O S M – Prof. Rajesh Satpathy

Objective:

To acquire basic understanding on the following schools of management theories:

>> The Classical Management School>> The Behavioral Management School>> The Human Resources Management School>> The Management Science School

Management Theories

The practice of management is as old as human civilization. The ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome and Indus-vally had the history of good management practices.

However, the study of management in a systematic way as a distinct body of knowledge is only of recent origin. That is why, management is often described as "oldest of the arts and youngest of sciences".

Management Theories

The traditional management practices remained quite stable through the centuries until the birth of Industrial revolution in the mid 18th century.

Industrial revolution had sown the seeds of modern management as the then industrialists faced many problems, which were completely unfamiliar to them, in managing the industry.

Management Theories

Charles Babage, Robert Owen and James Montgomery are among the notable management thinkers of earlier days. All the earlier theories of management together constitute the Pre-scientific era of management.

Disagreement exists as to the exact number of management schools. Different writers have identified as few as three and as many as twelve.

Management Theories

This topic has following five sections.

They are:

1. The Classical Management School2. The Behavioral Management School3. The Human Resources Management School4. The Management Science School

Management Theories

The Classical Management School:

The twentieth century witnessed tremendous management theory ferment and activity.

Efforts were taking place for the development of a comprehensive management theory. Traditional or classical management school of theory is a result of such efforts.

Henri Fayol (1841-1925) is widely acclaimed as the founder of the Classical Management School.

Management Theories

The Classical Management School:

Classical Management Theory concentrates on efficiency.

Classical school has three distinct branches, viz. scientific management, bureaucratic management, and administrative management. It visualize s a pyramid hierarchical structure, autocratic management, clear chain of command and short spans of control.

Management Theories

Scientific Management:

Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856-1915)is known as the "father of scientific management". Taylor began work at the age of 18 as a machinist apprentice to a pattern-maker.

He later joined the Midvale Steel Company as a laborer and became chief engineer in eight years. During his period at the steel mill Taylor performed comprehensive experiments on worker productivity and tested what he called the "task system" , later developed into the Taylor System and eventually progressed into scientific management.

Management Theories

Scientific Management:

Scientific management theory analyzes and synthesizes workflow processes and improving labor productivity.

Scientific management is also called Taylorism, the Taylor system, or the Classical Perspective. The core ideas of the theory were developed by Frederick Winslow Taylor in the 1880s and 1890s, and were first published in his monographs, Shop Management (1905) and The Principles of Scientific Management (1911).

Taylor believed that decisions based upon tradition and rules of thumb should be replaced by precise procedures developed after careful study of an individual at work.

Management Theories

Scientific Management:

Taylor's experiments included determining the best way of performing each work operation, the time it required, materials needed and the work sequence.

He wanted to establish a clear division of labor between management and employees.

Management Theories

Following are the four basic principles of Scientific management theory:

>> Study the ways jobs are performed now and determine new ways to do them.>> Codify the new methods into rules.>> Select workers whose skills match the rules.>> Establish fair levels of performance and pay incentive for higher performance.

Management Theories

The scientific management is a 'manager centric' approach. The most fundamental aspect of scientific management is that the manager is primarily responsible for increasing an organization's productivity.

Scientific management principles are to be applied by managers in a very specific fashion.

Management Theories

The shortcomings of the Scientific Theory had triggered the quest for more workable solutions and resulted in the formulation of bureaucratic management, and administrative management theories.

The scientific method was also got refined further during the course of time.

Management Theories

Bureaucratic Management:

Max Weber (1864-1920)is one of the strong advocates of bureaucracy. According to Weber the major characteristics of bureaucracy are:

A well defined hierarchy-

All positions within a bureaucracy are structured in a way permitting the higher positions to supervise and control the lower positions. This provides a clear chain of command facilitating control and order throughout the organization.

Management Theories

Bureaucratic Management:

Division of labor and specialization-

All responsibilities in an organization are streamlined in a way that each employee will have the necessary expertise to master a particular task. This necessitates granting each employee the requisite authority to complete all such tasks.

Rules and regulations-All organizational activities are streamlined in a way that standard operating procedures are developed to provide certainty and facilitate coordination.

Management Theories

Bureaucratic Management:

Impersonal relationships between managers and employees-

Weber believed that managers should maintain an impersonal relationship with the employees so that the managers will be free to take rational decisions rather than one influenced by favoritism and personal prejudice.

This organizational atmosphere would also facilitate rational evaluation of employee outcomes where personal prejudices shall not interfere.

Management Theories

Bureaucratic Management:

Competence-

Competence should be the basis for all decisions made in hiring, job assignments, and promotions. This would encourage ability and merit as the most important characteristics of a bureaucratic organization.

Records-Weber felt it is absolutely essential for a bureaucracy to maintain complete files regarding all its activities. This necessitates an accurate organizational "memory" where accurate and complete documents will be available concerning all bureaucratic actions and decisions.

Management Theories

ThankYou!