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BASIC SCHOOLS OF MANAGEMENT

 

CLASSICAL SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

 

The oldest and perhaps most widely accepted school among practitioners has been called the classical school of management thought. This is the approach to management thought that arose mainly from efforts between 1900 and 1940 to provide a rational and scientific basis for the management of organizations.

As a result of Industrial Revolution, people were brought together to work in factories. There were need for efficient planning, organizing, influencing, and controlling of work activities.

The primary contributions of the classical school of management include the following:

  1. Application of science to the practice of management.
  2. Development of the basic management functions: planning, organizing, influencing, and controlling.
  3. Articulation and application of specific principles of management.

 

SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT

 

Frederick Taylor, who made major contributions to management thinking around the turn of this century, is often called the Father of Scientific Management. Scientific management is the name given to the principle and practices that grew out of the work of Frederick Taylor and his followers and that are characterized by concern for efficiency and systematization in management. The scientific method provides a logical framework for the analysis of problems. It basically consists of defining the problem, gathering data, analyzing the data, developing alternatives, and selecting the best alternative. Taylor’s philosophy can be summarized in the following four principles:

  1. Develop and use the scientific method in the practice of management (find the ”one best way” to perform work)
  2. Use scientific approach to select employees who are best suited to perform a given job.
  3. Provide employees with a scientific education, training, and development.
  4. Encourage friendly interaction and cooperation between management and employees but with a separation of duties between managers and workers.

He believed sincerely that scientific management practices would benefit both the employee and the employer through the creation of a larger surplus. The organization would achieve higher output, and the worker would receive more income.

 

GENERAL MANAGEMENT THEORY

 

Henri Fayol and C. I. Barnard attempted to develop a broader theory concerned with general management. Fayol’s thesis was that the fundamental functions of any manager consist of planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating, and controlling. He attempted to develop a number of general principles designed to improve the practice of general management. Barnard believed that the most important function of a manager is to promote cooperative effort toward goals of the organization.

 

BEHAVIORAL SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

 

In the 1920s and 1930s some observers of became convinced that scientific management was shortsighted and incomplete. The Behavioral school of management is the approach to management thought that is primarily concerned with human psychology, motivation, and leadership as distinct from simple mechanical efficiency. The behavioral school of management thought includes what has come to be called the human relations movement, as well as modern behaviorism.



 

HUMAN RELATIONS

 

Elton Mayo was recognized as the Father of the Human Relations Movement. The human relations movement is the name given in the trend that began inthe1920s and that reached is apogee in the 1940s and 1950s toward treating satisfaction of psychological needs as the primary management concern. In the experiments conducted in the Chicago Western Electric plant between 1927 and 1932 researchers attempted to prove the validity of certain accepted management ideas. Several of the experiments attempted to determine the relationship between working conditions and productivity.

Much behavioral research supports the thesis that reasonable satisfaction of the needs and desires of employees will lead to greater output. This suggests that any management approach that ignores or deemphasizes the human element may result in only partly accomplished objectives.

 

MODERN BEHAVIORISM

 

The term ”modern behaviorism” refers to the current stage of evolution of the behavioral school of management, which gives primacy to psychological considerations but treats fulfillment of emotional needs mainly as a means of achieving other, primarily economic goals.

Behavioral scientists have often criticized classical management theory and scientific management as not being responsive enough to the human needs. The behaviorists’ specific criticisms include the following:

  • Jobs have been overly specialized.
  • People are underutilized.
  • Managers have exercised too much control and have prevented employees from making decisions they are competent to make.
  • Managers have shown too little concern about subordinates’ needs for recognition and self-fulfillment.

Behavioral scientists argue that the design of work has not changed to keep pace with changes in the needs of today’s employees. In today’s complex, affluent, and rapidly changing society employees cannot be treated like interchangeable parts. Today’s worker has a higher level of education and tends to possess higher expectations for the working environment than workers of the past did. Modern behaviorists say employees of today desire diverse and challenging work. This desire has placed increased pressure on management to be responsive to change and to provide an environment designed to meet human needs.

 


Date: 2015-01-12; view: 1866


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