Next Taylorism

In 1911, Frederick W. Taylor published one of the most outstanding scientific cornerstones for the production system of the 20th century – The Principles of Scientific Management. Today, industrial production is confronted with a change towards knowledge-intensive and transformable production systems, which are characterized by knowledge work. A Taylor-based reconception of knowledge work has to develop an understanding of knowledge work as a special form of communication. The corresponding scientific background for such an endeavor can be found in system theory and second-order cybernetics. The book conceptualizes the organization of knowledge work for the first time as a function which coordinates and controls knowledge work from within and which initially discusses and applies methods, the so-called MXM, on the knowledge workers.