Doing versus Thinking:
John Dewey’s Forgotten Critique of
Scientific Management
Shane J. Ralston, Ph.D.
Penn State University-Hazleton
Outline of the Paper
Frederick Winslow Taylor: Father of Scientific Management (SM)
John Dewey: Philosopher of Science and Management
Similarities/differences between their two accounts of SM
-Dewey, various texts on logic/inquiry/education
-Taylor,The Principles of Scientific Management (PSM) (1911)
- Dewey’s critique of Taylorism/SM in Democracy and Education (DE)
(1916)
Q: What are the implications of the Dewey-Taylor comparison for
organizational theory/human resource administration/industrial
relations?
The Dewey-Taylor Comparison
Initial points of comparison:
–
–
–
–
Emphasis on experimental inquiry
Faith in technological progress
Professed commitment to industrial democracy, worker welfare
Belief that scientific method should be extended into all areas of life
No consensus among commentators (Patricia Shields, Keith Snider,
G. Alan Tarr)
Dewey’s trenchant critique of Taylorism in DE weakens the
comparison
Nevertheless, the implications of the comparison could prove fruitful
Deweyan Inquiry and SM
3. Suggesting a
solution
Dewey’s 5 Stages of Inquiry
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
Felt difficulty
Locate and define problem
Suggest possible solution(s)
Refine suggestion(s)
Test suggestion(s)
Dewey: “Management . . .
amount[s] to rule-of-thumb
procedure, to routine. If
circumstances resembled the past,
it might work well enough . . . “ (DE)
4. Refining the
suggestion
Secondary,
reflective
experience
2.
Specifying
the problem
1.
Indeterminate
situation
5. Testing
the
suggestion
Primary,
nonreflective
experience
Settled situation/
Warranted
assertion
Dewey: “Democracy is a
way of life controlled by a
working faith in the possibilities
of human nature”
Taylor and the “One Best Way”
Taylorism = management consulting (Kanigel, Lepore)
SM= “philosophy in industrial management”
Four principles
1)
2)
3)
4)
One best way
Workers selected scientifically
Worker pay is a function of worker efficiency
Congenial worker-management relations
Taylor’s time-motion studies
1)
2)
3)
Catalogue basic movements
Establish baseline data for time each movement takes
Experimentally determine standard time, quickest time = quota
Dewey’s Critique of Taylorism
Concedes that the division of labor/standardized work procedures
are necessary for industrial efficiency, but ...
Workers must derive intrinsic rewards from work
- Extrinsic rewards favor physical efficiency, end is independent of
action
- Social efficiency also matters
- Latent mind/body dualism in Taylor’s account
No one best way
- Always multiple methods for increasing productivity
- Different conception of the “labor problem”
- Better to empower employees by discovering what individually
motivates them, rather than construct blanket systems of reward and
punishment
Scientific Management in the Modern Workplace –
From Taylor to Dewey
Widespread use of time studies and efficiency consultants, esp. in
fast food industry  McDonaldization of many employment
sectors (auto, healthcare, bicycles)
Dewey’s approach = closer to Human Relations Theory than SM
1) Emphasizes intrinsic (not extrinsic) rewards, generate a positive work
environment (similar To Elton Mayo)
2) Supervisors should form supportive relationships with subordinates,
empower, not command (similar to Fritz Roethlisberger)
3) Develop informal/collaborative groups, promote workplace democracy
(similar to Mary Parker Follet)
4) Motivational strategy that integrates the end into the action, cultivates moral
imagination
Conclusion
Danger: Treating Taylorism as synonymous with SM
Key difference between Taylor and Dewey
Prospect of a joint Taylor-Dewey approach to human resource
management and industrial relations
Questions?