Fayol vs Taylor

Henry Fayol’s administrative approach addresses the management and coordination of an organisation as a whole. Taylor’s scientific management focuses more directly on improving work methods and efficiency in production.

Method study compares ways of doing a job to identify the best method. It is a technique of Taylor’s scientific management.

Unity of command means that an employee should receive orders from one superior. Under Taylor’s functional foremanship, a worker may receive instructions from several specialist foremen, creating the conflict.

Taylor’s motion study examines the movements involved in a task and helps eliminate unnecessary ones. That makes it directly relevant when unnecessary worker movements are slowing production.

Fayol’s principles are general guidelines for managing an organisation. They can guide managers at different levels, rather than applying only to top management.

Scientific analysis helps identify wasteful methods and effort. Reducing unnecessary effort and cost can improve efficiency alongside increasing production.

Fayol’s unity of direction means that activities with the same objective should follow one plan under one head. Different directions for departments with a shared objective suggest this principle may not be followed.

Taylor’s mental revolution calls for a change in the attitudes of both management and workers, replacing conflict with cooperation. It is therefore broader than a wage-increase plan.

The correct answer is A. Fayol’s principle calls for fair and reasonable remuneration. Taylor’s differential piece-rate system sets different rates based on output against a standard, rewarding workers who meet or exceed it with a higher rate.

The correct answer is B, fatigue study. It examines how work causes fatigue and how rest intervals can be arranged to reduce it, helping workers sustain performance and avoid errors.

The correct answer is A. A gang plank is an authorised shortcut for direct communication between employees at the same level, instead of following every link in the scalar chain. The relevant superiors should permit or be informed of this communication.

The correct answer is A. Taylor’s standardisation establishes uniform standards for items such as methods and tools. Fayol’s order principle concerns having the right person and material in the right place.

The correct answer is B, Henry Fayol. He described management as a set of administrative functions, including planning, organising, commanding, coordinating and controlling.

The correct answer is A. Scientific selection aims to place workers in jobs suited to their abilities and then train them so they can perform the work effectively.

The correct answer is A. Fayol’s initiative encourages employees to think of and carry out ideas. A manager can welcome those ideas while using systematic analysis to assess whether they are practical and effective.

The correct answer is A. Fayol’s work focuses broadly on administration and organisational principles, while Taylor’s scientific management focuses more directly on work methods and operational efficiency. These different emphases can be applied together.

The correct answer is B. Fayol’s principle of subordination of individual interest to general interest says that the organisation’s common interest should take precedence over an individual’s interest when they conflict.

The correct answer is A. Simplification removes unnecessary varieties of products, parts or processes; standardisation sets uniform specifications or methods. Together, they can reduce complexity and waste.

The correct answer is A. Fayol’s division of work means dividing tasks so employees can specialise in particular kinds of work. Taylor’s functional foremanship instead divides supervisory duties among specialised foremen, each responsible for a particular aspect of supervision.

The correct answer is A. Taylor’s principle of maximum prosperity calls for prosperity for both the employer and employees, rather than benefit for only one side. The case describes this mutual benefit.

The correct answer is C. Fayol’s equity principle calls for fair and considerate treatment; it does not require identical pay regardless of differences in work or circumstances. Fairness is not the same as treating every case identically.

The correct answer is A. Taylor’s principles include cooperation between management and workers, alongside the use of scientific methods. Scientific methods alone do not fulfil the cooperation principle.

The correct answer is A. Stability of personnel means avoiding unnecessary turnover so employees have time to learn and become effective. It does not mean keeping an unsuitable employee in a role indefinitely, regardless of circumstances.

The correct answer is A. A standard time indicates how long a task should take under specified conditions. Managers can use it to set production targets and estimate the labour needed for planned output.

The correct answer is A. Fayol’s unity of direction concerns coordinating activities with the same objective under one plan and one head. Taylor’s planning department focuses on preparing work plans and methods. Both concern planning, but at different levels and in different ways.