Leadership Management Assignment: Taylorism and Linear Programming

This assignment explores the concepts of Taylorism and linear programming within a leadership management context. It begins with an acknowledgement of academic integrity and then delves into an executive summary highlighting the importance of productivity and quality in business performance. The assignment is structured around two e-learning activities. The first activity examines Taylorism, discussing its relevance in modern workplaces, particularly in call centers, and questions the acceptance of Taylorist methods by contemporary workers. The second activity analyzes rational decision-making, cost estimation using linear programming, and its limitations. The conclusion emphasizes the significance of both Taylorism and linear programming in measuring productivity and quality, and in making informed business decisions. The assignment includes references to relevant academic sources.

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3. This assignment is identical with the work submitted via Self-Check on Blackboard.

Executive Summary
Quality and productivity play an important role towards determining any businesses performance
and growth. This makes it important to use a combination of tools and strategies to measure and
control productivity and quality so as to maximize customer satisfaction and deliver products and
services at the lowest cost. Utilizing these tools and strategies also allows the business to
minimize cost making the brand more competitive in the market which helps attract most
customers.

Table of Contents
E-learning Activities....................................................................................................................................4
Activity 1– Ford and Taylor Scientific Management...............................................................................4
Would workers in Australia, America or Europe accept the Taylorism in this form today?................4
Consider Call Centres scripts; can you see Taylorism in that? Explain...............................................4
Taylorism in world today; these ideas might be just what they need? Explain....................................4
Activity 2 – Activity Title........................................................................................................................5
What insights into rational decision-making approach can you draw from this video?.......................5
What would be the limitations of linear programming?.......................................................................5
In what kinds of situation could the linear programming be useful to decision-making?....................6
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................6
References...................................................................................................................................................6

E-learning Activities
Activity 1– Ford and Taylor Scientific Management
Would workers in Australia, America or Europe accept the Taylorism in this form today?
Every business intends to monitor employee efficiency but the approach which an organization
adopts to monitor and measure efficiency varies depending on the nature of the work being done.
Taylorism as a strategy which was invented in the 1900’s and was aimed at measure employee
efficiency and continued to be used today. Unlike the past when staff efficiency was directly
measure using stopwatches, today human resource and management use technology to determine
and measure an individual’s performance (Waring, 2016). In many situations, the employee does
even not know they are being monitored. Employees are today being monitored using modern
technologies such as computer software, sensors and CCT cameras which allow discreetly
monitoring to determine an individual’s performance. Employees would not accept direct
Taylorism strategies of measurement as used by Taylor in the 1900 but most continue being
monitored in the same manner using modern technologies and gadgets without them knowing
they are under surveillance.
Consider Call Centres scripts; can you see Taylorism in that? Explain.
Yes, the scripts used in call centres have been tailored to determine a potential client in the
shortest possible time. This is important due to call centre agents needing to identify a potential
client quickly so as to increase the number of sales they execute in a day (Willman, 2014). This
makes it important that the call centre scripts are brief and pitch to the client in the shortest
possible time to get their response, make a decision and move on. Only clients who show an
interest towards the products or service are valuable for the call centre agent and there is no need
of wasting resources attempting to convince a client who may not be interested in the product or
service. It’s also important to maximize the number of calls made on a daily basis which
maximizes the call centres profits. Unlike the past when monitoring was done individually, today
many call centre agents are managed by special software which assists speed up the process and
registers all their inputs which can be used to analyses their performance and help improve
performance
Taylorism in world today; these ideas might be just what they need? Explain.
The idea of related to this clip may have happened 100 years ago but it continues to be used by
practically every business today. Today most medium and large businesses have put in place

Human Resource Department and managers who monitor employee performance before
developing suitable employee management strategies. This makes this a form of Taylorism
which continues to be practiced at most businesses and organizations today with the intention of
tailoring their approaches to the goals of improving efficiency and productivity of each
employee. Every business must tailor its own management approach related to following
processes and productivity which continued to be analysed and reviewed to improve efficiency
with the goals of maximizing each employee’s performance.
Activity 2 – Activity Title
What insights into rational decision-making approach can you draw from this video?
The video helped deliver an n important understanding towards the rationale related to cost
estimation which can be used to help a business determine costs. Cost management plays an
important role towards organizations profitability, making it important to evaluate the different
options and determine the most suitable option. Using the Linear Programming also allows for
the combination of two different products to secure a specified requirement amount. There is no
fixed number or amount identified while using the Linear Programming approach but it helps
deliver a relative accuracy of +/-10% which is fairly accurate while considering to product
combinations to achieve the desired or prescribed quantity (Matousek & Gärtner, 2007). This
would allow for a clearer decision to be taken with regard to selecting the best product or
combination of products which deliver the lowest-cost and most accurate specifications based on
the requirement.
What would be the limitations of linear programming?
Linear Programming is an effective technique related to ensuring preference and determines
quantities that best fit the prescribed requirement. The limitation related to linear programming is
its heavy dependence on specified quantities. To create a linear program and determine the best
fit at the lowest cost the individual would require having specific measurements from the
products so as to determine the best combination. With products, thick may be easier for to their
being clear guidelines of the quantities but for services, this becomes more difficult as therein is
limited ability to measure and control the measurement or control of the products.

In what kinds of situation could the linear programming be useful to decision-making?
Linear programming would be useful in decision-making situation which has definite measurable
quantities. This would allow for accurate measurement of the best fit which would allow the
business make the most accurate decision with regard to combining the products so as to secure
the closest fit to the requirement. Linear programming will in most situations deliver an accuracy
of approximately 10% of the requirement. This is due to linear programming mainly being used
to combine different differing quantities of a product with the objective of narrowing the
difference and cost to the least possible number without compromising quality
Conclusion
Both Activities are related to measuring and controlling efficiency and quality which are basic
requirements of every business. This makes it important to understand that Taylorism and linear
programming are both important aspects which every business must utilize to measure
productivity and quantity as well as secure the most accurate combinations and approaches
which can be utilized to handle different business productivity and quality related concerns.

References
Matousek, J. & Gärtner, B., 2007. Understanding and Using Linear Programming. New York:
Springer Science & Business Media.
Waring, S., 2016. Taylorism Transformed: Scientific Management Theory Since 1945. UNC
Press Books.
Willman, P., 2014. Understanding Management: The Social Science Foundations. Croydon:
OUP Oxford.