VALLEY VIEW UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES

DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

AN ASSIGNMENT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

BY

ASSIGNMENT

BRIEFLY EXAMINE THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE SCHOOL OF

MANAGEMENT THEORY

DATE

AUGUST 13, 2017

EARLYTHINKINGABOUTMANAGEMENT
Peoplehavebeenshapingandreshapingorganizationsformanycenturies.Looking
backthroughworldhistory,wecantracethestoriesofpeopleworkingtogetherin
formalorganizationssuchasthe
GreekandRomanarmies,theRomanCatholicChurch,theEastIndiaCompany,and
theHudsonBayCompany.Peoplehavealsolongbeenwritingabouthowtomake
organizations efficientandeffectivesincelongbeforetermssuchas"management"
cameintocommonusage.Twoprominent andinstructiveexamplesarethewritings
leftforusbyNiccoloMachiavelliandSunTzu.
MACHIAVELLIANDSUNTZU:
EARLYSTRATEGISTS
Althoughtheadjective'Machiavellian'isoftenusedtodescribecunningand
manipulativeopportunistsMachiavelliwasagreatbelieverinthevirtuesofa
republic.ThisisevidentinDiscourses, abookMachiavelliwrotein1531whilehe
livedintheearlyItalianrepublicof Florence.Theprinciples hesetforthcanbe
adaptedtoapplytothemanagementoforganizationstoday.
Anorganizationismorestableifmembershavetherighttoexpresstheir
differencesandsolve theirconflictswithinit
Whileonepersoncanbeginanorganization,"itislastingwhenitisleftinthe
careofmanyandwhenmanydesiretomaintainit."
Aweakmanagercanfollowastrongone,butnotanotherweakone,andmaintain
authority.
Amanagerseekingtochangeanestablishedorganization"shouldretainatleasta
shadowofthe ancientcustoms."
AnotherclassicworkthatoffersinsightstomodemmanagersisTheArtofWar,
writtenbytheChinesephilosopherSunTzumorethan2,000yearsago.Itwas
modifiedandusedbyMaoZedong, whofoundedthePeople'sRepublicofChinain
l949.AmongSunTzu'sdicturarethefollowing:
Whentheenemyadvances.weretreat!
whentheenemyhaltsweharass!Whentheenemyseekstoavoidbattle,we
attack!
Whentheenemyretreats,wepursue!

