Standing in the 2 1 century and embracing "Taylor"

China's century-old embarrassment

Do you know that Taylor system, the core component of modern enterprise management, was introduced in China even earlier than in Europe?

Nearly a century ago, Mr. Mu Ouchu, a pioneer of modern enterprise management in China who insisted on saving the country by industry, was keenly aware of the great value of Taylor system, and even took pains to find Taylor, the father of scientific management, to give him a face-to-face lecture in the United States. "After repeated discussions, he benefited a lot."

19 14, Mu Ouchu began to translate Principles of Scientific Management, which contains the essence of Taylor system, and published it two years later under the name of Applying Theory to Factory Management. At that time, in addition to running his own business, Mr. Mu Ouchu spared no effort to promote the Taylor system everywhere. At that time, he was called "Su Shen is like the seal of six countries, an outstanding expert in textile industry".

After World War I, Europe was surprised by the high efficiency of American factories and began to learn Taylor system. Nowadays, Taylor production is the cornerstone of modern enterprise management, and we can find its lingering shadow in any successful enterprise in the world, such as Boeing and Toyota.

It is a pity, however, that just as China first invented gunpowder but didn't take the lead in making cannons, Taylor's thought first landed, but it didn't take root in the chaotic China in the 20th century.

So, one hundred years have passed.

"In reality, Taylor's scientific management is the weakest link in China enterprises!" This is the severe criticism that Chinese and foreign management heard in the global economic crisis of 2 1 century nearly a century later, and it also reveals the century-old embarrassment of China enterprises in one fell swoop. What's even more embarrassing is that it's not our management scientist or our entrepreneur who makes such a cry-this person is Chen Hongqiao, the current deputy general manager of Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

An authoritative person in the capital circle, without talking about listing counseling and stock market ups and downs, feels sad, confusing and shocking about the basic management of our enterprise. "I didn't deliberately promote the Taylor system, but I have summed up a lot of experience in my management career in the past 20 years. Finally, I found that it still comes down to the Taylor system. " Chen Hongqiao told Chinese and foreign managers. Because of his working relationship, Chen Hongqiao had the opportunity to have in-depth exchanges with hundreds of entrepreneurs, and personally realized that the most time-consuming and arduous task for most China enterprises is to "temper management processes and practice basic skills".

Chorus with "capitalist" Chen Hongqiao is "economist" Li Yining: "The concepts corresponding to modernization, such as discipline, norms, systems and procedures, are far from being deeply rooted in people's hearts!"

Chen Hongqiao further pointed out to China Foreign Management that there is a mantra in China industry at present: "We have gone through the course of western developed countries in less than 10 year!" Are you proud? But another fact is that Taylor system, the basic work of enterprise management, especially the training of professional talents based on Taylor system, is still a gap we need to cross.

In today's global economic crisis, we are glad to have a once-in-a-century historical opportunity compared with our predecessors. At the same time, I also hope that China enterprises, which were also baptized in the economic crisis, will "return" to basic management and accept the baptism of Taylor system again!

The hero behind Hitler's failure

American f·w· W taylor's "scientific management" system was developed after he spent more than 20 years experimenting in the factory and summing up his previous experience (see chart). Taylor believes: "The best management is a real science, based on clearly defined disciplines, rules and principles."

Don't underestimate these management ABC that "ended" World War II.

During World War II, the Nazis "dared" to challenge the United States because the rigorous German authorities did their best, but they misjudged one thing: the supply capacity of American military production. Because the United States was fighting in the front line of Europe and Asia at that time, a large number of skilled workers joined the army to participate in the war, and the factory labor force was very tight. However, it is Taylor's "scientific management" method that quickly cultivated a large number of unskilled reserve manpower, so that farmers who used to farm and raise cattle and women who stayed at home can be worthy of first-class skilled workers in a short time. When American tanks and planes were sent to the battlefield from the mainland like magic, the fall of fascism became inevitable.

Hitler, not to Roosevelt, but to Taylor! Training is the field that Taylor system has the greatest influence on modern industry.

Peter drucker, the "father of modern management", put forward the above unique observation and analysis.

So, how is Taylor system realized?

Taylor's trilogy of "scientific management" is: first, teach workers the skills to complete tasks through training; Second, use scientific research and repeated experiments to formulate standards and rules and regulations, and make regulations and tasks accordingly; Third, use incentives such as rewards and punishments to ensure the completion of the task. The core and foundation of all this is the refinement, standardization and institutionalization of various management elements.

One of the secrets of "scientific management" system is that through professional division of labor, the production efficiency is doubled and the "process competitiveness" of enterprises is enhanced.

For example, in the traditional factory mode, 10 workers are trained to manufacture a certain weapon. After a month's training, slow workers can make three weapons a day, while fast workers can complete seven weapons a day.

