Basic Schools of Management

The term management is used in different meanings. It is possible to identify the following four: management as an administration, management as a science, management as a decision-making, management as an organ, a body.

Management is the individual or group of individuals responsible for studying, analyzing, formulating decisions, and initiating appropriate actions for the benefit of an organization. In administration, management is the functions of planning, coordinating, and directing the activities of an organization.

The oldest and perhaps most widely accepted school of management among practitioners has been called the Classical School of management thought. This is the approach to management thought that arose mainly from efforts between 1900 and 1940 to provide a rational and scientific basis for the management of organizations.

In response to the growth of large organizations in the late nineteenth century and during the early twentieth century, there was an intensified interest in management as a process and as a science. It was apparent to many that management could be made more effective and efficient. The primary contributions of the Classical school of management include the following:

1. Application of science to the practice of management.

2. Development of the basic management functions: planning, organizing, influencing, and controlling.

3. Articulation and application of specific principles of management.

But no one has had more influence on managers in the twentieth century than Frederic W.Taylor, an American engineer. He set a pattern for industrial work which many others have followed, and although his approach to management has been criticized, his ideas are still of practical importance.

Taylor founded the school of Scientific Management just before the 1914-1918 war. His philosophy can be summarized in the following four principles:

1. Develop and use the scientific method in the practice of management (find the “one best way” to perform work).

2. Use scientific approaches to select employees who are best suited to perform a given job.

3. Provide employees with scientific education, training, and development.

4. Encourage friendly interaction and cooperation between management and employees but with a separation of duties between managers and workers.

Taylor was supported in his efforts by Henry Gantt, Frank and Lillian Gilbreth, and Harrington Emerson. All of them became famous in their own rights. Frank and Lillian Gilbreth concentrated on motion study to develop more efficient ways to pour concrete, lay bricks, and perform many other repetitive tasks. Lillian became a professor at Purdue University and was considered the First Lady of Management.

Henry Gantt developed a control chart that is used to this day in production operations. Harrington Emerson set twelve principles of efficiency. Certain of them state that a manager should carefully define objectives, use the scientific method of analysis, develop and use standardized procedures, and reward employees for good work.

Taylor made a lasting contribution to management thinking. The weakness of his approach was that it focused on the system of work rather than on the worker. With this system the worker becomes a tool in the hands of management. Another criticism is that it leads to reducing the skills of workers. Because the tasks are simplified, workers become frustrated. For all these reasons, a reaction has set in against the ideas of Frederic W.Taylor. This reaction was the work of Elton Mayo and the Human Relations Movement.

There was a series of performance studies undertaken at the Chicago Hawthorne Plant of Western Electric between 1924 and 1933. These investigations showed the importance of the social system of an organization and became the foundation of human relations theory.

The basic conclusions reached as a result of the interviewing program of the experiments were that the psychological needs of individuals have a significant impact on group performance. The reasonable satisfaction of the needs and desires of employees will lead to greater output. Any management approach that ignores or deemphasizes the human element may result in only partly accomplished objectives.

Since these experiments, there has been an increased interest in and application of behavioral science in management. The human relations approach has evolved into Modern Behaviorism. The term “modern behaviorism” refers to the current stage of evolution of the behavioral school of management, which gives primacy to psychological considerations but treats fulfillment of emotional needs mainly as a means of achieving other, primarily economic goals.

Behavioral scientists have often criticized classical management theory and scientific management as not being responsive enough to the human needs. The behaviorists’ specific criticism includes the following: jobs have been overly specialized; people are underutilized; managers have exercised too much control and have prevented employees from making decisions they are competent to make; managers have shown too little concern about subordinates’ needs for recognition and self-fulfillment.

Modern behaviorists say employees of today desire diverse and challenging work. This desire has placed increased pressure on management to be responsive to change and to provide an environment designed to meet human needs.