The Evolution of Management Practices and Theories Essay

Classical organizational theory supports two views. Scientific management which focuses on managing work and employees and administrative management which addresses issues which

Taylor developed his management theories from the shop floor by studying workers and processes. He came up with 4 principles that managers should apply all of which were composed by the studying of workers and experimentation. From his experiences Taylor thought that workers were motivated by income and that the only effective way to increase productivity was to increase the monetary incentives (Simha and Lemak 2010). Taylor’s theories tend to come from what is needed at the bottom levels of an organization and then begin to look up as to how that can be applied at the management level. Fayol on the other hand, not surprisingly as he was the managing director of the company he worked for, tended to look at things from the top down and noticed that an organization needed a hierarchy in order to run smoothly. He once noted how a horse breaking its leg in one of the mines stalled work because the manager was not around and no one had the authority to get another horse (Wren and Bedeian 2009). This sort of observation shows the necessity to have hierarchy in a company so as to limit the impact such situations can have in the absence of a

The classical theory is the earliest form of management that perceived that a set of universal principles would apply to all the organizations in all situations to achieve efficiency and organization's goals. Scientific management and bureaucratic theory were one of the several components of the classical school of organization. Important pioneers among them are Frederick Taylor and Max Weber. The classical theories have been contested of little relevance to work and organization today simply

Taylor 's Theory was developed by Frederick Winslow Taylor, it was mainly associated with Scientific Management. Taylor endeavoured to increase labour and productivity in the workplace through a thorough study of a worker 's role and design a more efficient and productive approach to their jobs, this procedure derived from the observation Taylor made of workers 'soldiering ', the term applied if a worker deliberately worked at less than maximum potential. Taylor 's studies would involve analysing and breaking down tasks, reorganising and then simplifying them (Van Delinder, 2005).

All these adoptions gave rise to a new management school of thought centered around a more productive work place, which Taylor considered to be “maximum prosperity” (Taylor, 1911). Taylor firmly believed in developing “captains of industry” rather than waiting on natural-born leaders to come along (Taylor, 1911). He also recognized a need for more involvement from the supervisors in the workplace to help eliminate what he referred to as soldiering, or, laxed employee output. He said, “The 30 percent to 100 percent increase in wages which the workmen are able to earn beyond what they receive under the old type of management, coupled with the daily intimate shoulder to shoulder contact with the management, entirely removes all cause for soldiering” (Taylor, 1911).

The term, “Management”, can be defined as, “the control or organising of something”, (Cambridge University Press, 2015). This means the way in which, in this case in business terms is the method in which a company or any other business organisation, is managed and run on a daily basis.

Taylor sought out Scientific management by diving the work process into small simple separate steps were each step was performed by one person. Scientific management came with its principles whereby there was a separation between worker and management. Management did “all of the thinking and job design” and the workers were to simply to follow orders and “do”. Taylor also believed that workers should be selected, trained and compensated as he believed in economic incentives. Scientific management brought about positive and negative feedback even though it was thought to be the rational solution to the new industrial revolution in America. It boosts productivity by 200% to 400%. More work was accomplished with fewer people, which meant more profit for the company. However, Taylor failed to understand that economic benefits was not the only motivation for workers.

Taylorism, additionally known as Scientific Management, is a theory of management methodology that emphasizes on maximising work efficiency. Developed and named after an American industrial engineer, Frederick Winslow Taylor. Through thorough use of a stopwatch and a clipboard, Taylor put all his research and outcomes into a book called the Principles of Scientific Management, which was later published in 1911. In the monograph Taylor’s notion was to mend the economical proficiency, principally in the labouring output. He believed that there were great losses, when “the whole country is suffering through inefficiency in almost of all of our daily acts” (Taylor 1911) and that “remedies in inefficiency lies in systematic

While this theory has made many positive contributions to management practice, there have also been negative implications. On a positive note, Taylorism has made an impact on the introduction of the 8 hour working day, minimum wage rates and incentive and bonus schemes, and more importantly, highlighted management as an important area of study, allowing for other theorists to improve on, or provide alternative management theories in response to scientific management such as more worker orientated theories, namely behavioural management. Taylor’s ideals have however been under constant scrutiny as managers highlight the shortfalls of scientific management. While the highly mechanistic way of practice may lead to increased productivity, it

Classical Management (CM) attempted to apply logic and scientific methods to management of complex organisations. Human Relations Management (HRM) focused on working relationships to improve productivity.

Taylor’s main focus was on the tasks and the workers, whereas Fayol was not concerned with worker; he was concerned with the managements. Taylor laid his attention on the problems of shop floor while Fayol concentrated on the functions of managers at top level. Taylor worked from the bottom of the industrial hierarchy upwards, while Fayol focused on the chief executive and worked downwards. The main aim of Taylor was to enhance productivity of labor and eliminate wastage. Fayol tried to develop a universal theory of management. Taylor called his philosophy of work as ‘Scientific Management’ whereas Fayol expressed his work as ‘General Theory of Administration’. More differences are in the approach, although their similarities in this regard are influenced by their foundational principles they both approached it in different ways. Taylor was a man of action; he saw management at an intrinsic nature. He was very adapting to understanding individuals and their needs. In this his management style compliments those that work hard. Fayol wanted to change the way upper management was running and instituted some very important principles of action for these administrative managers. He valued leadership and sought to bring that to the forefront of his management

The third key element of Taylor’s management system involved both the management and the workers. Taylor believed that his system could only be implemented correctly if the two groups got along and worked to better the company and not themselves. He felt that, “In the past the man has been first; in the future the system must be first.” He didn’t side with the leaders of business but he also wasn’t biased to the labor. He believed in a balance between the two. “It (the public) will no longer tolerate the type of employer who has his eyes only on dividends alone, who refuses to do his share of the work and who merely cracks the whip over the heads of his workmen and

In the 1900’s these principles were known nationally and were applied in many organisations. In some organisations the managers choose to follow only some of the principles, which led to some problems. After applying the principles the efficiency of the organisation increased, but instead of sharing the profit with the workers as specified by Taylor, the managers expected the workers to work for more hours for that same wages. After a while the workers realised that the increase in the efficiency in the firm

UNDERSTAND THE EVOLUTION OF MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES AND THEIR APPLICATION TO THE CONSTRUCTION AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT SECTOR

The evolution of management thoughts and theories in modern management thinking began in the nineteenth century and continued during the twentieth. The need to define management and the role of managers led to the foundation of management theories through experience of the pioneer thinkers. Classical management theory focused on dividing the labors and tasks execution. Classical era characterized by creating a stable profit that stability is the key success of an organization.