But Taylor's "scientific management" challenges this traditional mode of production: firstly, the most efficient workers are taken as the object of investigation, and their actions are decomposed, and then the whole manufacturing process is decomposed into a series of standardized and quantitative processes.

Then, in a few days, each worker can only master a certain link in this process (note that the traditional way needs to train each worker for one month), and then each worker just focuses on standardized actions and completes the specified process under a certain number of requirements.

The result is: the same number of workers, the total number of weapons produced in one day is several times that of traditional methods! On average, each person has completed more weapons than the most skilled workers alone!

The "process competitiveness" created by American factories through Taylor system has reached the "efficiency multiplier" effect of "the whole is greater than the sum of the individuals"!

Another function of Taylor system is to accumulate the experience of "capable people", decompose the workflow in a refined and standardized way, so that most people can complete complex things, and make large-scale training possible through work decomposition, thus narrowing the difference between "capable people" and ordinary people.

Therefore, Li Yining commented that Taylor system emphasizes the standardization of every detail and the process control of every link from the origin to the result. Scientific management is always the core and foundation of management science.

China enterprises "lack of basic skills"

However, it is precisely because Mr. Mu Ouchu's promotion of Taylor system at the beginning of the last century was not inherited by later generations, let alone carried forward, which led to many strange phenomena in China's business circles a hundred years later: the most basic safety accidents and quality accidents occurred repeatedly, which made the media, which should be "good things", fall into "reporting fatigue" and tend to be numb.

But this is still an obvious "disaster". In fact, what is more harmful is the "freak" around us:

"Many enterprises have not yet established the minimum process management, but have started' process reengineering'; Before gaining a firm foothold, they blindly pursued the so-called "management frontier" and unrealistically put forward the strategy of becoming bigger, stronger and diversified, in line with the world's top 500; Before standardization and standardization are realized through refined management, we need to pursue the' strategic commanding heights' beyond reality; Before we have cultivated a rigorous and orderly professional team, we talked about' humanized management' and' corporate culture'-quite a few companies have suffered from the lack of basic skills! " Chen Hongqiao's language is sharp but thought-provoking.

The mystery of arithmetic formula

You don't believe it? Chen Hongqiao immediately listed such a formula: 90% × 90% × 90% × 90% =?

The implication is: in the workflow, people will think that it is good to achieve "good" in every link-90%, but what is the overall effect of these five "good"?

Careful readers will find that 90% × 90 %× 90 %× 90% = 59%-the "score" is 59-actually failed!

This arithmetic problem seems simple, but it is not superficial, but profound! It uses the formula of natural science to express the law in process management: what kind of process will produce what kind of results. The standardized management in the process, even if the details are slightly discounted, may lead to the complete collapse of the overall value.

Contrary to most enterprises' concern for results, process control is the basic skill of scientific management and the core of Taylor system. In the second half of the 20th century, Toyota Motor Company made by Taylor famously said: "High quality is designed (not detected)!"

Re-evaluate the hat of "modern slavery"

However, some people think that the standardized management emphasized by Taylor system a hundred years ago will make employees become machines of enterprises, limit their initiative and creativity, and then affect the vitality of enterprises.

Even when Taylor system was just emerging in the United States, some people suggested that this standardized management was actually a kind of "modern slavery", and some managers have been criticizing Taylor system for understanding workers as economic men. Even today, many people still regard Taylor system as a negative management theory and occasionally talk about it.

In this regard, peter drucker has clearly responded: "A well-run enterprise is dull and tasteless, and it should not and will not have exciting events." Managers want to make the enterprise bigger and stronger, but they should pursue what Drucker called "boring" standardized management.

It was not until Drucker initiated modern management science that people discovered the other side of Taylor's rigid management-Taylor believed that the essence of scientific management was the "win-win" and close cooperation between managers and workers.

Taylor firmly believes that managers and workers have the same interests in improving efficiency-employers care about how to produce at the lowest cost and workers care about how to get the highest salary. As long as the two sides work closely together to improve labor productivity through Taylor system, their goals can be coordinated.

In today's world economic crisis, the contradiction between labor and capital has once again become a thorny focus of global concern, including China. A hundred years ago, Taylor hoped that there would be a "spiritual revolution" in the coordination between employers and employees, that is, both sides would turn their attention to the increase of profits, find the common goal of both employers and employees, and work hard for a win-win situation. Moreover, Taylor asked factory owners to raise workers' wages substantially, sometimes even as high as three times, in order to carry out "scientific management" transformation of the factory.

Therefore, Drucker commented on Taylor system: the real potential of increasing production lies in working smarter. Taylor system not only greatly improves production, but also makes it possible to reduce product prices and increase product demand while raising workers' wages!

People who are not far from the road can't get around.

