Management Theory: Trends and Approaches - Literature review Example

Management Theory: Trends and Approaches   Your name Course name          Professors’ name Date  Table of Contents Introduction 3 Management Theory 4 Henri Fayol 4 Fredrick Winslow Taylor 6 Max Weber 7 Elton Mayo 8 Abraham Maslow 8 Conclusion 10 References 10 Introduction Since human beings started living in communities, problems with management of such groups began and continued to become more complex as humans started relating in bigger and diverse groups. These problems arose from “the need to organize and manage people; need to set up complex administrative and legal structures to maintain the systems built up; and the need to modify and adapt these systems to cope with change” (Cambridge International College).Several theories and approaches have been developed over time with the effort of managing organizations especially business organizations. A theory, as defined by Cambridge International College is “an idea or an explanation which has not yet been universally proved ‘in practice’. It is a conjecture or speculation as opposed to practice. It might be an “ideal”, or a hypothetical or abstract situation.” in management, the term management theory is used to refer to differing and often conflicting theories that have been “studied, researched, commented upon and modified by many different people both as individuals and groups over many years”(Cambridge International College). The 20th century saw the evolution of such theories that until today influence organizational management to some extent. These theories and approaches according to Hartman include the classical school of management theory that encompasses bureaucratic management, administrative management and scientific management branches, the behavioral movement, the human relations movement, behavioral research models, the Japanese management and the contemporary management thought that encompasses the systems and contingency theoretical paradigms. Management Theory The earliest contributors to management theory can be divided into two main groups that are the practising managers such as F.W. Tylor and Henri Fayol, and the social scientists such as Mayo and McGregor (Cole 2004). Practicing managers focused on personal experiences of management aimed at coming up with rational principles of management to be applied universally so as to achieve organizational efficiency (Cole 2004; Cambridge International College). Cole (2004) further states that “these resultant theories of management, which were labeled, ‘classical or scientific’ were primarily concerned with the structuring of work and organizations, rather than on human motivation or organization culture.” On the other hand, social scientists bore another group, the contingency theorists, whose focus was on behavior of employees in relation to factors such as structure, tasks, technology and the work environment (Cole 2004). Henri Fayol Classical theories focused on the structure and activities of formal/official organisation. To achieve an effective organisation, utmost importance was given to issues such as the division of labour (work), the establishment of a hierarchy of authority, and the span of control (Cole 2004; Robinson 2005). The most popular of this group of theorists are Henri Fayol (1841-1925) and F.W Taylor (1856-1915). Fayol was a French industrialist who started his career as a mining engineer at the age of nineteen and rose to Managing Director at the age of forty seven (Cole 2004; Cambridge International College). However, his work became universally popular after 1949 when his 1916 publication, ‘Administration industrielle et generale’ was translated into English. Fayol advocated for command and control management style and outlined six key activities in industrial management as follows: Technical activities such as production, manufacture and adaptation. Commercial activities such as buying, selling and exchanging. Financial activities such as search for the best use of capital. Security services such as safeguarding property and persons. Accounting services such as providing financial information on stocktaking, balance sheets, costs and statistics. Managerial activities such as planning and organising ((Cole 2004; Cambridge International College; Robinson 2005) Fayol further set out fourteen general management principles as outlined below: Division of work that encompasses specialisation that leads to speed and accuracy. Authority and responsibility which calls for senior personnel to be of high moral character that sets an example to subordinates. The seniors also have the authority to give orders to subordinates who should obey those orders. Discipline should be observed between an organisation and its employees where obedience, application and respect are paramount. Unity of command, where Fayol advised that each worker should receive orders from only one immediate boss. Unity of direction which advocates for one plan, one leader, one set objectives. Fair but not excessive remuneration, which rewards effort. Centralisation whereby there is one central point that has control over all other parts of the organisation. The scalar chain or in other words the chain of command which is inclusive of a line or hierarchy of authority where communication should be from top to bottom. Order which advises for a place for everyone and everyone in their place. Equity which entails equal and fair treatment of employees that in turn encourages workers to be loyal and devoted to their work. Stability or tenure of personnel where Fayol observed that, for efficiency to be achieved, people need to stay in their jobs long enough to deliver. Esprit de corps or regard for the group that aims at keeping the team together, using harmony as a basis of strength (Cole 2004; Cambridge International College; Robinson 2005) Fredrick Winslow Taylor Fredrick Winslow Taylor (1856-1915) was an American manager who is popular for his classical management theory of scientific management. He emphasised that successful management lies on the employees not on the work therefore, materials, equipment and methods should be modified to make the most out of employees (Robinson 2005). In his 1911 publication, “Principles of Scientific Management” focused on piece-rate systems and shop management and other related topics (Cambridge International College; Xu & Rickards 2007). Taylor came up with four principles of scientific management that were aimed at achieving mental revolution of both managers and workers (Cole 2004). The second principle is scientific selection and training which entails proper training and coaching of employees so that they are suited fro the job and that promotion opportunities are granted to employees for good work output (Cole 2004; Cambridge International College). The third principle is combining science of work and the trained man” where the management should take the initiative of educating workers on the importance of getting appropriate job training. The final scientific management principle according to Taylor is co-operation between management