What Can We Learn about Managemet Today from Exanining Its Historical Foundations - Essay Example

?Introduction In section one, the essay will examine the basic definition of management which is act of getting people together to accomplish desiredgoals and objectives using available resources and the essay will trace a brief history of management that undergoes the two different schools of thoughts scientific and the behavioral school of thought. Furthermore the essay will elaborate scientific school of thought under the working of Fredrick Winslow Taylor who believes employees are machines. Secondly behavioral school of thought will be discussed as per Elton Mayo’s experiments and findings regarding how productivity can be achieved if workers are inclined towards motivation. The work of Abraham Maslow in hierarchy of needs will be discussed and finally the work done by Sun Tzu in terms of behavioral approach will finally be put into consideration. In section two the essay will highlight the core issue regarding continuities and connections between the different stages of management how they are transformed and modified by different people at different era’s and how they were in practices. Furthermore in section two the essay will discuss a problem that has been dominant throughout and its solution given by Fredrick, Maslow and Mayo. Finally then some suggestion and recommendation will be discussed on how the problem can be solved and rectified and what necessary measures should be taken in order to achieve the desired goals. Section one: History of Management The act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using resources (available) efficiently and effectively is termed as management. These resources are may be in terms of human resources, financial resources, technological resources or natural resources. Management has following main functions: planning, staffing, organizing, leading, controlling and directing. There is no unity amongst the historians regarding the evolution of management. Some believes it is as old as when man started to live in the forms of tribes or societies. Other believes it started from Egypt and was first shown during the making of pyramids. Moreover there are two types of approaches or theories regarding management. The first one is classic or scientific and the other one is behavioral management theory. Scientific management theory or classical management theory has its roots from the beginning and which later give birth to behavioral management theory. In scientific theory the focus is on how to increase productivity and efficiency. In order to find the best way to manage workers or employees managers will apply scientific solutions, such as training employees to a specific task to gain organizational goals. This approach only focuses on achieving results and getting productivity ignoring the motivation and will of the workers (Hartness, 47). The major contribution on this approach was put forward by Frederick Taylor also known as the father of scientific management (Kanigel, 8-9). American engineer named Frederick Winslow Taylor published “THE PRINCIPLE OF SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT “in 1911 was amongst the first modern management publisher inspired by the rise of industrial age (Beissinger, 19). Taylor believed managing people is a science (Taylor, 12). He tried to make managers think of their employees as specialized replaceable components. He emphasizes on directing employees effectively on work more precisely can give the maximum security and success for employer (Aitken, 32). Behavioral management theory on the other hand focuses on how employees will work and how employers could manage the employees in conducting of work in an organizational setting. Its prime concern is employee behavior and expectations and involves the motivation factor which was ignored by scientific approach. During the development of behavioral management theory, a scientist named Elton Mayo conducted an experiment which proved that increasing human motivation and satisfaction will give good amount of productivity. Elton Mayo’s contributions came as a part of “Hawthorne experiments” conducted a series of experiments regarding what workers want? As a result they found that workers are not just machines whose only source of motivation is wages but they are human have feelings and whose emotional needs must be fulfilled. This theory negated the concept of Taylorism and as a result the role of managers was re-described and group making decision become norm at that time. Abraham Maslow in 1943 gave his famous hierarchy of needs and targeted the concept of human motivation. These needs are often portrayed in the shape of pyramids with the prime and core need at the bottom, and the need of self judgment at the top. Though there is no evidence that Maslow use pyramid to describe these needs. These needs are categorized in five different stages or types from bottom to top these are psychological needs, safety needs, love belonging needs, esteem and self actualization needs (Maslow, 34). Even today, managers consider this theory to setup organization goal and to achieve the desired results. Another behavioral approach work “The art of war” written by Chinese general Sun Tzu, is a military managerial book written in 6th B.C. which describes the attributes for managerial purposes, recommends being aware of and acting on strengths and weaknesses of both a manager’s organizations and foe’s. Sun Tzu main points are as follows: Importance of knowledge, wisdom and understanding especially in regard to knowing self and opposition. Staying focus on strategic objectives. Check for suitability of strategies. Clear communication. He emphasizes on the importance of planning by proper analysis of the information Section two: Continuities and connections between the different stages of management There have been some connections between different stages of management. In the beginning of 20th century the most notable organizations were industries. Having large number of workers and making variety of products to cater masses as their routine task. At that time in the United States of America scientific and technical matters were monitored and carried out considering careful measurement and specification. They were working on the guidelines as propose by Frederick Taylor task were asked to performed in a special manner on successful completion workers were rewarded and if not done correctly were given punishments.(1890 1940). Then come the time of Max Weber who somehow beautified scientific theory with his bureaucratic theory. He suggested diving the organizations into hierarchies which will result in having strong line of control and power and recommended to device a standard operating procedure for conducting routine tasks.(1930-1950). During that time laws regarding labor and concept like minimum wages were also made, eventually these theories were asked to stop by unions and government relations because of their dehumanizing effects. More consideration was given to individuals and their capabilities were also appreciated in the organizations. At that time there was this major belief that an organization will prosper only if its workers prospered as well. Plans were developed in order to seek the needs or workers and the needs of organization could be aligned together. Human resource management was put to practice.