SOURCE: "Taylorism, Responsible Autonomy and Management Strategy," in On Work: Historical, Comparative and Theoretical Approaches, edited by R. E. Paul, Basil Blackwell, 1988, pp. 173-89.

In the following essay, originally published in 1982, Wood and Kelly argue in favor of a conservative reading and application of Taylor's method, keeping in mind that Taylor's principles may not be universally practical or desirable.

A curious feature of much previous discussion of Braverman's Labor and Monopoly Capitalism (1974) has been a marked tendency to portray capitalist management as virtually omniscient. The implementation of management strategy is therefore taken to be unproblematic. By equating Taylorism with capitalist management in its essence, Braverman is able to depict post-Taylorist developments as either complementary or irrelevant; anti-Taylorist strategies are inconceivable.

By contrast, Friedman (1977a,b) and R. Edwards (1979) have attempted to argue for the existence and importance of such alternatives. Friedman in particular has argued that it is...