In the nearly 100 years since the birth of Taylor system, management ideas such as communication, decentralization, effective encouragement, cultural management and learning organization have been put forward. Born in succession, they are all method systems that conform to the operating rules of enterprises. So new problems have emerged: from target management to strategic model, from lean production to core competitiveness, there are many methods and concepts in the management field ... Why do China enterprises need to "return" to the "old" Taylor system?

In this regard, Chen Hongqiao told a vivid metaphor: "Taylor system is the core component to support modern enterprises and the' load-bearing wall' of enterprise buildings. Personalized and humanized flexible management is the decorative component after the market economy is developed, and it is an auxiliary means to better enjoy the space brought by the' load-bearing wall'. If there is no hard space built of reinforced concrete, flexible decoration will be difficult to use. "

Chen Hongqiao also has a classic "doll theory", that is, positioning China enterprises in the "doll" stage, emphasizing that most enterprises in China should put down their "figure", modestly position themselves in the toddler stage and start from the basics step by step.

What's more, in the past hundred years, two major changes in the mode of production in the industrial age have changed Ford's "mass production" in the first half of the 20th century and Toyota's "lean production" in the second half of the 20th century, both of which originated from the "grandfather" Taylor system. Therefore, Taylor system has never been dusty, never gone far, but has been vigorously practiced by subsequent enterprises, advancing with the times, presenting us with the most shocking new look, completely changing our lives. As the saying goes, everything changes without leaving its original religion.

All kinds of management ideas have their own styles, but they are "just amazing". Only the standardized management advocated by Taylor system can organize the main body of the enterprise and give it the basis of organizational life and an "upright" way. The shortcut to innovation is to return to the "origin" and recognize the essence. On this basis, enterprises are qualified to talk about what style is "weird". It can be said that without the baptism of Taylor system standardized management, it is impossible for enterprises to realize the modernization of management.

The future calls for "new Taylor"

In the book "50 Management Masters", there is a sentence worth noting: "It is very fashionable to abandon Taylor. But it is important to remember that scientific management is a huge leap not only in improving productivity, but also in protecting workers' dignity. "

Indeed, the Taylor system has been facing the test under new conditions for a hundred years, especially in the era of knowledge economy, experience economy and service economy, more and more creative work has emerged. In addition, China enterprises generally have the management habit of paying attention to the results and neglecting the process, and often put the innovation work on the basis of employees' "free play".

In the future white-collar era, whether we still "need" Taylor system is a realistic problem.

Let's turn our attention to Mr. Mu Ouchu nearly a hundred years ago. In the preface of "Applying Theory to Factory Management Rules", he wrote: "Familiarity with the methods contained in this book, extension of analogy, flexibility and clever application, no matter individuals and families, society and country, all kinds of undertakings, will achieve miraculous results if they participate in this new method."

Why have you achieved miraculous results in various fields? Whether the classic Taylor system really ignores the "human" factor as some people say, only regards people as economic people and emphasizes material incentives, Taylor himself once said that "scientific management is not a method or system, but an idea".

Drucker also pointed out: "The theory of" Principles of Scientific Management "is applicable everywhere: the productivity has doubled, the real income of workers has risen sharply, the working hours have been reduced, and the physical and mental stress of workers has been alleviated. At the same time, sales revenue and profits have increased, while product prices have decreased. "

The times are changing, but the core law of management and the foundation of human nature have not changed. Just as Ford later put the idea of Taylor system into practice, it quickly brought all mankind into the automobile age; Later, it was improved by Toyota and quickly brought all mankind into the era of individuality. In the future, even now, the concept of Taylor system will have its own methods and creations in knowledge-based and service-oriented enterprises.

The times are changing with each passing day, and the essence is "actually the same."

Catch up with the difficulties and don't lose again.

Of course, we should also face up to the "particularity" of Taylor system in China. Earlier, Mu Ou first saw Taylor's application in the United States on the premise that all the problems about human nature, human quality and human morality had been solved. These feelings of "pioneers of modern enterprise management in China" are still applicable now, even more prominent-contemporary China is in a comprehensive transformation, even if you complete the transformation of management and technology at the fastest speed, the quality of people in China and the interpersonal relationship in China are doomed to remain in the past society.

The transformation of the country can't happen overnight, and the application and upgrade of Taylor system can't be smooth. But what is the most valuable thing about smooth things? You know, Toyota's production mode didn't pay off until 10 years later.

Therefore, it is undoubtedly a great sorrow for China enterprises to "abandon Taylor and become fashionable". Is the pressure brought by the current global economic crisis to China enterprises a greater crisis or a deeper improvement? To a large extent, it depends on enterprises to reshape standardized management and process competitiveness, and then creatively apply them in emerging fields.

Because, in emerging fields, we and the world are still on the same starting line! Whoever grafts and uses the concept of Taylor system in the new industry can turn the "gimmick" that is often short-lived into the "strength" of real money!