(1930 till today). Identifying a Common Problem The common problem in different eras and stages of management is the productivity. Productivity being the prime source of concern has raised so many of questions and has gone through various different answers. For instance If problem of productivity in terms of behavioral and scientific management theories is analyzed, a more clear understanding on how people at different times cope up with this problem can be identified and for how long they were successful enough to hold their set of rules and regulations. Fredrick Taylor highlighted the problem of productivity; he devised ways to cope up with it and strategies to improve production. He defined ways to consider workers as machines, which are replaceable, highlighted on special training of workers in order to get the desired results. He believed that if workers are well trained in doing a specific task can give employer an increase in production (Cooke, 1987-1988). He was mainly concerned about getting work done rather than focusing on the motivation factor. He set out various numbers of guiding principles for management for the rectification of problem of productivity which if are as below: Development of true science for each person’s work The scientific selection, training and development of workers. Co operation with the worker to ensure that things are going accordingly. The division of work amongst managers and employees. However these rectifications proved to be working for short time and for limited area. Initially these suggestions were giving the desired results and were put to practice in America. But in the longer run these were abolished by the managers and then there were rise of behavioral approaches. The problem of productivity after the failure of scientific approach remained as the prime issue for the behavioral school of thought as well. There was mass adoption of behavioral theory and was put to practice at that time. In this theory, employees were given attention and measures were taken to take care of their organizational needs. Elton Mayo in this regard gave his recommendations on how to solve the problem of productivity, his contributions came as a part of Hawthorne studies. In first part of this experiment a number of engineers seeking to determine the effects of lighting on workers’ productivity. Surprisingly they find out that the productivity increases with the decrease of lighting till a point that employees were unable to see. Similarly second part of the study found giving special treatments or privileges will result in higher productivity. For instance leaving the office without informing any one, taking breaks whenever want to, enjoying free lunches, and the variation in pay levels and workdays will result in higher productivity. Another scientist Abraham Maslow suggested the motivation factor that if catered properly can give a great amount of production increases. He suggested the idea of how to motivate workers to get higher productivity. His motivation theory is based upon the consideration of human needs which had three assumptions: Human needs are never completely satisfied Human behavior is purposeful and need of satisfaction can motivate it. Needs can be classified according to their importance in hierarchical structure. However the recommendations Mayo and Maslow gave in order to eradicate the problem of productivity has some logical sense and even they one way or other are still practice by modern society but still there was no definite formula in order to get higher productivity. Since scientific theory had its own impact and gave results in the form of production and behavioral theory also did the same but limitations were seen on both sides. Solutions Nowadays employers are looking for productivity using different techniques. They are practicing human resource management for addressing these issues. Though this human management has evolved from the past and has a clear knowledge and understanding of management going through stages and its current standings. They are well equipped with the idea, characteristics, functions and limitations of scientific and behavioral theories. In my view the problem of productivity can be answered by combining both the theories and working accordingly as I believe both theories are in practice somehow. Though some people may disagree pertaining the fact that scientific method was put to an end way back, but I feel this method is still practiced in most under developing countries as there is very less awareness of human rights and labor laws issues. Companies usually treat workers as machines regardless of their social needs and the standards as prescribed by international labor law. However, today effective and smooth practice of behavioral theory is in practice though with many modifications. However, I feel productivity can be achieved in order to judge the surrounding well and then plan accordingly. Using different techniques, planning the desired road map, thinking about the issues how to conduct things with mobility and proper communication can be the answer. I believe time management is another main concern that can give productivity. If proper utilization of resources is done, higher productivity can be achieved. Given below are some main points which I feel that should be implemented to improve productivity. These points are somehow inter-related from the two theories. These are: Management support; Without management support the productivity will not be as mobilize as with management support. Plan systematically; In my view success does not just happen. It undergoes goal settings, and after setting goals one should work accordingly in order to achieve the desired destination. Effective communication; Communication plays vital role in giving productivity. If a worker has clear understanding of work he will definitely give fruitful results. So, effective communication is mandatory amongst the ruler and the ruled. Involve employees; If worker is satisfied with the employer he is more likely to perform better. If he enjoys his work and working ambiance he is more likely to give the desired results. Hence motivation factor is the key role in gaining productivity and maximizing it. Conclusion Productivity has always remained a problem for years and the managers of every era have been focusing on different techniques to improve the productivity. Some have worked whereas some have not. This essay has presented some suggestions that can be helpful in improving productivity. There can be various other factors as well but these are somehow the extraction or summary of both the theories one way and the other. Works Cited Aitken, Hugh, Scientific Management in Action: Taylorism at Watertown Arsenal, 1908-1915, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1985. Beissinger, Mark R. Scientific Management, Socialist Discipline, and Soviet Power. London: I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd, 1998. Cooke, Bill. “The denial of slavery in management studies”. Journal of Management Studies 40.8 (2003): 1895-1918. Hartness, James. The human factor in works management. New York and London: McGraw-Hill, 1912. Kanigel, Robert. The One Best Way: Frederick Winslow Taylor and the Enigma of Efficiency. New York: Penguin-Viking, 1997. Maslow, Abraham. Motivation and Personality. New York: Harper, 1954. Taylor, Fredrick. The Principles of Scientific Management’ in Scientific Management. London, Harper and Row Ltd. Read More