Flip that Burger

Question #2: Select someone with extensive work experience and ask them about efforts to increase worker productivity that they have witnessed or been a part of in some way (remember that these efforts can include the coordination of physical effort as well as the coordination of belief). Ask them to what extent they believe these efforts were successful and how it felt to be involved in them. Apart from their effects on productivity, did these efforts tend to improve the quality of the workplace for workers?

One after the other burgers are flipped until they are perfectly cooked, the exact amount of ketchup is squirted out and 2-3 pickles are added, then on the bun it goes – wrapped up and placed in your McDonald’s bag. Other than Henry Ford’s car making process founded in the early Industrial Age, no other major corporation uses this process so blatantly. However, does this sort of process of “Fordism” or “Scientific Management” only show its face in the factory and fast food world? I think not. I believe that throughout the decades this process, created by Frederick Taylor, has been molded and formatted to fit any and every type of job in the world.

What are Fordism and the Scientific Management and how are they important in the scheme of organizational theories?
Fordism is a word that was coined by Henry Ford in 1910 to describe his successes in the automobile industry. He improved mass production methods and was the first to introduce assembly lines in his factories.
Scientific Management also known as Taylorism is a method in management theory, founded by Frederick Taylor, which determines changes to improve labor productivity. “Taylor’s goal was to transform the nature of both work and management. He hoped that cooperation between managers and employees would bring a new era of industrial peace (Eisenberg, Goodall, et. all. pg. 72).”

In Frederick Taylor’s The Principles of Scientific Management, he describes scientific management as thus –
“It is no efficiency device, nor is it any group of efficiency devices. Scientific management is no new scheme for paying men, it is no bonus system, no piecework business, no premium system of payments; it is no new method of figuring costs. It is no one of the various elements by which it is commonly known, by which people refer to it. It is not time study nor man study. It is not the printing of a ton or two of blanks and unloading them on a company and saying, ‘There is your system, go ahead and use it.’ Scientific management does not exist and cannot exist until there has been a complete mental revolution on the part of the workmen working under it, as to their duties toward themselves and toward their employers, and a complete mental revolution in the outlook for the employers, toward their duties, toward themselves and toward their workmen.”

Thus, when interviewing my mother – Amy Peterson, a 46 year old Manager of Thomasville Furniture – I wanted to see if, “Scientific management does not exist and cannot exist until there has been a complete mental revolution on the part of the workmen working under it, as to their duties toward themselves and toward their employers, and a complete mental revolution in the outlook for the employers, toward their duties, toward themselves and toward their workmen.”

Q: Have you witnessed any efforts to increase worker productivity or been part of any?
A: Yes. The store I work at, Thomasville, uses a process known and used at numerous other commission-based stores as “Concept Selling.” Concept selling is a technique where when you greet a customer you start social and stay social, thus building a relationship with them. It is not until later on that you start to talk about the products offered in the store.

Q: To what extent did you believe these efforts were successful?
A: I believe that this process is very successful and has been extensively proven depending on the salesperson.
Here is another example of the use of concept selling.

Q: How did it feel to be involved?
A: Jokingly my mother says at first “Totally invigorating.” Then, however, she proceeds to say that as a manager it is an extremely positive experience. Furthermore, when the process works and sales are up, that means that her bonuses as a manager also increase.

Q: Did these effects improve the quality of the workplace?
A: Definitely, when it is commission sales people are up, the employees are happier and thus want to keep doing a good job. Also, people doing the same selling technique, customized to fit their own personality, creates an equal playing field for all. Finally, sales increase when the employees are happier.

Overall, after talking with my mother, you can see that Scientific Management and Fordism have both shown a bit of their faces in the more corporate world. Even though their processes have blended a bit with other organizational theories, the overall underlying theories are Fordism and Scientific Management.

Here is a fun visual of the assembly line - brought to you by Coca Cola

Give her a break!

I have never been a fan of Brittney Spears however I am starting to feel bad for her. Yes she did an AWFUL performance at the VMAs this year - she lipsynced, she was off beat and her clothing selection was interesting - however, when people started to comment on her weight that crossed the line. For God's sake people she just had two kids and I think she looks the best she ever has weight size.... oh the media.