INTRODUCTION
The Industrial Revolution of the late 1700s encouraged the growth of factories, which led to developing management theories. No single management theory is universally accepted today; rather they are jigsaws of each other.
- Management theories influence
- The organization and allocation of tasks to staff
- The organizational structure
- Levels of management
- Management styles
CLASSICAL AND SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT THEORIES
Max Weber and Henri Fayol
The classical approach was pioneered by Max Weber and Henri Fayol.
Weber believed the most efficient form of organization is a bureaucracy, it should have:
- A strict hierarchical organizational structure
- Clear lines of communication and responsibility
- Jobs broken down into simple tasks; division of labor and/or specialization
- Rules and procedures
- Impersonal evaluation of employee performance to avoid favoritism and bias
- Formal record keeping
Fayol identified management functions such as POLC, he developed principles to assist managers, such as:
- Discipline as a feature of leadership
- All activities should be directed 2 achieve a common goal
- The organization's goals should take procedures over an employee's individual interests.
- Rewards for effort should b fair
- Just treatment for all employees
- Security of employment is essential
- Teamwork should be encouraged
Frederick W. Taylor
Taylor adopted a classical perspective on management = it emphases how best to manage and organize work more efficiently so as to improve productivity.
To assist his analysis, he developed the principles of scientific management = it is an approach that studies a job in great detail to discover the best way to perform it. Taylor's 4 principles of scientific management are:
- Scientifically examine each part of a task to determine the most efficient method for performing the task.
- Select suitable workers and train them to use the scientifically developed work methods.
- Cooperate with workers to guarantee they use the scientific methods.
- Divide work and responsibility so that management is responsible for planning, organizing and controlling the scientific work methods and workers are responsible for carrying out the work as planned.
Frederick W. Taylor (1856-1915)'s Arguments:
- Productivity would be improved by preparing plans based on what needed to be done, designing each task scientifically and providing training and incentives for workers.
- The production line method of manufacturing is the most efficient form of production. This method was used until early 1970s.
- Poorly skilled workforce could be trained to perform simple repetitive tasks effectively.
- Reducing routine tasks to the smallest units in the simplest formats. Example: McDonald's preparation of Big Macs.
Bureaucracy characterizes his SM theory: extensive & rigid rules and regulations based on a hierarchy of authority that controls a biz. Henry Ford adopted this theory and developed his famous mechanized assembly line in 1913.
Classical-scientific thinkers emphasized that managers should constantly analyze all activities. They must plan, organize and control
MANAGEMENT AS PLANNING
Planning is the preparation of a predetermined course of action for a biz. It involves setting the mission statement, organizational objectives, and showing how the biz will achieve its stated mission and objectives.
Strategic, tactical and operational Planning
Strategic planning is long-term planning to determine where in the market the firm wants 2 b, and what the firms wants 2 achieve in relation t its competitors. It involves setting mission statement and determining organizational objectives.
Tactical planning is flexible, adaptable, S-T planning, usually over 1 or 2 years, which will assist in implementing the strategic plan.
Operational planning (OP) provides specific details of the way in which the firms will operate in the short-term.
MANAGEMENT AS ORGANIZING
Organizing is the structuring of the organization (financial, human and material resources) to translate plans and the biz's objectives into action. Organizing determines:
- What is to be done
- Who is to do it and
- How it is to b done
Management has to coordinate activities to translate plans into reality = using the strategic, tactical and operational plans to achieve the objectives of the biz.
The Organization Process
The organization process is the range of activities that translate the objectives of a biz into reality. The organization process has the following steps:
- Determining the work activities - usually broken down into smaller steps.
- Classifying& grouping activities - similar activities can b grouped together = efficiently allocation of R.
- Assigning work & delegating authority - determine who is going to do what. Effective delegation = efficiency + productivity + job satisfaction for employees.
MANAGEMENT AS CONTROLLING
Controlling is the monitoring the POL processes (of POLC) to ensure that the objectives of the organization are being met. This is the step where the performance is compared with objectives. If there are discrepancies, changes and improvements can be made. Meeting objectives = maintaining competitive advantage in the sensitivity and ever-changing market. The concept of control throughout the production process is still relatively new. It is used extensively in Japan.
Control Process
The control process involves establishing standards in line with the objectives of the organization, measuring the performance of the organization against those standards or benchmarks & making changes where necessary to ensure that the objectives of the organization have been met. There are 3 steps in the control process:
