Classical Organization Theory The classical school of organization theory dominated administrations from the early 1900’s well into the 1930’s, and it is still relevant today in many of the contemporary organization theories. Shafritz states that classical organization theory was the first theory of its kind, and serves as the foundation of other schools organization theory (Shafritz, Ott, & Jang, 2011, p. 32). Classical organization theory includes scientific management approach, bureaucratic approach, and administrative management approach. Several major theorists of classical organization were Adam Smith, Frederick Taylor, Max Weber, Henri Fayol, and Luther Gulick. During the early 20th century the factory system started to flourish, and many managers were rather concerned as to how to organize the workforce. Managers were required to find new ways to maximize both the machinery and the workers, this led to the centralization of both labor and equipment in factories, and division of specialized labor. The concept of scientific management is based on the idea that work could be studied to increase efficiency, and specialization. Economist Adam Smith changed the way the world looked at the economy and organization. In his essay, “Of the Division of Labour,” Smith emphasizes the importance of specialization, and how division of labor leads to specialization. He states that this would allow a worker to be more productive and efficient (Shafritz, Ott, & Jang, 2011, p. 41-45). Frederick Taylor introduced the principles of scientific management, which stated that management is a science, workers should be scientifically selected and trained scientifically, and both management and workers should work together. The theories of Max Webe... ... middle of paper ... ... References Shafritz, J. M., Ott, J. S., & Jang, Y. S. (2011). Classics of organization theory. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. SUN, R. (2014). HUMAN RESOUCE THEORY, OR THE ORGANIZATION BEHAVIOR PERSPECTIVE.retrieved Works Cited Shafritz, J. M., Ott, J. S., & Jang, Y. S. (2011). Classics of organization theory. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. SUN, R. (2014). HUMAN RESOUCE THEORY, OR THE ORGANIZATION BEHAVIOR PERSPECTIVE.retrieved
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The founding father of scientific management theory is Fredrick Winslow Taylor. He was an American mechanical engineer and an inventor. Modern management theorist Edward Deming credited Taylor for his contributions while Joseph Juran criticized his work for extracting more work from workers. However a careful reading of Taylor’s work will disclose that he placed workers interest as high as the employer’s in his studies. Before the principles of management are discussed it is very important to understand the causes which led Taylor to derive the four principles of management. The three causes are as follows:
Organizational structure within an organization is a critical component of the day to day operations of a business. An organization benefits from organizational structure as a result of all it encompasses. It is used to define how tasks are divided, grouped and coordinated. Six elements should be addressed during the design of the organization’s structure: work specialization, departmentalization, chain of command, spans of control, centralization and decentralization. These components are a direct reflection of the organization’s culture, power and politics.
Scientific management is a way that an organisation regulates its staff within a workplace. The theory behind this is accomplished by selecting the ‘best person for the best role’, who will undertake the training to train each worker to do a ‘specific role the right way’ (Frederick Taylor). This extracts the responsibility from the employee whilst handing over executive decisions to the employer to make strategic decisions. Frederick Taylor required the managers to set the tasks for the employees in advance and that each task was to be detailed to each employee, to be done in a certain way and completed in an exact time no less. Management, D. Boddy, pg. 44.
“ Organizations are collectivities oriented to the pursuit of relatively specific goals and exhibiting relatively highly formalized social structures” (page 29). The rational system is a group of individuals, bound together as an organization, designed to reach predetermined goals. The rational system models sees organizations as a mechanical model. A machine that has multiple parts that also works individually but also work together for the better good of the whole. All the individuals of the group can be replaced with a new one if it doesn’t meet the standards of
This essay will discuss the relevance of Taylor’s Principles of Scientific Management to organisations today. Taylor’s theory of Scientific Management is based around how efficiently a member of staff works in order to improve their productivity, the theory was introduced in 1911 and has four principles which were tested to determine optimal work methods, and are still seen in organisations today such as fast-food restaurants. Taylor believed that workers left to their own devices would restrict their output and not progress with the task, this was called ‘soldiering’ and it was described in two forms; natural
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the study of time and action; b) the management on assignment; c) the theory of organization. (8)Taylor’s theory created a revolution in the subject of management because it was the first scientific method in field of management science. (1)After that, management became a truly scientific knowledge and it expanded and modified by later generations. Therefore, Taylor is “known as the father of scientific management”. (2) Taylor put forward a perspective which was “study the character, the nature and the performance of each workman” and moreover, to “train and help and teach this workman”. (3) In the following paragraphs, will exploring the relevant and irrelevant hypotaxis between Scientific Management and organizations.
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There are many theories that have been developed by scholars to explain the principles and practice of management. Some of these theorists include: Henry Fayol; and Mintzberg among others. Henry Fayol is believed to be the first scholar to develop the management theory. Other scholars developed their theories based on the weakness of Henry Fayol’s theory of management (Thomson 2004).