Classical School of Management free essay sample

Management Theory Dr. Stephen W. Hartman New York Institute of Technology Introduction and Main Points Civilization is the product of those who came before us. The evolution of modern management thinking begins in the nineteenth century and flourished during the twentieth. The twentieth century has witnessed a revolution in management theory ranging from classical theory to the Japanese management approach. Todays management theory is the result of the interdisciplinary efforts of many people. The Founders The beginning of the modern organization occurred primarily during the middle of the nineteenth century with the rise of the factory ystem, principally in the textile industry, where automation and mass production became the cornerstone of productivity. Management thinking, however, was slow to evolve during the century. The need existed to define what management was in the first instance as well as to operationalize it in meaningful terms for an organization. During this period two principal management theorists took up this challenge and emerged as the so-called Pre-Classicists of management thought. Pre-Classicists In the nineteenth century, Robert Owen and Charles Babbage seriously addressed the uest for the development of management theory. Owen was an entrepreneur and social reformer while Babbage was a noted mathematician with a strong managerial interest. Robert Owen (1771-1858) Robert Owens ideas stemmed from his ownership of a cotton mill in New Lanark, Scotland where he developed a strong interest in the welfare of the 400 to 500 child employees. Owen spearheaded a legislative movement to limit child employment to those over the age of ten while reducing the workday to 10 1/2 hours. In 1813 Owen published a pamphlet, A New View of Society, where he described his vision of society. He also became active in improving living conditions of employees through the implementation of improvements in housing, sanitation, public works and establishing schools for the children. Owen strongly believes that character is a product of circumstances and that environment and early education is critical in forming good character. While being extremely controversial during his lifetime, Owen is credited with being the forerunner of the modern human relations school of management. Charles Babbage (1792-1871) Charles Babbage, a noted English mathematician, is credited as being the father of the modern omputer for performing the fundamental research for the first practical mechanical calculator as well as doing basic research and development on an analytical engine acknowledged to be the forerunner of todays modern computer. His interest in management stemmed largely from his concerns with work specialization or the degree to which work is divided into its parts. This is now recognized as being the forerunner of contemporary operations research. Babbages other major management contribution came from the development of a modern profit-sharing plan including an employee onus for useful suggestions as well as a share of the companys profits. While both Owen and Babbage were important nineteenth century management innovators, their efforts lacked the central tenets of a theory of management. Owen was techniques in the areas of human relations while Babbage is credited with developing the concepts of specialization of labor and profit sharing. These pre- classicists paved the way for the theoretical ferment of the classical school of management. The Classical School The twentieth century witnessed a period of tremendous management theory ferment and activity. Calls were heard for the development of a comprehensive management theory. The classical school of management was primarily concerned with developing such a theory to improve management effectiveness in organizations. However, the classical school theorists went a step further. Not only did they seek to develop a comprehensive theory of management, but they also wanted to provide the tools a manager required for dealing with their organizational challenges. Within the classical school there are the bureaucratic management, administrative management and scientific management branches. Bureaucratic Management Max Weber can be classified in the bureaucratic management branch of the classical school. Weber, the son of a prominent Bismarckian era German politician, was raised in Berlin and studied law at the University of Berlin. After assuming an appointment teaching law at the University of Berlin, Weber assumed teaching appointments in economics at the Universities of Freiburg, Heidelberg, Vienna, ending with his death after a bout with pneumonia at the University of Munich. Webers interest in organizations evolves from his view of the institutionalization of power and authority in the modern Western world. He constructed a rational-legal authority model of an ideal type bureaucracy. This ideal type rested on a belief in the legality of patterns of normative rules and the right of those elevated to authority to issue commands (legal authority). Weber postulated the rules and regulations of a bureaucracy serve to insulate its members against the possibility of personal favoritism. Max Weber (1864-1920) Weber believes all bureaucracies have certain characteristics: 1 . A well defined hierarchy. All positions within a bureaucracy are structured in a way permitting the higher positions to supervise and control the lower positions. This provides a clear chain of command facilitating control and order throughout the organization. 2. Division of labor and specialization. All responsibilities in an organization are rationalized to the point where each employee will have the necessary expertise to master a particular task. This necessitates granting each employee the requisite authority to complete all such tasks. 3. Rules and regulations.