and workers whereby the management has the responsibility of giving job instructions, supervising and paying of employees according to job output (Cole 2004; Cambridge International College). Max Weber The third branch of the classical school of theory is the bureaucratic organisation that was advocated by Max Weber (1864–1920), a German sociologist. Weber was interested in organisations’ authority; he wanted to know why organisations’ personnel obeyed those in authority over them (Cole 2004; Robinson 2005; McMillan). He observed that there are three types of legitimate authority that are traditional authority, charismatic authority and rational-legal authority (Cole 2004; Robinson 2005; Hartman). Traditional authority is based on traditions and customs which compel people to obey those in authority whereas charismatic authority is based on personal qualities where people obey those in authority based on their (rulers) personal traits. Rational-legal authority stems from the laid down rules and procedures of the organisation (Cole 2004; Cambridge International College; Robinson 2005). Weber further outlined the features of a bureaucracy as follows: Official functions bounded by rules. Stable and comprehensive rules, decisions and actions that are recorded in writing. Equal treatment of employees in the workplace. Fair job appointment based on qualification and competence. Officials are paid full-time. A career structure. Officials are not to be in ownership of the organisation so as to reduce incidents of bribery and corruption. Systematic discipline and control of work (Cole 2004; Cambridge International College; Robinson 2005) Bureaucracy was quite beneficial, in that social classes were abolished as job appointments were given according to qualifications and competence.There was equal treatment of employees despite their personal backgrounds. Elton Mayo Social scientists like Elton Mayo (1880-1949), Abraham Maslow (1908–1970), Mary Parker Follett (1868–1933) and D. McGregor contributed to the human relations movement that focused on employees’ welfare with the argument that if employees are well treated and motivated, they will increase their productivity that will lead to the success of the organisation. Elton Mayo was an Australian professor who carried out a social research at the Hawthorne plant of the Western Electric Company in Chicago, USA. He is viewed as the founder of the human relations movement that advocates for management strategies aimed at improving employees’ welfare (Cole 2004). This movement was popular as from the mid 1920s to the mid 1950s. the Hawthorne experiments were carried out in five stages with stage one being carried out between 1924-1927, the second stage between 1927-1929, the third stage from 1928-1930, the fourth stage in 1932 and the final stage in 1936. The conclusion of these experiments were that individual workers should be treated as members of a group rather than in isolation; informal groups in the workplace have a strong influence on workers’ behavior; supervisors and those in authority should support employees’ informal groups; and people preferred being part of a social group to monetary incentives and other motivational factors (Cole 2004; Cambridge International College) Abraham Maslow Abraham Maslow came up with the motivational theory of management with his hierarchy of needs theory being published for the first time in 1954 (Cole 2004). In this model, Maslow placed basic needs at the bottom, whereas higher needs were placed at the top. The needs are outlined in an ascending manner as follows: Physiological needs that include food, shelter, sleep, clothing and sex among others Safety needs such as a stable environment relatively free of danger Love needs such as affection Esteem needs such as self respect, self esteem and the esteem of others Self actualisation needs which is simply the need for self fulfillment D. McGregor formulated the theory of X and the theory of Y which were based on two sets of assumptions that managers have about their employees (Cole 2004). Theory X is based on the managers’ attitude, that employees are lazy, require coercion and control, avoid responsibility and seek security. Whereas theory Y is based on the assumption that employees are seen as liking work and do not have to be coerced or controlled as long as they are committed to achieving the organisation’s objectives (Hartman; Cole 2004). The classical school of management, and the human relations/psychosocial school of thought did not view organisations as complex social systems and this prompted contemporary theorists to come up with the systems and contingency approaches to management theory. These approaches look at variables such as people both as individuals and in groups; technology in terms of the technical requirements of work; organisation structures; and the environment that encompasses the external factors affecting an organisation (Cole 2004). Examples of theorists in this group include the Aston Group ( environment, technology and structure), Joan Woodward (technology and structure), Burns & Stalker (organic management systems, environment and structure), Katz & Khan (systems approach to organisations) and the Tavistock institute of Human Relations of London (socio-technical systems) (Cole 2004). Conclusion From the above discussion, it can be concluded that the evolution of management theory in the 20th century can be attributed to the extensive research of practising managers such as Tylor and Fayol, and social scientists such as Mayo and McGregor. The most popular of theories and approaches developed by these theorists include the classical school of management (bureaucracy, administration and scientific management), the human relations movement/psychosocial school of management (motivation theory), systems and contingency theories that focus on organisations as complex social systems whose success depend on the interaction of several variables such as people, technology, structures and the environment. References Cambridge International College. n.d, Advanced theory & practice of management/administration: study guide for module one, viewed on 28th October 2011, www.cambridgecollege.co.uk Cole, G. 2004. Management theory and practice, 6th Ed. London: Thomson Learning. Kirkpatrick, S.A & Locke, E.A. 1991. Leadership: do traits matter? vol. 5, no. 2, University of Maryland, Maryland. Delta Publishing Company. 2006. Understanding and managing organizational behavior. Los Alamitos: Delta Publishing Company. Hartman, S.W. 2010. Management Theory. New York: New York Institute of Technology. Jones and Ballet publishers n.d, today’s concept of organizational management, author. McMillan, E n.d, Considering organisation structure and design from complexity paradigm perspective. United Kingdom: Centre for Complexity and Change. Robinson, D. 2005. Management theorists: the thinkers of the 21st century? Training Journal, January, p.30-32. Xu, F., and Rickards, T. 2007. Creative management: a predicted development from research into creativity and management, vol.16, no. 3, Blackwell Publishing. Read More