [24 Jan 2009]
Arsene Wenger reveals the secrets of successful teamwork [24 Sep 2008]
Can a company get the sack? [20 Aug 2008]
Not enough customers to break the daily grind at Beanscene [14 Aug 2008]
Tipping and the Minimum Wage [5 Aug 2008]
The exciting topic of budgeting makes the front pages [29 Jul 2008]
Is training the key to survival in a downturn? [13 Jul 2008]
The Challenge of Recruiting for the Best Job in the World (OCR Applied Unit 9) [1 Apr 2008]
Counting the Cost of Workplace Sickness [17 Mar 2008]
Has the Google bubble burst? [10 Mar 2008]
John Lewis staff bag a bumper bonus [7 Mar 2008]

BUSINESS TEACHER RESOURCE NEWSLETTER
Get first news of business teaching resources, ideas and other materials from tutor2u. Over 9,400 business teachers from the UK and around the world receive our regular teacher email newsletters. Sign up for free here!