## Metadata - Author: [[Gareth Morgan]] - Full Title: Images of Organization - Category: #books ## Highlights - Although Taylor is often seen as the villain who created scientific management, it is important to realize that he was really part of a much broader social trend involving the mechanization of life generally. For example, the principles underlying Taylorism are now found on the football field and athletics track, in the gymnasium, and in the way we rationalize and routinize our personal lives. Taylor gave voice to a particular aspect of the trend toward mechanization, specialization, and bureaucratization that Max Weber saw as such a powerful social force. Taylorism was typically imposed on the workforce. But many of us impose forms of Taylorism on ourselves as we train and develop specialized capacities for thought and action and shape our bodies to conform with preconceived ideals. Under the influence of the same kind of mechanism that has helped make Taylorism so powerful, we often think about and treat ourselves as if we were machines. ([Location 568](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07C6K67HK&location=568)) - Defining work responsibilities in a clear-cut manner has the advantage of letting everyone know what is expected of them. But it also lets them know what is not expected of them. Detailed job descriptions have this two-edged character, creating many problems when the organization faces changing circumstances that call for initiative and flexibility in response. ([Location 647](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07C6K67HK&location=647))