In 1911, Frederick Winslow Taylor initiated the modern
practice of business management. In his work Principles of Scientific Management, Taylor put forth the idea that
running and managing a business is a science based on data and proven methods,
rather than a series of ad hoc, unguided and uncontrolled actions.
Unfortunately, Taylor was a victim of his day and age. He had good intentions in
putting forth “scientific management”, but based his ideas on some flawed
principles. Taylor stated one these principles in this way:
A vital part of making any ITSM implementation successful should be the
recognition of the importance of people in the equation. Everyone in a service
provider organization, as well as the business and the customers play equally
important parts or roles in the success of delivery of value. The fundamental
flaw in Taylor’s thinking was that only some people were capable of
understanding the principles and methods of “scientific management”, while
others were just “oxen” or “brute muscle”.
“Now one of the very first
requirements for a man who is fit to handle pig iron as a regular occupation is
that he shall be so stupid and so phlegmatic that he more nearly resembles in
his mental make-up the ox than any other type. The man who is mentally alert
and intelligent is for this very reason entirely unsuited to what would, for
him, be the grinding monotony of work of this character. Therefore the workman
who is best suited to handling pig iron is unable to understand the real
science of doing this class of work.”-Principles of Scientific Management
When it comes to ITSM, it is imperative to remember that everyone is
capable of understanding ITSM best practices and is capable of using the ideas
and practices found within ITIL® and other frameworks and standards. This means
you should give everyone in your organization the opportunity to learn and use
ITSM best practices to help bring value to your customers and the organization.
One way to ensure this is to provide proper education and training to people in
your organization. That education and training could be formal or informal,
internal or external. Different people need different levels or types of
education and training—but everyone
should be educated and trained in ITSM best practices.
We can learn valuable lessons not just from ITSM best
practices, but also more importantly from our own past. By looking at the ideas
of men like Frederick Winslow Taylor, we can see how far we have come and
recognize how far we still have to go. Good education and training in ITSM best
practices is a definite step towards that better future.
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