DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO MANAGEMENT

Frederick Taylor’s fundamental thoughts on scientific management dated back to early 1880s when he was employed at Midvale Steel Company and observed his coworkers “soldiering” at work. In the following two decades, he moved around different companies while developing his management theory

Successful management requires an understanding of the fundamental concepts of effective management techniques and principles. In order to gain such insight, and manage effectively and efficiently, managers must develop an awareness of past management principles, models and theories. From the turn of the 20th Century, the need for a formal management theory was growing evident; organisations required a system to guide managers in an attempt to improve productivity and efficiency of workers. This urgency for a theory saw the development of six major management approaches, the focus of this essay will be on two of the classical management theories; the scientific management theory and the human relations movement. The contributions of both

Scientific management or "Taylorism" is an approach to job design, developed by Frederick Taylor (1856-1915) during the Second World War. With the industrial revolution came a fast growing pool of people, seeking jobs, that required a new approach of management. Scientific management was the first management theory, applied internationally. It believes in the rational use of resources for utmost output, hence motivating workers to earn more money. Taylor believed that the incompetence of managers was the major obstacle on the way of productivity increase of human labour. Consequently, this idea led to the need of change of management principles. On the base of research, involving analysing controlled experiments under various working

The different approaches to management have been changed, fine tuned and discarded over the years. In the coming paragraphs we will take a look at the contemporary approaches. We will examine how they compare to each other as well as if they can be utilized in the three types of environments; internal, competitive and macro environment.

Frederick Winslow Taylor, a mechanical engineer born in Philadelphia, was responsible for putting together the system called Scientific Management. Taylor’s introduction of new ideas and methods in industrial engineering, distinctly in time and motion study, proved to be fruitful in improving productivity. Taylor outlined the methods and techniques of Scientific management in his book which was published in 1911. Taylor was not an admirer of the ‘rule of thumb’ principle. The rule of thumb concept means that management would implement methods within the enterprise, based on their past experiences. Hence, Taylor found this to be flawed, as specific outcomes were not guaranteed. Taylor’s main objective was to ensure that wastage and inefficiency

The twentieth century has brought in a number of management theories which have helped shaped our view of management in the present business environment. These emerging theories have enabled managers to appreciate new patterns of thinking, new ways of organising and new ways of managing organisations and people. Over the years these different theories have enabled the study

Scientific management is directly associated with organisational theory and is linked with improving labor productivity and the economic efficiency of businesses. Scientific management focuses on how to improve work procedures and practices. The principal object of management should be to secure the maximum prosperity for the employer, coupled with the maximum prosperity for each employee (Taylor 2003, p.123). The purpose of this essay is to explain the main conclusions that can be drawn from Taylor’s theory of

The year 1911 saw Frederick Winslow Taylor publish a book titled ‘The principles of scientific management’ in which he aimed to prove that the scientific method could be used in producing profits for an organization through the improvement of an employee’s efficiency. During that decade, management practice was focused on initiative and incentives which gave autonomy to the workman. He thus argued that one half of the problem was up to management, and both the worker and manager needed to cooperate in order to produce the greatest prosperity.

In 1912, Frederick W. Taylor, an American mechanical engineer, viewed organizations as very mechanical with measurable functions and he applied a scientific approach to studying efficiency and productivity in the work process. In his published work, “Scientific Management”, he

Frederick W. Taylor (1856-1915), who was a mechanical engineer, pioneered scientific management in the early 1900’s. Taylor believed that it was the management’s duty to designate jobs for workers and motivate them to achieve the task they’re assigned. He introduced five principles that make up the structure of scientific management, four are universal and one is contingent. “Taylor labeled the first principle, ‘A Large Daily Task.’ The idea was that each member of the organization, from top to bottom, should have a "clearly defined task" assigned each day.” The second principle “labeled ‘Standard Conditions,’ specified that: (a) each worker 's task should ‘call for a full day 's work,’ and (b) each worker should be given ‘such standardized conditions and appliances as will enable him to accomplish his task with certainty.’” Again, Taylor clearly believed in assigning accomplishable tasks to workers.

‘Taylorism’ or ‘Scientific Management’ has been a prevalent idea in business theory since Frederick Winslow Taylor produced his “Principles of Scientific Management’ in 1911. The book was written in response to then President Theodore Roosevelt’s challenge to the American people to introduce new methods to create greater efficiency in the American workplace. Taylor’s idea was to ‘secure maximum prosperity for the employer, coupled with maximum prosperity for the employee’1. Meaning companies could not gain high levels of production without an initiative for the work force,

Today, there is increasing evidence of scientific management becoming dated as we become more focused on incorporating ideologies of modern management approaches. Chowdhury claims that, “There is much truth in the saying that every living practitioner is prisoner to the ideas of a dead theorist.” (2000, pp. 21). It is emphasised here how our view of theorists has dramatically changed over time and one of the reasons for this different perspective as seen in this century is discussed by Grint, “Management theory, especially American management theory, has generally been construed to represent this rational development towards a more effective system over time.” (1997, pp. 48). Due to gradual changes in management practices, it is evident that Taylor’s theory is arguably becoming less significant.

The major systematic study of management thought is came in to existence since about 1900.The ultimate intention of theorists between 1900-1930s was to know the universal principles that could be helpful in management.

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

Early management theories adopted by such proponents as Henri Fayol, Mary Parker Follett and Max Weber are relevant in todays’ world. In this essay I am going to discuss about all three theorists and how their theories are still relevant for managers in the 21st century in meeting the challenges. In the classical approach to management there are three branches under it. They are, scientific management, administrative principles and bureaucratic organisation. Henry Fayol and Mary Parker Follett developed theories for administrative principles and Max Weber developed a theory for bureaucratic organisation (Schermerhorn et al. 2014, p.36). First we will be going through Henri Fayol and then Mary Parker Follett as they both made theories