Management belongs to the applied sciences and it is multidisciplinary in nature. It uses elements of different sister sciences economics, psychology, sociology and political science. The multidisciplinary nature of management has only benefited its body of knowledge which has grown exponentially over time. Although management can be seen as a typical phenomenon of the 20th century, it has roots which are hundreds of years old. Ancient records in China and Greece indicate the importance of organization and administration, but do not give much insight into the principles of management. The administration of the Roman Empire was a complex job and the Romans effectively used many basic management ideas like scalar principle and delegation of authority.
In the period 1400 to 1450 merchants in Venice, Italy, operated various types of business organization like partnerships, trusts and holding companies. Control emerged in the form of a double- entry book- keeping system and related documentation and records. In addition there was standardization of material and system of inventory control. A famous Italian writer, Machiavelli of Florence was sent on assignments at home and abroad where he observed governments and men in action. Some of his ideas are still relevant today like the need to rely on the consent of the majority of the people. His perspective on leadership was based on inspiration: leaders should inspire people to greater achievement and offer rewards and incentives and take advantage of all opportunities. He stressed that survival was the main objective of all organization and the end justifies the means to achieve this end.
In a much later period a professor of mathematics at Cambridge University, Charles Babbage (1792-1871), discovered that science and mathematics could be applied to the operation of factories. He proposed to make much more detailed cost measurements in factories. He also developed a calculating machine, but lack of suitable materials made it difficult for him to make many refinements to it.
All these early influences can be considered to be less scientific because they did not generate what is nowadays called the universal principles of management. These principles were formulated much later, at the end of the nineteenth century.
