Investigation of historical knowledge and skills for task completion

¶ … knowledge and Skills to get Things Done in the Past

Principal of management

The theory of management was developed by Fayol whereby he considered managerial excellence as a technical ability which can be acquired. His principals and theories of management are accepted universally. Some of his principals of management included the division of work whereby he considered division of labor to be similar to specialization. His other principal was authority and responsibility which are considered to be coexist so that a person given a responsibly should posses concerned authority. Discipline is another principal whereby it denotes the sincerity regarding enterprise and work, believing in the programs and policies of the business and implementing the instructions and orders of superiors. Unity of command refers to the subordinate taking order from only one person and being accountable only to him. Unity of direction refers having only one person directing the whole group. Other principals include the general interests being more superior to individual interests and employees being remunerated fairly (Marion).

Fundamentals of Scientific Management

Securing the employer maximum prosperity coupled with the employee also getting maximum prosperity is the principal object of management. To ensure that the prosperity is not fleeting, maximum prosperity denotes the development of every aspect of the business to the highest level of excellence and not just high dividends for the owner of company. Essentially the employee's maximum prosperity refers to each man's development to an efficiency of maximum state and not just high wages comparable to the men of his stature. This should empower him to be able deliver work that is of the highest possible grade that his natural abilities can allow him and whenever possible this class of work should be given to him.

Though it seems self-evident that the two important aspects of management ought to be the employer maximum prosperity coupled with employee maximum prosperity, this is not the case because in the industrial world the majority of the organization of employers and employees are belligerent and this may be so due to the fact that either side don't believe it's possible to have a mutual relation whereby their interests will be in harmony (Gomez-Mejia and Robert 20).

Though it's believed that the employers' and employees' principal interests are essential opposed, Scientific management is on its foundation the belief that the two true interests are indeed the same and one; that without the prosperity of the employee, then the prosperity of the employee cannot exist for a longer period of years and vice versa; and that granting the workman the high wages he wants and the employer the low labor cost he wants is possible.

Ideally it is aimed that the in the least those who don't totally concur with each of these aspects would be guided to change their views; that some employers will get a more liberal policy in regards to their employees and even pay them better rather than their previous view paying the smallest possible wage and expecting the amount of work to be the largest; and those workmen who resent a fair wage or even begrudge a lager profit to their employers by feeling they should be given all their labor's fruits and they are entitled to small amount of the capital invested.

It is a fact that only when an individual highest efficiency state is achieved is when the individual greatest prosperity exists i.e. when his daily output being turned is largest. It is perfectly clear in the case of the manufacturing establishment that the workman's greatest prosperity which is coupled with the employer's greatest prosperity results when smallest combined expenditure of nature's resources and human effort is used in doing the establishment work. Or put differently, achieving the greatest prosperity is due to the establishment's men and machines giving out the greatest productivity that it possible, when the machines and men are giving out the largest output possible; because the employer will be prevented by competition from paying the employees higher wages than the competitors are paying when the men and machines of the employers are not turning out more work daily than those in the same business like the employer. This truth of probability of two competing companies paying higher wages when they are competing beside each other as is for the entire districts in a country or of nations in competition. Hence unless there is maximum productivity, then there won't be maximum prosperity.

With kind of reasoning, it is imperative for an establishment to train and develop each individual to empower him to make use of his natural abilities and do work that is in the highest level within his abilities.

Though these principals appear common to many people but in reality it's not the case because most people would give their best in other activities like sport but fail to do the same in the industrial setting. They set out to deliberately do little work in a safe way for instance one third to a half of a proper days work. In industrial establishment this phenomena is very common universally and is referred to as under-working or "soldiering" in America or "hanging out" in England (Taylor 37).

