2. Main Features of Industrial Revolution

The main features of the Industrial Revolution were Technological, economic, social, and cultural.

Technological features:

The use of new basic materials -- iron and steel.The use of new energy sources -- both fuels and motive power -- such as coal, steam engine, electricity, petroleum, and internal combustion engine.

The invention of new machines -- spinning jenny and the power loom that permitted increased production with smaller expenditure of human energy.

The new organization of work -- the Factory System -- which entailed increased division of work and specialization of function. (Note that F. W. Taylor’s School of Scientific Management is based on the study of work in the Factory System.) Developments in transportation and communications -- steam locomotive, steamship, automobile, airplane, telegraph, and radio.The increasing application of science to industry.

These technological breakthroughs made possible massive use of natural resources and mass production of manufactured goods.

Socio-economic and Cultural Features of Industrial Revolution

Agricultural revolution produced surplus production for consumption of industrial, commercial and other non-agricultural population.

Economic shift from land to industry resulted in broader distribution of wealth, especially among the bourgeoisie, the new middle class.

Political changes reflected shift of economic power. Hence, new laws and state policies reflected the economic interests of new power holders.

Sweeping social changes -- growth of cities, development of working class movements, and emergence of new patterns of authority.

Cultural transformations of broader order. The worker acquired new and distinctive skills and relation to task shifted. Instead of craftsman with hands tools, he became a machine operator, subject to factory discipline.

Psychological change -- man’s confidence in his ability to use resources and to master nature was heightened.

What Are The Effects Of Industrial Revolution In Management?

The Industrial Revolution changed the world utterly and completely and there are very few aspects of everyday day life that have not been irretrievably altered as a result, including management. The Industrial Revolution has given rise to huge urban areas that need vast municipal services and so is responsible for creating a very specialized interdependent economic life. This means that employees within these sectors are far more reliant on the absolute will of their employers than perhaps their historical rural counterparts ever were. This led to many incidences of unrest between capital and the labor force and many organizations sprang up to deal with the changes. One of these was Marxism, and another were the doctrines developed by Adam Smith and David Ricardo and which are referred to as laissez-faire, which takes the view that an economic system will function best if there is no interference from government. This belief is based on the idea that a natural economic order will give maximum well-being for an individual and a community if it is free of artificial regulation or stimulus.

However, the Industrial Revolution brought a need for state intervention and laissez-faire soon gave way and management in industry and business reflected the political stances that were being made.

The Industrial Revolution has provided an economic base that has given rise to professions, a huge expansion in the population and an improvement in living standards across the developed world; features that are still being worked towards in less developed countries and as such has provided the basis for many different management models.

In the new economic climate, managers of all types oforganizations—political, educational, and economic—were increasingly trying to find better ways to satisfy customers’ needs. Many major economic, technical, and cultural changes were taking place at this time. The introduction of steam power and the development of sophisticated machinery and equipment changed the way in which goods were produced, particularly in the weaving and clothing industries. Small workshops run by skilled workers who produced hand-manufactured products (a system called crafts production ) were being replaced by large factories in which sophisticated machines controlled by hundreds or even thousands of unskilled or semiskilled workers made products.

Owners and managers of the new factories found themselves unprepared for the challenges accompanying the change from small-scale crafts production to large-scale mechanized manufacturing. Many of the managers and supervisors had only a technical orientation, and were unprepared for the social problems that occur when people work together in large groups (as in a factory or shop system).

Managers began to search for new techniques to manage their organizations’ resources, and soon they began to focus on ways to increase the efficiency of the worker–task mix.