Which practice is less likely to be promoted by Scientific Management?

The practice that is less likely to be promoted by Scientific Management is the free exploration of innovative ideas.

Scientific Management, developed by Frederick W. Taylor, focuses on optimizing efficiency and productivity through standardized methods. This approach emphasizes specific procedures and routines that enhance worker performance based on systematic observation and analysis. The methodology seeks to break down tasks into their simplest components, ensuring that each step is defined and controlled to maximize output.

In this framework, the emphasis on efficiency and standardization does not naturally lend itself to an environment where innovation and creative exploration are encouraged. While innovation can lead to improvements in processes, the core principle of Scientific Management is to minimize variability through established practices rather than allowing individuals to diverge from prescribed methods in pursuit of new ideas.

The other practices—thorough training and development of workers, systematic observation and analysis of tasks, and the establishment of performance benchmarks—are central to the Scientific Management approach. Training ensures that workers adhere to the developed standards, observation and analysis identify the most efficient methods, and benchmarks enable performance measurement and comparison against those optimized standards. These components are crucial in creating a structured environment aimed at maximizing efficiency and maintaining control over the production process.