Historical and universal causes of under working

The first cause it the misconception that which has been common since time immemorial that a large number of men will be thrown out of work in the trade with increment in material productivity of each man or machine. History of each trade development has shown that improvement in either bringing in a better method or a new machine being invented that will lead to men in the trade increasing their productivity in the trade and reduced costs rather than putting some men out of their work but put more work for an increased number of men. An article which is commonly used will reduce its costs if due to the demand for the article being incremented. Most workmen tend to be ignorant in their own trade regarding its history and the lesson that it has set before them but still continue to believe just as their fathers that turning out as much work each day as possible is not for their best interest. Most workers in many countries work slowly deliberately to limit the output basing on this fallacious notion. The rules made by most labor union are objectively to curtail their members output. This fallacy is continuously being spread by those individuals who influence the people greatly for instance the labor leaders (Melville).

The second cause is the commonly used management systems are defective and this necessitates the under-working of the workmen or slow working so as that their best interest may be protected. The workmen interest to soldier is brought out by the employer's ignorance of the proper working time for the various kind of work. In systematic soldering which greatly affects the establishment is that one done deliberately to ensure the rate of working of the employees is not known by the employer. This soldering is universal that it's very hard to find a workman who works competently either on a piece of a work or on contract work and still puts effort and time in studying his rate of working especially in a slow form and still make the employer believe that he is working at a proper pace. This is caused by the employers determining on the maximum sum what they perceive is fit for the employees classes daily earnings whether the employees work on a piece or by day. The employee realizes soon that this figure is intended for a particular case and that when his capability of doing more work is apparent to the employee, then he will be compelled to do more without proportional increase in pay. The knowledge of level of payment for the day's work of the given class of work of the employers is derived from their often hazy experience, from unsystematic and casual observation of their men or from records kept on the quickest way of doing a particular job.

Third cause of slow-working is the universal the rule-of-thumb methods being applied in most trades and which a larger component of the efforts of the workmen is lost on. An incremented output through large savings of time is possible to implement by elimination of unnecessary motions and replacement of slow by fast motions. This can be realized one has seen personally the enhancements resulting from time and motion study done by competent man. Since most of the employees in the trades are taught their work details through observation of the immediate people to them, same things can be done in many different ways and this is in common use, therefore depending on the class of the work, there are a variety of ways of implements. There is always one method and implement among the various ones that is better and quicker than the rest and this can only be discovered by studying and analyzing scientifically the different methods and used in addition to the precise minute, time and motion study. It involves the replacement of rule of thumb gradually with science for the mechanical arts.

Mesopotamia

The existence of the two rivers i.e. Euphrates and Tigris gave this name Mesopotamia which means the land between rivers to the region. Agricultural revolution was begun by the people of this region in about ten thousand years ago. They domesticated animals and plants instead of hunting and gathering as was common in the time. Their crops were tended in houses built of mud-brick or reeds and clustered in villages (Hyman 138). Their grains were stored in the granaries that they built and their trade and account were recorded in a token system that they developed. There was a sudden change and growth in the civilization of the southern Mesopotamia between 3000 and 3500, with the main focus being in the cities of Ur and Uruk. Rendering of the old ways of agriculture less productive due to climatic change might be the reason for this change. The clustering of the people was characterized by fewer but spread in larger locations and the potter's wheel, the plough and the bronze introduction can be perceived as the reaction to the requirements of a more economically intensive life and also the reason of incremented complexity in their life. There was gradual Sumerian civilization development in the principals section of the third millennium which is currently referred to as Early Dynastic period. Early Sumerian Literature followed the Early Dynastic period. The environment habited by the Sumerians was unpredictable, complex and hostile. The creation of the world's first empire by Sargon which stretched the breadth and length of the Fertile Crescent ended Early Dynastic period (Badiru 34).

