2.4.2
Taylor's Theory
After reading these notes, test your knowledge with free interactive questions on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.
Taylor's Theory on Motivation
Taylor suggests that to motivate employees they should be paid based on the amount of output they have produced.

Taylor's approach
- Taylor called his approach piece-rate pay and found that if employees were paid more for being more productive, they would, in turn, become more motivated and engaged with their job as there was an opportunity for employees to increase the amount they earnt.
- For example, a factory may pay its employees £2 for every complete unit produced, or £1 for every item added to a product on an assembly line.

Advantages of Taylor's theory
- Taylor’s theory may improve productivity which means a business can reduce its costs by employing fewer employees.

Disadvantages of Taylor's theory
- Taylor’s theory means that employees may rush during the production process leading to mistakes and errors.
- Taylor’s theory means that employees may become bored with completing the same task over and over again.
1Business Organisation & Environment
1.1Introduction to Business Management
1.2Types of Organisation
1.3Organisational Objectives
1.4Stakeholders
1.5External Environment
1.6Growth & Evolution
1.7HL Only: Organisational Planning Tools
2Human Resource Management
2.1Functions & Evolution of Human Resource Management
2.2Organisational Structure
2.3Leadership & Management
2.4Motivation
2.5Organisational (Corporate) Culture
2.6HL Only: Industrial/Employee Relations
3Finance & Accounts
3.1Sources of Finance
3.2Costs & Revenues
3.3Break-Even Analysis
3.4Profitability & Liquidity Ratio Analysis
3.6HL Only: Investment Appraisal
3.7HL Only: Budgets
4Marketing
4.1The Role of Marketing
4.2Marketing Planning
4.3Market Research
4.4The 4 Ps
4.4.1Product Decisions4.4.2Pricing Decisions & Price Skimming4.4.3Pricing Decisions & Price Penetration4.4.4End of Topic Test - Pricing & Competition4.4.5Promotional Decisions4.4.6Promotional Decisions 24.4.7Promotional Decisions 34.4.8Digital Marketing4.4.9Evaluating Digital Marketing4.4.10Case Study - The Marketing Mix & Promotion4.4.11Place & Distribution
4.5HL Only: The Extended Marketing Mix
4.6HL Only: International Marketing
4.7E-Commerce
5Operations Management
5.1The Role of Operations Management
5.2Production Methods
5.3HL Only: Lean Prodution & Quality Management
5.4HL Only: Production Planning
5.5HL Only: Research & Development
Jump to other topics
1Business Organisation & Environment
1.1Introduction to Business Management
1.2Types of Organisation
1.3Organisational Objectives
1.4Stakeholders
1.5External Environment
1.6Growth & Evolution
1.7HL Only: Organisational Planning Tools
2Human Resource Management
2.1Functions & Evolution of Human Resource Management
2.2Organisational Structure
2.3Leadership & Management
2.4Motivation
2.5Organisational (Corporate) Culture
2.6HL Only: Industrial/Employee Relations
3Finance & Accounts
3.1Sources of Finance
3.2Costs & Revenues
3.3Break-Even Analysis
3.4Profitability & Liquidity Ratio Analysis
3.6HL Only: Investment Appraisal
3.7HL Only: Budgets
4Marketing
4.1The Role of Marketing
4.2Marketing Planning
4.3Market Research
4.4The 4 Ps
4.4.1Product Decisions4.4.2Pricing Decisions & Price Skimming4.4.3Pricing Decisions & Price Penetration4.4.4End of Topic Test - Pricing & Competition4.4.5Promotional Decisions4.4.6Promotional Decisions 24.4.7Promotional Decisions 34.4.8Digital Marketing4.4.9Evaluating Digital Marketing4.4.10Case Study - The Marketing Mix & Promotion4.4.11Place & Distribution
4.5HL Only: The Extended Marketing Mix
4.6HL Only: International Marketing
4.7E-Commerce
5Operations Management
5.1The Role of Operations Management
5.2Production Methods
5.3HL Only: Lean Prodution & Quality Management
5.4HL Only: Production Planning
5.5HL Only: Research & Development
Practice questions on Taylor's Theory
Can you answer these? Test yourself with free interactive practice on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.
- 1What is the advantage of Taylor's theory?Multiple choice
Unlock your full potential with Seneca Premium
Unlimited access to 10,000+ open-ended exam questions
Mini-mock exams based on your study history
Unlock 800+ premium courses & e-books