How has scientific management thought influenced contemporary leadership?

Total Quality Management developed by Denman placed focus on  the input and output of a factory, which highly influenced international markets like Japan.    His approached used a process of controls and a feedback loop to continuously improve quality.  “Deming believed these controls and feedback loops can best be determined through statistical analysis: look at your companies statistics and determine where you can improve.”  This process continues today, where companies are obsessed with website analytics and understanding who their customer is, their buying habits and demographics. Technology has been adapted to provide lots of feedback to any business online who seeks to have greater understanding of the customer who is visiting, browsing and buying their product. Together Denman and Taylor have contributed a scientific theory that has influenced how we do business today.  Where books were published and theories developed, technology has now been developed to also streamline the process within a factory who sells products online.  The actual manufacturing process is adjusted based on the statistical data, and the need to improve the process and imput/output continues.  The ISO9000 is also as a result of Denman’s work where the focus is on an established rigorous quality process standards.  The focus on developing Lean Manufacturing which seeks to improve the overall customer value, and to reduce waste is also a spinoff from Denams work. TPS is a contemporary expression of modern scientific management.

Contemporary leadership process focus on a dynamic and reciprocal process where people are pursuing a common goal. The focus is on the relationship between the worker and leadership, which has built on the theories of scientific management that have been developed from the past. Organizational charts, performance evaluations, quality measurements and metrics, and sales and/or production goals are all attributed to Taylors early theories.  Scientific management evolved into operations management, operations research, and management cybernetics and by the 1980’s total quality management became widely popular. Taylorism laid the groundwork for these large and influential fields that we still practice today.

References

Northouse, P. G., & Lee, M. (2022). Leadership case studies in education. SAGE Publications, Inc.