Work Organization: Division of Labor, Taylorism, Fordism
Division of Labor: Foundational Concepts
Adam Smith argued that economic growth depends significantly on the division of labor. He stated that the “significant increase in production… depends on the division of labor” resulting from three key factors:
- First, the greater skill acquired by each individual worker.
- Second, saving the time commonly lost in transitioning between different tasks.
- Third, the invention of numerous machines that facilitate and shorten labor.
Charles Babbage (1792-1871) noted, “Perhaps the most important principle for economy of production is the division of labor.”
Émile Durkheim observed, “We know that when work is divided, productivity increases.” He also considered it a primary motivational system for workers, as it facilitates their development and personal growth.
Taylorism: The Rise of Scientific Management
Frederick W. Taylor’s goal was to systematize and apply emerging theories of work organization.
Taylorism Defined
Scientific Management represents an attempt to apply scientific methods to the increasingly complex problems of controlling labor in rapidly growing enterprises.
Two basic points allow for the systematization of the scientific division of labor: the scientific system and the organizational mechanism.
The Scientific System
- Replacing the opinions of workers with a rational method of organization.
- Selecting the employee best suited to each specific task.
- Implementing scientific preparation and training for the workforce.
- Fostering a close relationship between leaders and workers so that workers always know how to perform their jobs correctly.
The Organizational Mechanism
- Determining the exact sequence of elementary operations and movements to systematize tasks.
- Using a stopwatch to determine the precise time required for each basic operation and movement.
- Assigning each worker the smallest possible number of functions (task specialization).
- Standardizing the equipment used.
- Providing detailed work instruction sheets.
- Ensuring all work is clearly defined.
- Establishing a hierarchical distribution of production responsibilities.
Motivational Aspects in Taylorism
- The emergence of a corporate culture.
- Fostering identification with the company.
- Providing economic incentives.
- Maintaining authority and discipline.
Taylor’s Three Principles of Labor Control
- Dissociation: Separating the labor process from the skills of the workers. Management gathers and codifies the traditional knowledge possessed by workers.
- Separation: Separating conception (planning, design) from execution (performing the work). All planning is done by management.
- Control: Using management’s monopoly over knowledge (gained from the first two principles) to control each step of the labor process and dictate the precise mode of execution.
This leads to the extreme specialization of work.
Fordism: Mass Production and Consumption
Implementing the Fordist System
Requirements for Fordism
It required improved conveyors, rollways, and gravity slides to ensure a continuous, regular flow of materials throughout the plant.
Operational Mechanics: The Assembly Line
Fordism worked by placing machines and their operators in a carefully planned sequence of operations. Workers remained stationary, adding one component to each automobile as it moved past them on the assembly line. Components were delivered directly to the workers via conveyor belts.
Effectiveness: The Model-T Example
The system proved highly effective. Within ten years of its implementation, half of all cars in the United States were Ford Model-Ts.
Defining Fordism
- Fordism designates a specific 20th-century corporate regime characterized by mechanized production coupled with the mass consumption of standardized products.
- On the production side, this approach led to the deskilling of work alongside increased bureaucratic control over the labor process.