Executive Summary
The assignment presented focuses on two e-learning activities that have a significant relevance in the operational scenario in a number of organizations. Since the way in which operation is conducted in a concern is crucial to determine its productivity and performance, the Ford and Taylorism e-learning activity has been illustrated in order to reflect the significance of scientific management model. The organization culture is another aspect that has been covered here since it has a significant role to play to design the performance and sustainability of a concern.
The referred e-learning activities basically show how the selected topics on Taylorism scientific management and organizational culture are relevant in the current global environment relating to management and organization.
Ford and Taylorism (Week 1 – Activity 1)
The key points that are taken from the Ford and Taylorism e-learning activity show that work that is very complex, can be segregated into different simple as well as smaller work in order to enhance the workers’ productivity. The introduction of the Taylorism model gave rise to the mass production model which enabled workers to produce maximum output at a fast pace.
In the prevailing work scenario, workers in Australia, America or Europe would not accept the Taylorism in this form since it basically focuses on maximizing production efficiency by reducing the skill application (Adenle, Stevens & Bridgewater, 2015). In these technological and innovative times, when competition is intense, the workers would be unwilling to adopt the working model since it would keep their skill-set and knowledge stagnant. The Taylorism model could be of use in designing of scripts for their application in call centres but to a limited extent. There would be scope to categorize the operational process in a call centre on the basis of the knowledge, expertise and role of the employees by adopting the Taylorism scientific management model. This work model would be useful in a few industries where the work can be divided into smaller parts so that the productivity and output could be increased.
The basic principles of scientific management that have been highlighted are replacing the “rule of thumb” method with the scientific model to enhance efficiency, matching workers with specific job roles based on their calibre and skills, monitoring work performance and allocating work between supervisors and subordinates so that the supervisors and managers can train workers to perform their task efficiently (Covino & Boccia, 2014).
The e-learning activity on Ford and Taylorism is even useful in the Management and organizational aspect in a global environment since there are a number of industries such as the automobile and computer manufacturing, etc that have routine work and thus the scientific management model plays a crucial role to enhance the efficiency of the organizational performance. Even in industries like the hospital industry and the restaurant industry, one can observe that the Taylorism scientific model is used to simplify and enhance the work process within the organization. Google organization uses this model to increase the productivity of its employees which is sometimes referred as digital Taylorism. The working model basically encourages its employees to increase their efficiency so that they can earn more and increase the profitability of the business concern (Deresky, 2017). Thus it can be rightly stated that Taylor’s scientific management theories which have developed over a century ago are still relevant in some of the modern workplace (Daft & Marcic, 2016).
Culture (Week 3 – Activity 2)
The Organizational culture comprises a number of things such as work atmosphere, tolerance level, compensation model, behavior, etc. Most people have a different definition of the term, for some the organizational culture refers to the consistent and observable design of behavior that is reflected by the people that operate inside it. While for some employees it is something that is highly influenced by the incentive structure that is followed by the concern including both monetary and non-monetary rewards (Hill, Jones & Schilling, 2014).
Generally, people’s definition of culture varies due to their unique outlook towards business, its operations, and other elements that come into play in the organizational setup. The culture that is represented in an organization keeps on changing based on the set of internal and external elements that operate in the organizational environment. The definition of organizational culture by Robbie Katanga seems most apt since he defines it as “how organizations do things” (Söderbaum & Granit, 2014). This definition is itself very vast since it includes the behavior of employees and management, organizational structure, work processes as well as the incentive system. Since all these functions have an impact on the culture of an organization, it is a suitable yet simple definition.
The key ideas that have been reflected in the specific e-learning activity show that the intangible organization culture is a strong and invisible element that has a strong influencing power on the performance of an undertaking. One of the business organizations’ that has a strong and motivation culture is Amazon Inc. The culture adopted by it facilitates its capacity to effectively respond to the demands of the e-retail market (Weihrich, 2013). The corporate culture adopted at Amazon motivates its employees to go much beyond the conventional limits so that their team can design best ideas and solutions. The success of Amazon e-commerce business can be contributed to its killer organizational culture since it allows the business to pioneer in new and unique spaces.
The organizational culture adopted by any business concern has a high significance in the management and organizational scenario in the global environment since it plays a key role to turn a simple business into a business giant (Waters & Rinsler, 2014). The case of Amazon Inc is the most suitable example that shows that its unique organizational culture allows the concern to focus on its customers at all times so that the best offering can be developed for them.
Conclusion
A number of vital topics have been covered including Taylorism scientific management model and organizational culture which have a significant impact on the management and organizational scenario in the global environment. These specific e-learning activities have been selected since they have a strong influence on the performance and productivity of a concern.
The scientific management theory is still applicable in a number of organizational scenarios where the operations can be moulded to enhance the efficiency of the employees and workers. Thus the topic has been selected. Similarly, organizational culture has a vital bearing on the professionalism and performance of the employees which in return affects the performance of an undertaking.
