An Institutional Economic Reconstruction of Scientific Management: On the Lost Theoretical Logic of Taylorism

Abstract

I argue that Taylor was a pioneer in theorizing principles of institutional economics, and I challenge conventional preconceptions that scientific management is theoretically unsophisticated and aimed at disadvantaging certain organization members. I identify in Taylor's writings the institutional economic ideas of dilemmatic interaction conflict regarding capital contributions and capital distributions, conflict resolution through incentives management, mutual gains as the outcome of conflict resolution, and the model of economic man, and I suggest that Taylor's behavioral concept of hearty cooperation deviated from the economic principles he had espoused regarding worker opportunism.

Consumer Ethics in Japan: An Economic Reconstruction of Moral Agency of Japanese Firms – Qualitative Insights from Grocery/Retail Markets

“…The key conceptual work for this economic approach to business ethics is provided by libertarian, institutional economic thought. The works of Buchanan (1975Buchanan ( , 1987Buchanan ( , 1991, Brennan and Buchanan (1986), Williamson (1985) and Vanberg (1988Vanberg ( , 2001) are here of high importance (See also Wagner-Tsukamoto, 2003, 2007b, forthcoming in 2008. They specified that incentive structures can induce rule-following.…”

Human capital and strategic persistence: An examination of underperforming workers in two emerging economies

“…Despite decades of research by international business and strategy scholars on emerging economies, the existing literature has remained relatively silent as to why firms and managers persist with underperforming employees even under threat of worsening performance. The largely unexplored nature of this issue in emerging market context is puzzling given that the existence of underperforming workers can undermine the contribution levels of fellow workers (Wagner-Tsukamoto, 2007). More importantly, star performers can become targets of underperformers, who can engage in acts to undermine their progress and success (see Henagan & Bedeian, 2009;Fiske, 2011).…”

Contrasting the Behavioural Business Ethics Approach and the Institutional Economic Approach to Business Ethics: Insights from the Study of Quaker Employers

“…Hobbes' Leviathan (especially chapters 13-15) here discussed the potential 'war of all'. Much earlier Greek philosophy and biblical thought proceeded similarly (See Wagner-Tsukamoto, 2001, 2007a. As much as a behavioural approach and an economic approach to ethics are likely to share such a starting point, they differ regarding their respective understanding of what causes morality to be fragile in social behaviour, and of practical avenues for raising levels of morality in social behaviour.…”

“…-were caught up by modernity, too (Rathenau, 1918, p. 143;similarly Berle and Means, 1932;Vernon, 1958, p. 93, also chapters 11-19). Documented as early as in Taylor's studies of Scientific Management (See Wagner-Tsukamoto, 2003, 2007a, a different type of firm emerged as compared to the workshop or small family business: Ethnic diversity or heterogeneity began to arise in the organizational behaviour within a firm, and hierarchical structures, which induced competition even in intra-firm interactions, were installed (See also sub-section two below).…”

“…In relation to this different and more complex understanding of morality as compared with behavioural ethics, economics differently conceptualises institutions that enact morality in social behaviour: Incentive structures reflect economics' understanding of institutions, as outlined by the New Institutional Economics (Coase, 1984(Coase, , 1992Heyne, 1999;Homann 1997Homann , 1999Homann and Suchanek, 2000;Luetge, 2005;North, 1993aNorth, , 1993bWagner-Tsukamoto, 2003, 2007aWilliamson, 1975Williamson, , 1985. Moral problems are examined as a nonbehavioural, situational condition of defective incentive structures.…”