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Historical and Contemporary Theories of Management
© Copyright Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, Authenticity Consulting, LLC.
Sections of This Topic Include
Historical Theories of Management
Contemporary Theories of Management
Additional Sources of Management Theory
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Historical Theories of Management
Scientific Management Theory
(1890-1940)
At the turn of the century, the most notable organizations were large and industrialized.
Often they included ongoing, routine tasks that manufactured a variety of products.
The United States highly prized scientific and technical matters, including
careful measurement and specification of activities and results. Management
tended to be the same. Frederick Taylor developed the :scientific management
theory” which espoused this careful specification and measurement of all
organizational tasks. Tasks were standardized as much as possible. Workers were
rewarded and punished. This approach appeared to work well for organizations
with assembly lines and other mechanistic, routinized activities.
Bureaucratic Management Theory
(1930-1950)
Max Weber embellished the scientific management theory with his bureaucratic
theory. Weber focused on dividing organizations into hierarchies, establishing
strong lines of authority and control. He suggested organizations develop comprehensive
and detailed standard operating procedures for all routinized tasks.
Human Relations Movement
(1930-today)
Eventually, unions and government regulations reacted to the rather dehumanizing
effects of these theories. More attention was given to individuals and their
unique capabilities in the organization. A major belief included that the organization
would prosper if its workers prospered as well. Human Resource departments were
added to organizations. The behavioral sciences played a strong role in helping
to understand the needs of workers and how the needs of the organization and
its workers could be better aligned. Various new theories were spawned, many
based on the behavioral sciences (some had name like theory “X”, “Y”
and “Z”).
Traits of Progressive Management Development Programs
With the Human Relations movement, training programs recognized the need to
cultivate supervisory skills, e.g., delegating, career development, motivating,
coaching, mentoring, etc. Progressive management schools now have students review
a wide body of management topics and learn those topics by applying that knowledge
in the workplace and reflecting on that application. Learning activities incorporate
learners’ real-world activities in the workplaces or their lives. Assignment
include reflection and analysis on real-world experience. Learning is enhanced
through continuing dialogue and feedback among learners. Very good schools manage
to include forms of self-development, too, recognizing that the basis for effective
management is effective self-management.
Effective management development programs help students (learners) take a system’s
view of their organizations, including review of how major functions effect
each other. Assignments include recognizing and addressing effects of one actions
on their entire organization.
Contemporary Theories of Management
Contingency Theory
Basically, contingency theory asserts that when managers make
a decision, they must take into account all aspects of the current
situation and act on those aspects that are key to the situation
at hand. Basically, it’s the approach that “it depends.”
For example, the continuing effort to identify the best leadership
or management style might now conclude that the best style depends
on the situation. If one is leading troops in the Persian Gulf,
an autocratic style is probably best (of course, many might argue
here, too). If one is leading a hospital or university, a more
participative and facilitative leadership style is probably best.
Systems Theory
Systems theory has had a significant effect on management science
and understanding organizations. First, let’s look at “what
is a system?” A system is a collection of part unified to
accomplish an overall goal. If one part of the system is removed,
the nature of the system is changed as well. For example, a pile
of sand is not a system. If one removes a sand particle, you’ve
still got a pile of sand. However, a functioning car is a system.
Remove the carburetor and you’ve no longer got a working
car. A system can be looked at as having inputs, processes, outputs
and outcomes. Systems share feedback among each of these four
aspects of the systems.
Let’s look at an organization. Inputs would include resources
such as raw materials, money, technologies and people. These inputs
go through a process where they’re planned, organized, motivated
and controlled, ultimately to meet the organization’s goals.
Outputs would be products or services to a market. Outcomes would
be, e.g., enhanced quality of life or productivity for customers/clients,
productivity. Feedback would be information from human resources
carrying out the process, customers/clients using the products,
etc. Feedback also comes from the larger environment of the organization,
e.g., influences from government, society, economics, and technologies.
This overall system framework applies to any system, including
subsystems (departments, programs, etc.) in the overall organization.
Systems theory may seem quite basic. Yet, decades of management
training and practices in the workplace have not followed this
theory. Only recently, with tremendous changes facing organizations
and how they operate, have educators and managers come to face
this new way of looking at things. This interpretation has brought
about a significant change (or paradigm shift) in the way management
studies and approaches organizations.
The effect of systems theory in management is that writers, educators, consultants,
etc. are helping managers to look at the organization from a broader perspective.
Systems theory has brought a new perspective for managers to interpret patterns
and events in the workplace. They recognize the various parts of the organization,
and, in particular, the interrelations of the parts, e.g., the coordination
of central administration with its programs, engineering with manufacturing,
supervisors with workers, etc. This is a major development. In the past, managers
typically took one part and focused on that. Then they moved all attention to
another part. The problem was that an organization could, e.g., have a wonderful
central administration and wonderful set of teachers, but the departments didn’t
synchronize at all. See the category Systems
Thinking
Chaos Theory
As chaotic and random as world events seem today, they seem as chaotic in
organizations, too. Yet for decades, managers have acted on the basis that organizational
events can always be controlled. A new theory (or some say “science”),
chaos theory, recognizes that events indeed are rarely controlled. Many chaos
theorists (as do systems theorists) refer to biological systems when explaining
their theory. They suggest that systems naturally go to more complexity, and
as they do so, these systems become more volatile (or susceptible to cataclysmic
events) and must expend more energy to maintain that complexity. As they expend
more energy, they seek more structure to maintain stability. This trend continues
until the system splits, combines with another complex system or falls apart
entirely. Sound familiar? This trend is what many see as the trend in life,
in organizations and the world in general.
Additional Sources of Management Theory
Knowing
What a Manager Does
Freedom-Based
Management
More Links on the History of Management
What
is Scientific Management?
Development
of Management Thought
A
Brief History of Management
For the Category of Management:
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