the evolution of management and organization theory

The Evolution of The Evolution of Management and Management and

Organization TheoryOrganization Theory

Lecture 5 – Administrative

Processes in Government

The Origins of Public Management

The key to the city – harks back to an era when the only way into a city was through a locked gate.

The profession of management began and developed as the profession of arms.– War is not possible without an effective

system of public administration.– Military officers were the first public

administrators.


The profession of management began and developed as the profession of arms.– First armies were mobs with managers.– Gradually developed hierarchy, line and staff

personnel, logistics and communications. The continuing influence of ancient Rome.

– The transfer of managerial control from those of wealth and power to those with professional expertise first happened in the Roman army.

– The power of technical expertise would not be seen again until Napoleon.


The continuing influence of ancient Rome.– Origins of merit system.– Origins of civil service (to regulate pay).– The core features of modern public administration

were first found in the Roman Empire.– Depersonalization, separation of public and private

funds, hierarchy, functional specialization.– The virtue of military service (as training in

administration).


The military heritage of public administration.– The history of the world can be viewed as the rise

and fall of public administrative institutions.– Rome was effective because the army’s

organizational doctrine made it superior to its competitors and because it was backed up by a sophisticated administrative system of supply backed by taxes.


The military heritage of public administration.– The Roman empire only fell when its legions

degenerated into corps of mercenaries and when its supply and tax bases were corrupted.

– Both victorious soldiers and successful managers tend to be inordinately admired and rewarded as risk takers.

The Significance of Administrative Doctrine

All organizations are guided by a doctrine of management that reflects basic values.

The first administrative doctrine (military): Do this or die!

Modern example (Henry Ford): All that we ask of men is that they do the work which is set before them. (Implication: or be fired! Better than being shot.)


More sophisticated doctrines are needed when meaningful and fulfilling work for its employees is the central goal of an organization.

These doctrines are generally more conducive to long-term organizational effectiveness and productivity.


Doctrine and attitudes affect morale and performance and more importantly organizational culture.

Organizational culture affects the overall competence or incompetence of the organization.


Each organization’s doctrine remains in place until technological and situational changes make the organization’s adaptations less useful and render the organization incompetent.

Every major political revolution can be said to be caused by the same thing – poor public administration.


The evolution of management principles.– Authoritarian or traditional management is the

classical model of military governance applied to civilian purposes.

– Managers under an authoritarian doctrine value order, precision, consistency, and obedience.

– This authoritarian model has been gradually been replaced with less centralized, more participatory models.

– Why? Because they work better with sophisticated workers.


Comparing military and civilian principles.– No royal road to administrative wisdom. No

hard and fast principles. But:– Nine principles of war (U.S. Army).

• Objective: Direct every, military operation toward a clearly defined, decisive and attainable objective.

• Offensive: Seize, retain, and exploit the intiative.

• Mass: Concentrate combat power at the decisive place and time.


Comparing military and civilian principles (contd.)– Nine principles of war (contd.)

• Economy of force: Allocate minimum essential combat power to secondary efforts.

• Maneuver: Place the enemy in a position of disadvantage through the flexible application of combat power.

• Unity of command: For every objective, insure unity of effort under one responsible commander.


Comparing military and civilian principles (contd.)– Nine principles of war (contd.)

• Security: Never permit the enemy to acquire an advantage.

• Surprise: Strike the enemy at a time and/ or place and in a manner for which he is unprepared.

• Simplicity: Prepare clear, uncomplicated plans and clear, concise orders to ensure thorough undestanding.


Comparing military and civilian principles (contd.)– Catheryn Seckler-Hudson’s 12 principles of

management.• Policy should be defined and imparted to those

who are responsible for its achievement.• Work should be subdivided, systematically

planned, and programmed.• Tasks and responsibilities should be specifically

assigned and understood.



management.• Appropriate methods and procedures should be developed

and utilized by those responsible for policy achievement.

• Appropriate resources in terms of availability and priority should be equitably allocated.

• Authority commensurate with responsibility should be delegated and located as close as possible to the point where operations occur and decisions need to be made.



management.• Adequate structural relationships through which to operate

should be established.

• Effective and qualified leadership should head each organization and each subdivision of the organization.

• Unity of command and purpose should permeate the organization.



management.• Continuous accountability for utilization of resources and for

the production of results should be required.

• Effective coordination of all individual and group efforts within the organization should be achieved.

• Continuous reconsideration of all matters pertaining to the organization should be a part of regular operations.


Comparing military and civilian principles (contd.)– The military list is more policy oriented, more

leadership directed, than the civilian list.– The military approach underlies the

reinventing government movement.

What Is Organization Theory?

A proposition or set of propositions that attempts to explain or predict how groups and individuals behave in differing organizational arrangements.


