The scientific approach to management emerged in the early 20th century when companies wished to increase worker productivity to counteract labor shortages.

Explanation

• This approach, pioneered by Frederick Winslow Taylor and known as scientific management or Taylorism, aimed to improve economic efficiency and labor productivity through scientific analysis and synthesis of workflows.

• Companies faced the challenge of increasing production despite a shortage of available labor, motivating the development of methods to optimize work processes and increase the output per worker.

• Taylor's method involved systematic selection, training, and cooperation with workers to ensure efficient task performance and higher productivity.

Thus, the main issue companies sought to counteract with the scientific approach to management was labor shortages. This helped transform production techniques and management practices during the early 20th century.