Classical Management Theories in Healthcare

Max Weber was a German sociologist who first described the concept of bureaucracy, an ideal form of organizational structure. He defines bureaucratic administration as the exercise of control on the

The most prominent model of bureaucracy was formulated by German Sociologist Max Weber during the nineteenth century. Webster’s model was formulated from the rampant patronage systems that existed during his time. Webster’s model proposed a solution for more professionally and efficiently managed merit-based organizations.Webster’s model however, represented a broad framework rather than an all encompassing model, complete in every detail.The central goal of Webster’s model was to make possible an optimum degree of control.Weber's bureaucratic theory emphasized the need for a hierarchical structure of power. It recognized the importance of division of labor and specialization. A formal set of rules was bound into the hierarchy structure to insure stability and uniformity. Weber also put forth the notion that organizational behavior is a network of human interactions, where all behavior could be understood by looking at cause and effect. He prescribed these five key elements(1) division of labor and functional specialization, (2) hierarchy, (3) maintenance of files and other records, and

The bureaucratic model of leadership is based on the concept of fixed duties that are maintained through a hierarchy of authority. Max Weber (1800) believed that organizations had one critical weakness and that was closely interacting with employees and simulating a family or community like environment. He believed that the only way that and organisation could be run was by separating work and pleasure and ensuring that employees followed a stick code of conduct which would be enforced and managed by more trustworthy and higher ranking employees. However while prominent for over a century the bureaucratic management model has become scarcely used in the last few decades as more and more organisations seem to be gradually reverting to pre bureaucratic values. Organisations like Valve and Google have cause the diminishment of the

The industrial revolution, which emerged between the 18th and 19th century, brought about new technology allowing for mass production (Hudson, 1992). These technologies brought new problems and so managers had to respond quickly. The response was the emergence of the classical perspective (Samson, Catley, Cathro, & Daft, 2012).

Some have seriously misinterpreted Weber and have claimed that he liked bureaucracy, that he believed that bureaucracy was an "ideal" organization. Others have pronounced Weber "wrong" because bureaucracies do not live up to his list of "ideals". Others have even claimed that Weber "invented" bureaucratic organization. But Weber described bureaucracy as an “ideal type” in order to more accurately describes their growth in power and scope in the modern world. His studies of bureaucracy still form the core of organizational sociology.

It was also Weber who began studies of bureaucracy, and whose works led to the popularization of this as a term. He developed theories of leadership, and how as society and organizational structure have changed over time, leadership techniques and organizational structures corporations adopt have adapted accordingly. Weber identifies three types of leader: the charismatic leader, who instills a sense of energy and eagerness among their team members. He is dedicated to his organization for the long run to produce adequate results. Secondly we have traditional authority, which is legitimated by the sanctity of tradition. The ability and right to rule is passed down, and is often often hereditary. But bureaucracies are typically led by the rational-legal leader, leading to a rise in this type of authority in recent times. This rational-legal will establish a clear structure within their organization, and follow procedures as they have been established, perfectly tying in with instrumental rationality. Bureaucratic leaders

Weber’s bureaucratic approach focuses on the importance of hierarchy by putting great emphasis on the use of rules, procedures and making impartial personnel decisions when managing. He put great emphasis on the jurisdiction, explaining that work should be “divided according to type and purpose” staying within the correct working unit just as the organization’s rules and laws would state (Milakovich, et. al., 2013, p. 146). A hierarchy would be established with a chain of command clearly identifying a system of super- and

Scientific management has three basic starting points：1 Seek the highest efficiency，the core problems is to improve labor productivity。2 explore the significant means to achieve the highest efficiency；3 Requires management personnel mutual cooperation，work together and joint efforts。（the principle of scientific management Frederick Winslow Taylor）

Scientific management was first developed by an American, Frederick Winslow Taylor in the1880s ~1910s and has evolved a lot since then. It is a theory or school of thoughts about process improvement and management. It aims at maximizing efficiency, productivity, output with least cost and minimizing wastes. It was criticized as inhuman by many organizational theorists. However, it is widely applied in manufacturing industry and service industry in both developing and developed countries nowadays. This article is to investigate the reasons why scientific

Max Weber in 1922 writes “Bureaucracy”, where weber believed that structured organizations is a formal, rigid authoritative figure, whereas Weber was referring to the types of businesses that ran their organization like a family type, informal structure. He believed that those in a managerial position should be appointed due to their levels of professionalism and expertise. “The principle of office hierarchy and of channels of appeal stipulate a clearly established system if super- and subordination in which there is a supervision of the lower offices by the higher ones (Weber 2007: p.265).” Weber explains in his writings that the old ways such as feudalism in his time should be done away with, and that society changes their structure to a more organization of hierarchical principle. For

After the end of the Industrial Revolution, large corporations were beginning to grow in size and power in order to satisfy what seemed the endless demands for new goods and services. As corporations and labor forces grew, there was a need to develop a more systematic study of organization and management, known as management theory, the significant being Frederick Taylor 's Principles of Scientific Management which involved the development of training workers through special incentives and compensation (Boone p.33). In general, early management scientists tended to believe that there was a single way to organize companies and manage employees. By the beginning of the 20th century, there were initial attempts for launching a systematic

Weber 's theory of bureaucracy (1958) is one of the most popular themes of the studying of organizations. He identified the legitimate of power with authority. 'Power ' means the ability to ask people to accept the orders; 'Legitimation ' means people regard this power as legitimate so as to obey the orders. Weber identified this authority as three types:

The history of management includes multiple theories and understanding them can help individuals identify the ideas their organization is built upon. Classical organizational theory encompasses several major approaches to management that continue to be influential even today. The early to mid-twentieth century included the introduction of many concepts of management theory such as scientific management, bureaucratic and administrative theory. Most of these early approaches revolved around control of employees and processes in order to achieve more

Between 1770 and 1850, during the Industrial Revolution in England, huge changes occurred in society. In this time, huge Industrial growth occurred due to advancements in power, transport and communication. Inventions such as the steam engine allowed industries to expand and transport goods and materials with ease. Communication improved also due to the arrival of the telegraph, telephone and radio. This industrialisation continued at a rapid pace with the economy in the western world shifting from mainly agricultural to being involved with manufacturing goods and industrial markets. This change required more structured and coherent management methods to be created. It wasn’t until the early 1900s however that formal theories of management started to be formulated with the arrival of classical schools of management.

The evolution of management has been changed many times since the early 1900’s. Many different management theories have been developed, the external factor also changing at the same time, such as the technology and the nature of career. The main theories include classical theory, neoclassical theory, modern systems theory, contingency (or decision) theory, and chaos theory. In the earliest management theories, efficiency was thought to be the most important. However, in today’s workplace; contingency and chaos are the most prominent of management theories (Chon, 2016).