Classic organizational theory.– Organizations exist to accomplish production-related

and economic goals.– There is one best way to organize for production, and

that way can be found through systematic, scientific inquiry.

– Production is maximized through specialization and division of labor.

– People and organizations act in accordance with rational economic principles.


Theory derived from organizational structures and procedures during the industrial revolution.

Adam Smith and the pin factory.– The Wealth of Nations, 1776.

• Laissez-faire.

– Economic rationale for the factory system.– All formal organizations are force multipliers.

The Origins of Scientific Management

The basic problem with the traditional hierarchical organization was that it was dependent upon the proper enculturation of individual supervisors at every level for its success.

Changes in the environment can make hierarchical organizations less competent.


Origin of the staff concept to overcome limitations of a single mind and fleeting time.

The general staff concept has been adopted by industrial and governmental organizations.


The influence of Frederick W. Taylor (1911).– Father of the scientific management movement.– Scientific management principles.

• Replacing traditional, rule of thumb methods of work accomplishment with systematic, more scientific methods of measuring and managing individual work elements;

• The scientific study of the selection and sequential development of workers to ensure optimal placement of works into work roles;

• Obtaining the cooperation of workers to ensure full application of scientific principles; And.

• Establishing logical divisions within work roles and responsibilities between workers and management.


Henri Fayol’s general theory of management (six principles, 1916, 1949).– Technical (production of goods)– Commercial (buying, selling, exchange).– Financial (raising and using capital).– Security (protection of property and people).– Accounting.– Managerial (coordination, control, organization,

planning and command of people).


Fayol (contd.).– Dominant principle was management.

• Division of work.

• Authority and responsibility.

• Discipline.

• Unity of command.

• Unity of direction.

• Subordination of individual interest to general interest.

• Remuneration of personnel.


Fayol (contd.).– Dominant principle was management (contd.).

• Centralization.• Scalar chains (supervisors).• Order.• Equity.• Stability of personnel tenure.• Initiative, and.• Esprit de corps.

The Period of Orthodoxy

Interwar period a period of orthodoxy in public administration.– Work of government could be divided

between decision-making and execution.– Administration was a science with

discoverable principles.

The Period of Orthodoxy

Paul Appleby’s polemic.– Politics and administration inextricably entwined.

Luther Gulick (1937, POSDCORB).– Planning (outline and methods).– Organizing (structure).– Staffing (personnel).– Directing (decision-making).– Coordinating (task management).– Reporting (communication and record-keeping).– Budgeting (fiscal planning, accounting, and control).

The Many Meanings of Bureaucracy

First, “the bureaucracy is the totality of government offices or bureaus that constitute the permanent government of the state.

Second, “the bureaucracy” refers to all of the public officials of a government, both high and low, elected and appointed.

Third, bureaucracy is often used as a general invective to refer to any inefficient organization encumbered by red tape.


Fourth, bureaucracy refers to a specific set of structural arrangements (Max Weber).– Bureaucrats are free as individuals, but not as

employees.– Hierarchy.– Clearly specified functions.– Freedom of hiring.– Appointment by merit.


Fourth, bureaucracy refers to a specific set of structural arrangements.– Due compensation and due process.– Sole occupation.– Advancement by merit or seniority.– Non-proprietary rights in position.– Strict controls.

Neoclassical Organization Theory

The neoclassical theorists gained their reputation by attacking the classical theories.– Important source of the power and politics,

organizational culture, and systems theory.

Herbert Simon.– Bounded rationality and satisficing.– Programmed and unprogrammed decision-making.– Management information systems.

Neoclassical Organization Theory

The impact of sociology.– Philip Selznick – Organizations are made up

of individuals whose goals and aspirations may not coincide with the organization’s.

Modern Structural Organization Theory

Basic assumptions– Organizations are rational institutions whose primary

purpose is to accomplish established objectives through control and coordination.

– There is a “best” structure for any organization in light of objectives, environment, products or services, and the technology of the production process.

– Specialization and division of labor increase the quality and quantity of production.

– Most problems result from structural flaws.

Modern Structural Organization Theory

Mechanistic and organization systems.– Mechanistic – traditional bureaucracy, best in

stable conditions.– Organic – less rigidity, more participation, and

more reliance on workers, best in dynamic conditions.

Systems Theory

Systems theory views an organization as a complex set of dynamically intertwined and interconnected elements, including inputs, processes, outputs, feedback loops, and the environment. Any change in one element causes changes in other elements.

Systems Theory

Cybernetics – Norbert Wiener (1948).

Systems Theory

The learning organization.– Built on the doctrines of participation– Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.– New component technologies (the five disciplines).

• Personal mastery.

• Mental models.

• Building shared vision.

• Team learning.

• Systems thinking.

the evolution of management and organization theory

Documents

separation of public

public administrators

administrative processes

doctrine of management

origins of merit system

origins of civil service

military officers

organizational culture