Egypt

Pharaoh emerged as the ruler a country which resorted from a united chain of independent city states which were lining the River Nile five thousand years ago. A highly distinctive culture developed from this union almost instantly. And in the Mediterranean world, Egypt maintained the foremost position for about 30 centuries. The arrival of Alexander the Great portended the decline of the Egyptian way of life. Successive layers of Greek, Arabic and Roman tradition quickly buried this unique culture destroying the previous knowledge of glorious Egypt. The ability to adapt to the River Nile Valley conditions it attributed as one of the reasons for success of ancient Egyptian civilization. Cultural and social developments were made possible by the excess crops that were produced as a result of controlled irrigation of the fertile valley and the predictable valley. This excess produce was also able to allow for the governing body to fund for projects like exploration of minerals at the valley, conduct trade with neighboring regions, enhancement of the military which would conquer the foreign enemies and organize the agricultural and construction projects collectively. The Egyptians obeyed the implementation of these activities under the rulings of religious leaders and scribes who then reported to pharaoh and this was done in the context of religious beliefs that formed an elaborate system. More than 70,000 workers for instance had been used to build the pyramids and as history indicates there was no evidence of being coerced by pharaoh to achieve this but were motivated by the beliefs in immortality.

Greece

The advantages of uniform work methods were understood and practiced by the ancient Greeks as indicated by historical records. In case of surprise attacks, the manner of how the equipments and weapons were laid was instructed to the soldiers. Work songs were integrated in their activities so as less fatiguing tempo was achieved and productivity improved. Plato also recognized the division of labor and he wrote that the individual will excel in work which he is confined to limited tasks. A characteristics associated with Greeks is that exhibited by Socrates of unceasingly questioning of authorities, himself, accepted practices and traditions. This is the mind capacity to apprehend the world and an associated conviction to concur with the understanding. There was a habit of criticizing the government even when things were relatively fine and people are living well because of their lack of acceptance of the status quo. Another characteristic of the Greek thought is the moral accountability of people to their actions and this made the Socrates insistence on punishment acceptance meted by the Athenians. Till the end, Socrates is a supporter of democracy and the majority will. This is despite his serious worries about his fellow citizen sincere self-questioning ("History of Greece").

Roman

Most of the Romans beliefs were adopted from the culture of the Greeks and in particular disregard for manual labor. They were however industrious and portrayed proficiency in administration, organization, building and warfare. The roman culture was disseminated through the established empire to the most parts of the civilized world in the duration starting c500 BC to c117 AD. The western culture was also greatly influenced by the Roman Empire as it spanned most of Europe, Egypt, the Middle East and North Africa. About 2500 years ago, sophisticated contracts were being used in execution of works of major buildings. Ten contractors were managed by the Architect Callicrates in Athens for construction of the Long Walls. Four contractors were then involved in building of Colosseum a few centuries later. Detail work specifications, payment methods, guarantees requirements and time factors were contained in these contracts. The collapse of the Roman Empire led to the disappearing of most of these sophistications (Weaver).

Byzantine

The transmission of classical knowledge can be attributed to the byzantine science which played an important role in the transfer to Renaissance Italy, Islamic world. Medieval Arabic science can transfer can also be attributed to byzantine science which aided transmission to Renaissance Italy. This has helped in the ancient knowledge preservation of which technological, architecture and art achievements have been built upon. Decline in literacy and learning had started by the time the six-century was ending in the eastern empire and the level of recorded content for three centuries is small regarding classical studies. A period of peace came after Greek literature dark moments when surviving classical books were sought by Photius. Most surviving manuscripts were copied at this period and preserved the work of the ancient authors. Many Greek speaking people moved to Italy with the reducing Byzantine Empire fortunes way earlier before the major exodus that came after the Byzantium fall in 1453. The Italians were eager to accumulate Greek manuscripts because the new knowledge of Greek spurred them and this consisted of the classical literature. The arrival of printing press characterized the latter fifteenth century part which was also a novel step in the classics preservation which produced more accurate and admirable typographical beauty.