WHYSTUDYMANAGEMENTTHEORY?
Theoriesareperspectiveswithwhichpeoplemakesenseoftheirworldexperiences.
Formally,a theoryisacoherentgroupofassumptionsputforthtoexplainthe
relationship betweentwoormoreobservablefacts. JohnClancycallssuch
perspectives"invisiblepowers"toemphasizeseveralcrucialusesoftheories,the
"unseen"waysinwhichweapproachourworld.
First,theoriesprovideastablefocusforunderstandingwhatweexperience.
Atheoryprovidescriteriafordeterminingwhatisrelevant.
Second,theoriesenableustocommunicateefficientlyandthusmoveinto
moreand morecomplexrelationshipswithotherpeople.
Third,theoriesmakeitpossibleindeed,challengeustokeeplearningabout
ourworld.Bydefinition,theorieshaveboundaries;thereisonlysomuch
thatcanbecoveredbyanyonetheory.
THEEVOLUTIONOFMANAGEMENTTHEORY
Managementandorganizationsareproductsoftheirhistoricalandsocialtimesand
places.Thus,wecanunderstandtheevolutionofmanagementtheoryintermsof
howpeoplehavewrestledwithmattersofrelationshipsatparticulartimesin
history.
THESCIENTIFICMANAGEMENTSCHOOL
ScientificManagementtheoryaroseinpartfromtheneedtoincreaseproductivity.
IntheUnited Statesespecially,skilledlaborwasinshortsupplyatthebeginningof
thetwentiethcentury.Theonlywaytoexpandproductivitywastoraisethe
efficiencyofworkers.Therefore,FrederickW.Taylor, HenryL.Gantt,andFrankand
LillianGilbrethdevisedthebodyofprinciplesknownasscientificmanagement
theory.
FREDERICKW.TAYLOR
FrederickW.Taylor(18561915)restedhisphilosophyonfourbasicprinciples:
Thedevelopmentofatruescienceofmanagement,sothatthebestmethodfor
performingeach taskcouldbedetermined.
Thescientificselectionofworkers,sothateachworkerwouldbegiven responsibility
forthetask forwhichheorshewasbestsuited.
Thescientificeducationanddevelopmentoftheworker.Intimate,friendly
cooperationbetweenmanagementandlabor.
CONTRIBUTIONSOFSCIENTIFICMANAGEMENTTHEORY
ThemodemassemblylinepoursoutfinishedproductsfasterthanTaylorcouldever
haveimagined.
Thisproduction"miracle"isjustonelegacyofscientificmanagement.Inaddition,its
efficiency techniqueshavebeenappliedtomanytasksinnonindustrialorganizations,
rangingfromfastfoodservicetothetrainingofsurgeons.
LIMITATIONSOFSCIENTIFICMANAGEMENTTHEORY
AlthoughTaylor'smethodledtodramaticincreasesinproductivityandtohigher
payinanumberofinstances,workersandunionsbegantoopposehisapproach
becausetheyfearedthatworkingharderorfasterwouldexhaustwhateverwork
wasavailable,causinglayoffs.
Moreover,Taylor'ssystemclearlymeantthattimewasoftheessence.Hiscritics
objectedtothe"speedup"conditionsthatplacedunduepressuresonemployeesto
performatfasterandfasterlevels.Theemphasisonproductivityand,by
extension,profitabilityledsomemanagerstoexploitbothworkersandcustomers.
Asaresult,moreworkersjoinedunionsandthusreinforcedapatternofsuspicion
andmistrustthatshadedlabormanagementrelationsfordecades.
HENRYL.GANTT
HenryL.Gantt(18611919)workedwithTayloronseveralprojects.Butwhenhe
wentoutonhisownasaconsultingindustrialengineer,Ganttbegantoreconsider
Taylor'sincentivesystem.
Abandoningthedifferentialratesystemashavingtoolittlemotivationalimpact,
Ganttcameupwithanewidea.Everyworkerwhofinishedaday'sassignedwork
loadwouldwina50centbonus.Thenheaddedasecondmotivation.The
supervisorwouldearnabonusforeachworkerwhoreachedthedailystandard,
plusanextrabonusifalltheworkersreachedit.This,Ganttreasoned,wouldspur
supervisorstotraintheirworkerstodoabetterjob.
THEGILBRETHS
FrankB.andLillianM.Gilbreth(18681924and18781972)madetheircontribution
tothescientificmanagementmovementasahusbandandwifeteam.Lillianand
Frankcollaboratedonfatigueandmotionstudiesandfocusedonwaysofpromoting
theindividualworker'swelfare.Tothem,theultimateaimofscientificmanagement
wastohelpworkersreachtheirfullpotentialashumanbeings.
CLASSICALORGANIZATIONTHEORYSCHOOL
Scientificmanagementwasconcernedwithincreasingtheproductivityoftheshop
andtheindividualworker.Classicalorganizationtheorygrewoutoftheneedto
findguidelinesformanagingsuchcomplexorganizationsasfactories.
HENRIFAYOL
HenriFayol(18411925)isgenerallyhailedasthefounderoftheclassical
managementschoolnot becausehewasthefirsttoinvestigatemanagerial
behaviour, butbecausehewasthefirsttosystematizeit.Fayolbelievedthatsound
managementpracticefallsintocertainpattersthatcanbe identifiedandanalysed.
Fromthisbasicinsight,hedrewupablueprintforacohesivedoctrineof
managersonethatretainsmuchofitsforcetothisday.Withhisfaithinscientific
methods,FayolwaslikeTaylor,hiscontemporary.WhileTaylorwasbasically
concernedwithorganizationalfunctions,howeverFayolwasinterestedinthetotal
organizationandfocusedonmanagement,whichhefelthadbeenthemost
neglectedofbusinessoperations.The14principlesofmanagementFayol"most
frequentlyhadtoapply."
BeforeFayol,itwasgenerallybelievedthat"managersareborn,notmade."Fayol
insisted,however,thatmanagementwasaskilllikeanyotheronethatcouldbe
taughtonceitsunderlyingprincipleswereunderstood.
Fayols14Principlesofmanagement

DivisionofLabor. Authority.
Discipline Remuneration
UnityofCommand Centralization
UnityofDirection TheHierarchy
SubordinationofIndividualInteresttotheCommonGood Order
EspiritdeCorps (Promotingteamspirit) Initiative
StabilityofStaff Equity

