The reality of work and how this is similar to or differs from the Essay

The reality of work and how this is similar to or differs from the conventional image portrayed in management texts - Essay Example Specifically, the latter is a reaction to the first two theories developed by Taylor and Weber. Some popular names like Michel Foucault also surfaced in that era. His emphasis on surveillance and power made the employees â€Å"knowable, calculable and administrable object† (Findlay, 1996). This paper particularly tackles the subject of work: how it is portrayed in the management theories and how it is done in real life. With learnings from various seminars, it is our goal to come up with a comparison of theoretical and realistic notion of work. The topic will be dealt with balance on different perspectives. The concept of economies of scale gave rise to large organizations. During the Ford era, there was a transformation from â€Å"craft production to mass production† (http://www.willamette.edu). Two important economic theories became the foundation of efficiency: specialization and division of labor. We can trace these concepts to Adam Smith, known as the Father of modern economics. In reality, these concepts were applied through â€Å"combining specialized functional units† so that it would be â€Å"less costly to produce several products than a single specialized one† (http://www.willamette.edu). Frederick Taylor believed that scientific method can greatly increase productivity (Internet Center for Management and Business Administration). Anchored on the economic principle of achieving the optimum, jobs are simplified so that workers can perform them at the best way (Internet Center for Management and Business Administration). Taylor believed that workers should be taught the scientific way of performing the tasks rather than just motivating them and giving them incentives. He believes that the most basic tasks can even be planned out so as to achieve greater productivity (Internet Center for Management and Business Administration). Taylor’s idea of productivity necessitates extracting the