Islamic Golden Age

The technological traditions remained unchanged for the larger part even though immense religious, political and cultural changes were brought about by the advent of Islam. Earlier civilizations techniques were taken in mechanical engineering by the Muslims to gratify the new society's needs. A more extensive life than any witnessed since the Roman era was the center of these needs. Shaduf is the most ancient machine utilized for water rising and it's appears in Akkadin reliefs in as early as 2500B.C. illustrations and still used today in some Middle East parts. In the design and construction methods used in the Islamic Golden Age consist of various concepts such as minimization of warping through timber lamination, wheel static balancing, establishing designs using paper models, wooden templates use, seats grinding, orifices calibration and closed molds boxes casting of metals using sand. Many great factories which existed during the Islamic rule closed down due to the expulsion and massacre of Andalusia Muslims by the Christians. This also led to the progress standstill in crafts, science, agriculture and other civilization products. Lack of skilled masons led to fall of most towns into ruins (Routledge 65).

Romanesque

This period is also dubbed the Church Triumphant period and dates approximately 1000 to 1137 A.D. The Western Europe was unified by the Catholic Church in an unparallel manner since Roman times. This is also the period of Monasticism when most of the monastic settlements were focused of the Romanesque populace scholarly and religious life. The Romanesque label also has several architectural reasons; ancient Roman structural devices were emulated by the architects of this era, making use of barrel, vaults, arches and groin vaults in their enormous solid stone edifices. There existed several Romanesque architectural variants: the Cluniac-Burgundian variant which was the first and attributed most fortress characteristics as observed in St. Sernin nave. The second Romanesque architecture variant originated from the French Normandy area and it's called Norman.

Crucades

Chivalry was a demeanor code followed by medieval knights a feature common in Western Europe High and later middle Ages. Chivalry thrived well in the 12th and 13th centuries even though its roots are dated back to 9th and 10th centuries and at the Middle Ages ending, it deteriorated. Still in the 6th century during the Renaissance chivalry ideals still continue to gentlemen and nobility behavior models. The 11th century initiated an era of improved stability even though the early periods of Middle Ages was chaotic moments in Europe. The feudal nobility spirit was curbed by the church just when the trades were being revived and towns sprang up in the continents. The chivalry was also influenced by the church. In an attempt to recapture the Muslim controlled pilgrimage holy places in Palestine, the Crusades which were essentially military expeditions were undertaken. Religious idealism was infused in chivalry because the orders members took a religious bow that gave them the conviction that when used for Christian purposes, knighthood was a holy life form ("The Chivalric Code").

Gothic

The increasing size and areas of the enormous cathedral is the reason for the Gothic style rise and its related to the growth of the cities of the countries which the historical and political conditions dictated. Two distinct movements can be considered in the Gothic architecture. Evolution which is achieved in one spot is one of them while the other one is the country's external to France supplanted a style through direct introduction hence the displacing the Romanesque methods gradually. The Gothic period is appropriately named because of its importance in historical art when the Gothic architecture was born and spread. Northern Europe adopts the use of Gothic focusing on the Italian historical prejudice against the Germanic where the taste and style of Renaissance was used in the sixteenth century. Gothic was applied to medieval buildings indiscriminately in the European Northern Renaissance whereby regardless of the dates, no reference were made to the specific style used for distinguishing it. This was in the same prejudicial and contemptuous manner.

Renaissance

Human beings have been placed centrally in the stages of life and infused art and thoughts with values that are humanistic. An English renaissance, French Renaissance etc. are created through the spread of Italian stimulating ideas when coupled with indigenous. Renaissance is an English civilization period which follows the middle Ages and it depicts rebirth. This is when an interest surge in classical values and learning was conventional. During the Renaissance novel continents were discovered and explored, feudal system decline, Ptolemaic astronomy system replaced the Copernican, commerce growth and application or invention of significant inventions like printing, paper, gunpowder and mariners compass. This was a principally a period of classical wisdom and learning revival to the thinkers and scholars of that time after a long duration of stagnation and decline of culture. More attention was turned to discovery by men where most mechanical utility instruments came into existence. Renaissance depicted a natural movement, a humanity effort whose time had arrived. This period isn't really of science, art or of literature but rather of self-conscious attainment and a manifestation of the human spirit freedom through the European races. The intellectual revival was made possible after the fall of the Roman civilization.