MAXWEBER
Reasoningthatanygoalorientedorganizationconsistingofthousandsofindividuals
wouldrequirethecarefullycontrolledregulationofitsactivities,theGerman
sociologistMaxWeber(18641920)developedatheoryofbureaucraticmanagement
thatstressedtheneedforastrictlydefinedhierarchygovernedbyclearlydefined
regulationsandlinesofauthority.Heconsideredtheidealorganizationtobea
bureaucracywhoseactivitiesandobjectiveswererationallythoughtoutand whose
divisionsoflaborwereexplicitlyspelledout.Weberalsobelievedthattechnical
competenceshouldbeemphasizedandthatperformanceevaluationsshouldbe
madeentirelyonthebasisofmerit.
MARYPARKERFOLLETT
MaryParkerFollett(18681933)wasamongthosewhobuiltonclassicframeworkof
theclassicalschool.However,sheintroducedmanynewelementsespeciallyinthe
areaofhumanrelationsandorganizationalstructure.Inthis,sheinitiatedtrends
thatwouldbefurtherdevelopedbytheemergingbehavioralandmanagement
scienceschools.
Follettwasconvincedthatnoonecouldbecomeawholepersonexceptasa
memberofagroup;humanbeingsgrewthroughtheirrelationshipswithothersin
organizations.Infact,shecalledmanagement"theartofgettingthingsdone
throughpeople."
CHESTERI.BARNARD
ChesterBarnard(18861961),likeFollett,introducedelementstoclassicaltheorythat
wouldbefurtherdevelopedinlaterschools.Barnard,whobecamepresidentof
NewJerseyBellin1927,usedhisworkexperienceandhisextensivereadingin
sociologyandphilosophytoformulatetheoriesaboutorganizations.Accordingto
Barnard,peoplecometogetherinformalorganizationstoachieveendstheycannot
accomplishworkingalone.Butastheypursuetheorganization'sgoals,theymust
alsosatisfytheirindividualneeds.AndsoBarnardarrivedathiscentralthesis:An
enterprisecanoperateefficientlyandsurviveonlywhentheorganizationsgoalsare
keptinbalancewiththeaimsandneedsoftheindividualsworkingforit.What
Barnardwasdoingwasspecifyingaprinciplebywhichpeoplecanworkinstable
andmutuallybeneficialrelationshipsovertime.
THEBEHAVIORALSCHOOL:
THEORGANIZATIONISPEOPLE
Thebehavioralschoolemergedpartlybecausetheclassicalapproachdidnotachieve
sufficientproductionefficiencyandworkplaceharmony.Tomanagersfrustration,
peopledidnotalwaysfollow predictedorexpectedpatternsofbehavior.Thusthere
wasincreasedinterestinhelpingmanagersdealmoreeffectivelywiththe"people
side"oftheirorganizations.Severaltheoriststriedtostrengthenclassical
organizationtheorywiththeinsightsofsociologyandpsychology.
THEHUMANRELATIONSMOVEMENT
Humanrelationsisfrequentlyusedasageneraltermtodescribethewaysinwhich
managersinteractwiththeiremployees.When"employeemanagement"stimulates
moreandbetterwork,theorganizationhaseffectivehumanrelations;whenmorale
andefficiencydeteriorate,itshumanrelationsaresaidtobeineffective.Thehuman
relationsmovementarosefromearlyattemptstosystematicallydiscoverthesocial
andpsychologicalfactorsthatwouldcreateeffectivehumanrelations.
THEHAWTHORNEEXPERIMENTS.Thehumanrelationsmovementgrewoutofa
famousseriesofstudiesconductedattheWesternElectricCompanyfrom1924to
1933.These eventuallybecameknownasthe"HawthorneStudies"becausemanyof
themwereperformedatWesternElectric's
HawthorneplantnearChicago.TheHawthorneStudiesbeganasanattemptto
investigatetherelationshipbetweentheleveloflightingintheworkplaceand
workerproductivitythetypeofquestionFrederickTaylorandhiscolleaguesmight
wellhaveaddressed.
THEMANAGEMENTSCIENCESCHOOL
AtthebeginningofWorldWarII,GreatBritaindesperatelyneededtosolvea
numberofnew,complexproblemsinWarfare.Withtheirsurvivalatstake,British
formedthefirstoperationalresearch(OR)teams.Bypoolingtheexpertiseof
mathematicians,physicists,andotherscientistsinORteams,theBritishwereable
toachievesignificanttechnologicalandtacticalbreakthroughs.WhentheAmericans
enteredthewar,theyformedwhattheycalledoperationsresearchteams,basedon
thesuccessfulBritishmodel,tosolvesimilarproblems.Theteamsusedearly
computerstoperform thethousandsofcalculationsinvolvedinmathematical
modeling.
RECENTDEVELOPMENTSINMANAGEMENTTHEORY
THESYSTEMSAPPROACH
Ratherthandealingseparatelywiththevarioussegmentsofanorganization,the
systemsapproachtomanagementviewstheorganizationasaunified,purposeful
systemcomposedofinterrelatedparts.Thisapproachgivesmanagersawayof
lookingattheorganizationasawholeandasapartofthelarger,external
environment.Systems.theorytellsusthattheactivityofanysegmentofan
organizationaffects,invaryingdegrees,theactivityofeveryothersegment.