Management Principles Overview

Early Management Examples

• Ancient projects like the Egyptian pyramids and the Great Wall of China demonstrated large-scale management.
• These projects involved tens of thousands of people, showcasing the need for planning, organization, and control.
• Someone needed to direct workers, allocate resources, and ensure the work was done as planned

Job Specialization

• Adam Smith's "The Wealth of Nations" (1776) highlighted the concept of division of labor.
• Breaking down jobs into smaller, repetitive tasks increases productivity by boosting worker skill and efficiency.
• This reduces time wasted on task switching and encourages labor-saving innovations.

Industrial Revolution

• The late 18th century saw machine power replacing human power.
• This made factory production more economical than home-based production.
• Large-scale factories needed managers to forecast demand, manage resources, and organize daily activities.

Classical Approach

• Classical approach emphasized efficiency and rationality in organizations and workers.
• Two major theories include scientific management and general administrative theory.
• The key contributors are Frederick Taylor, Frank and Lillian Gilbreth (scientific management); and Henri Fayol, and Max Weber (general administrative theory).

Scientific Management

• Frederick Winslow Taylor's work in 1911 marked a significant moment in modern management thought.
• Scientific management involved utilizing the scientific method to find the "one best way" to perform a job.

Taylor's Scientific Management Principles

• Develop a science for each job element, replacing rule-of-thumb methods.
• Scientifically select, train, teach, and develop workers.
• Heartily cooperate with workers to ensure work aligns with the science.
• Divide work and responsibility between management and workers, allocating tasks to those best suited to them.

Frank and Lillian Gilbreth

• Gilbreths developed a classification scheme for basic hand motions called "therbligs".
• Therbligs provided a precision method for analyzing worker hand movements.

General Administrative Theory

• General administrative theory describes the common management practices.
• Henri Fayol's 14 principles of management offer fundamental guidelines, applicable across all organizations.

Fayol's 14 Principles of Management

• Division of work: Specialization increases efficiency.
• Authority: Managers must have the power to issue orders.
• Discipline: Employees follow rules and regulations.
• Unity of command: Each employee takes orders from only one superior.
• Unity of direction: A single plan governs the actions of workers.
• Subordination of individual interests: Organizational interests trump individual preferences.
• Remuneration: Workers earn fair compensation.
• Centralization: Degree of control held by top management.
• Scalar chain: Clear hierarchy of authority.
• Order: Efficient arrangements of people and materials.
• Equity: Fairness in treatment of employees.
• Stability of tenure of personnel: Stable workforce.
• Initiative: Encouraging worker initiative.
• Esprit de corps: Fostering unity and harmony within the organization.

Max Weber

• Max Weber studied organizations and created a theory of authority structures.
• His ideal type of organization is "bureaucracy", characterized by division of labor, hierarchy, rules, and impersonal relationships.

Behavioral Approach

• Organizational behavior (OB) researches human actions related to work.
• Managers focus on motivating, leading, team building, and resolving conflict.
• Key figures include Robert Owen, Chester Barnard, Hugo Munsterberg, and Mary Parker Follett.

Hawthorne Studies

• Hawthorne studies (1920s-1930s) investigated the human factor in work.
• The studies concluded that group factors affect individual behavior, standards and morale influence output, and security is more significant than monetary rewards.

Quantitative Approach

• The quantitative approach employs quantitative techniques to improve decision making.
• Total quality management (TQM) plays a key role; it focuses on continuous improvement and customer responsiveness.

Contemporary Approaches

• Contemporary approaches recognize the interconnectedness and interdependence of organizational parts.
• Systems approach interprets organizations as interconnected parts with an interaction with the environment.

Contingency Approach

• Contingency approach recognizes organizations as different, necessitating diverse management strategies.
• This approach adapts to various situations, considering factors such as size, technology, environment, and individual differences.