Usefulness of Classical Management Theory in a Modern Organisation
DEFINITION
Classical Management Theory propounds that a manager’s foremost preoccupation is how to increase an organisation’s efficiency in order to increase productivity.
Scholars of management from as early as the 19th century touted the need for managers to find that formula, that modus operandi, that would deliver positive results, on a sustainable basis, in the most efficient manner. In the process they sought to define the role(s) of a manager and although these have been altered by influences such as technology, the key underlying principles remain unchanged.
Management today, like it was 100 years ago, is still very much about planning, organising, controlling, influencing. Classical Management theorists sought to connect these functions to growing an organisation’s efficiency and productivity.
The most notable contributors to classical management thinking, namely Fredrick Taylor, Henri Fayol and Max Weber might have cloaked their ideas in different language and applied diverse nomenclature, but they were by all means taking different buses to a similar destination. Taylor’s Scientific Management Theory, Fayol’s Theory of Management and Weber’s Bureaucracy Theory all sought, as a basic, to tackle one key aspect: increased efficiency for increased productivity. That the goal of management in contemporary organisations does not depart any significantly from the views these scholars espoused provides the early evidence that classical management theory still has a place in a modern organisation—but only to a point.
How much relevance classical management theory might enjoy today will, without doubt, depend on the component under examination. The degree to which Fredrick Taylor’s Scientific Management approach applies to management of an organisation in the 21st century varies from that to which Henri Fayol’s Theory of Management or Max Weber’s Bureaucratic Theory apply.
The need to retain a sizeable prospect of accuracy while assessing these three
Classical Management Theory propounds that a manager’s foremost preoccupation is how to increase an organisation’s efficiency in order to increase productivity.
Scholars of management from as early as the 19th century touted the need for managers to find that formula, that modus operandi, that would deliver positive results, on a sustainable basis, in the most efficient manner. In the process they sought to define the role(s) of a manager and although these have been altered by influences such as technology, the key underlying principles remain unchanged.
Management today, like it was 100 years ago, is still very much about planning, organising, controlling, influencing. Classical Management theorists sought to connect these functions to growing an organisation’s efficiency and productivity.
The most notable contributors to classical management thinking, namely Fredrick Taylor, Henri Fayol and Max Weber might have cloaked their ideas in different language and applied diverse nomenclature, but they were by all means taking different buses to a similar destination. Taylor’s Scientific Management Theory, Fayol’s Theory of Management and Weber’s Bureaucracy Theory all sought, as a basic, to tackle one key aspect: increased efficiency for increased productivity. That the goal of management in contemporary organisations does not depart any significantly from the views these scholars espoused provides the early evidence that classical management theory still has a place in a modern organisation—but only to a point.
How much relevance classical management theory might enjoy today will, without doubt, depend on the component under examination. The degree to which Fredrick Taylor’s Scientific Management approach applies to management of an organisation in the 21st century varies from that to which Henri Fayol’s Theory of Management or Max Weber’s Bureaucratic Theory apply.
The need to retain a sizeable prospect of accuracy while assessing these three
References: 1. Certo C.S., Certo S.T. (2006), Modern Management, Prentice-Hall 2. Prit (2008), The Concepts of Classical Management Theories, http://bizcovering.com/management/ [Accessed: 18.09.2010] 3. Maureen Cutajar (2010), Suite 101: Frederick W Taylor 's Scientific Management Theory, http://www.suite101.com/content/ [Accessed: 18.09.2010] 4. Maureen Cutajar (2010), Suite 101: Henri Fayol 's Principles of Management, http://www.suite101.com/content/ [Accessed: 18.09.2010] 5. Maureen Cutajar (2010), Suite 101: Max Weber Bureaucracy Theory, http://www.suite101.com/content/ [Accessed: 11.10.2010] 7. Ryszard Barnat (1996), Strategic Management, http://www.introduction-to-management.24xls.com/en132