Criticism of Scientific Management

There seems to be a sharp divergence of opinions among experts about the worth of Taylors work. Opinions concerning to merits of Taylors contribution to the scientific management movement range from that of exalted worship his designation as the father of scientific management to that of exposing him as original recipient of undue credit’. The biggest complaint against this theory was its approach towards the work force. It treated them like machines. The worker was supposed to finish the task in the most efficient manner and consuming the least amount of time. The worker's condition, work environment etc. wasn't considered at all.
Another criticism against scientific management theory was that it was more in the favor of management. The workers had little say in the things. The management's emphasis was on the increase in the productivity only and Taylor's theory worked perfectly for them. 

Another shortcoming in the scientific management theory was that it considered money as the primary motivational source for the workers. It assumed that differential rate system, which asks for paying more to a highly productive worker, would motivate others too to put in more efforts. The later studies revealed that money is just one of the factors in motivating the employees to become more productive. There are several other factors like work environment, safety, etc. that play a role in inspiring workers to do better. The simplistic assumption of Taylor's theory that workers would willingly work more for higher money was flawed.

Workers Viewpoint

1. Unemployment - Workers feel that management reduces employment opportunities from them through replacement of men by machines and by increasing human productivity less workers are needed to do work leading to chucking out from their jobs.
2. Exploitation - Workers feel they are exploited as they are not given due share in increasing profits which is due to their increased productivity. Wages do not rise in proportion as rise in production. Wage payment creates uncertainty & insecurity (beyond a standard output, there is no increase in wage rate).
3. Monotony - Due to excessive specialization the workers are not able to take initiative on their own. Their status is reduced to being mere cogs in wheel. Jobs become dull. Workers loose interest in jobs and derive little pleasure from work.
4. Weakening of Trade Union - To everything is fixed & predetermined by management. So it leaves no room for trade unions to bargain as everything is standardized, standard output, standard working conditions, standard time etc. This further weakens trade unions, creates a rift between efficient & in efficient workers according to their wages.
5. Over speeding - the scientific management lays standard output, time so they have to rush up and finish the work in time. These have adverse effect on health of workers. The workers speed up to that standard output, so scientific management drives the workers to rush towards output and finish work in standard time.

Employer’s Viewpoint

1. Expensive - Scientific management is a costly system and a huge investment is required in establishment of planning dept., standardization, work study, training of workers. It may be beyond reach of small firms. Heavy food investment leads to increase in overhead costs.
2. Time Consuming - Scientific management requires mental revision and complete reorganizing of organization. A lot of time is required for work, study, standardization & specialization. During this overhauling of organization, the work suffers.
3. Deterioration of Quality

In spite of many shortcomings in the theory, Taylor's scientific management theory has an important place in the history of management studies as one of the early theories pertaining to the field of management. It paved way for other theories that helped in the shaping of the subject of business administration.