Discus, the main theories of management. Who are the proponents in each category

There are five main management theories which are: (1) the classical management theories, (2) The Behavioural School(3) The Quantitative School, (4) The Systems Approach, and (5) The Contingency approach.

(i)    THE CLASSICAL MANAGEMENT THEORIES

This is the first group of theories. The classical management theories are classified into three main categories as follows

a)   THE SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT THEORY (FREDRICK WINSLOW TAYLOR, HENRY FORD, HENRY GANTT, AND FRANK AND LILLIAN GILBRETH)

This theory was pioneered by Fredrick Winslow Taylor and it sought to scientifically determine the best methods of performing any task, and for selecting, training and motivating workers. He believed in the scientific determination of the best man-machine combination.

Taylor based his management system on production-line time studies. He analysed and timed workers movements in a sense of jobs. He broke each job into its components and designed the quickest and best method of performing each component. With the present equipment in mind, he was thus, able to determine what output each worker would produce.

Taylor also believed in the differential rate system of compensation whereby higher wages were paid to more efficient workers. Workers are urged to surpass their previous performance standards for them to earn more salaries.

Taylor had developed the following guidelines:

• The development of a true science of management so that best methods for performing each task could be determined
• The selection of workers on a scientific basis, so that each would be given responsibility for the task for which he or she is best suited.
• The scientific education and development of the workers.
• Intimate friendly co-operation between management and labour

One major contribution of this theory is productivity. Examples are in today’s world are in the form of assembly lines which produce thousands of products in fractions of a second.

The major limitation is that it disregards factors such as human desire for job satisfaction through responsibility and social needs, this result in frustration.

b)  THE ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGEMENT THEORY (ADVOCATED BY HENRY FAYOL)

The major thrust here was on the administrative side of management, unlike scientific management which concentrates on production. Henry Fayol is said to be the father of the classical management theory

He drew distinctions between the various business operations and maintained that ‘with scientific forecasting and proper methods of management, satisfactory results were inevitable’.

Fayol divided business operation into six interrelated activities:

• Technical – producing and manufacturing of products
• Commercial - buying raw materials and selling products
• Financial – acquiring and using capital
• Security – protecting employees and
• Accounting and
• Management

He was the pioneer of managerial functions of planning, organising, leading and controlling. He also came up with the 14 principles of management – ADDEC SORIE USSU. (Refer to question 5).

c)   THE BUREAUCRATIC THEORY ( ADVOCATED BY GERMAN SOCIOLOGIST CALLED MAX WEBER)

He believed that any goal-oriented organisation consisted of thousands of individuals and as such there was need to carefully regulate and control their activities.

His emphasis was therefore on the bureaucratic organisation which entails.

• Strict adherence to the hierarchy and formal communication lines
• Strictly defined regulations or a consistent set of abstract rules
• Rationally set out objectives and activities with a clearly set out division of labour
• Technical competence and merit-based performance evaluation
• Making activities and procedures more predictable and standardised to make for easier control and uniformity of performance
• Impersonal conduct of Management should maintain appropriate social distance with their subordinates.

The major contributions of the bureaucratic school placed emphasis on the division of labour, reliance on rules, a hierarchy of authority and employment based on technical competence which may improve efficiency

However the major weaknesses of the bureaucratic school lay in the resultant lack of innovation and excessive reliance on formal, impersonal channels which tend to reduce efficiency in decision-making

(ii) THE BEHAVIOURAL MANAGEMENT THEORIES

The behavioural school was pioneered by a group of scholars trained is psychology and other social science disciplines who felt that the classical approaches did not yield efficiency and harmony at workplaces. It is split into two main branches which are (1) the Human Relations Movement and (2) The Behavioural Science Approach.

1. THE HUMAN RELATIONS MOVEMENT (BY ELTON MAYO AND THE HAWTHORNE EXPERIMENTS). This movement arose out of the need to discover the social and psychological factors that would create effective human relations. It followed the experiments conducted at the Western Electric Company which have come to be known as ‘The Hawthorne studies.'

Elton Mayo concluded that – through his studies – a complex chain of attitudes had influenced the productivity variations.

Researchers discovered that workers would work harder if they were given special attention and management were concerned with their welfare.

The major contribution of the Human relations approach was that, it highlighted the fact that production is not just an engineering problem as contented by Fredrick Taylor, but was a social problem as well. In addition, their researches laid the foundation for further studies in group dynamics and the effect of group pressure, values and norms on productivity. Great emphasis was now put on management training in human relations skills as opposed to technical skills.

Their limitations however relate to the design and analysis of the studies and experiments

2. THE BEHAVIOURAL SCIENCE APPROACH

It should be noted that Mayo and his advocates used scientific methods in their studies. Later behavioural researchers, however, were more righteously trained in psychology, sociology, and anthropology and as such used more sophisticated research methods. These came to be known as ‘behavioural scientists’ as opposed to the ‘the human relations theorists’.

The behavioural scientists, (most notably, Professor Abraham Maslow, Fredrick Herzberg, Chris Argyris, Douglas McGregor, Rensis Liket, Victor Vroom and BF Skinner) believed in the ‘self-actualisation man concept’ and a host of other concepts as a better explanation of human motivation. In particular, Maslow identified the hierarchy of needs which motivate man to exert effort towards achieving organisational goals. These ranges from the basic human needs called physical needs (e.g. sex, hunger, shelter, thirst etc) to the self-actualisation needs (being the needs to realise one’s full potential).

He stated that these needs can only be satisfied one after the other in a hierarchical order. Once people have satisfied their lower level needs, they are motivated by esteem (egoistic) needs as well as self-actualisation needs.

Most theorists in this grouping opposed some aspect of Maslow and made their own assertions, as the argued that not everyone goes predictably from one need level to the other. Thus, according to other theorists in the behavioural science, the more realistic model of human behaviour was one of the ‘the complex man concept’. The effective manager should be aware that not two people have the same set of needs and the manager has to address such needs differently

Their major contribution has been in shading light into the areas of human motivation, group behaviour, interpersonal relationship at work and the importance of work to the human beings. It says that managers must be sensitive to the needs of the workers.

3. THE QUANTITATIVE THEORIES (OPERATION RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCE)

This approach tended to concentrate on the development of solutions to more complex problems. It is based on the mathematical modelling.

A model is a theoretical representation of a real life situation, or in this case, a real life problem. It shows the factors giving rise to the problem and their inter-relationship. Various alternative solutions to the problem are simulated and computers are used to determine the best solution. It also placed emphasis on the development of Management Information Systems (MIS).

The greatest contribution of the Quantitative theory was the use of computers to solve complex problems using modelling and simulation techniques.

The greatest limitation is that most managers feel that this management science places too much emphasis on complicated mathematical formulae which they may be unable to fully comprehend. 

4. THE SYSTEMS APPROACH

This approach offers more insights into management. It views the management process as a ‘system’

A system is an interrelated set of components functioning as a whole. The organisation is thus viewed as a system, consisting of inputs from the environment in the form of material, human and financial inputs. They may be shown diagrammatically as follows

Thus, the activity of each of the components of a system (called subsystems) has an effect on the activities of the other components. Management has to view an organisation as an open system – meaning a system that interacts with the environment- and have to communicate with other employees, departments, as well as representatives of other organisations.

The major contribution of this systems approach is that, it highlights the dynamic and interrelationship nature or organisational activities and thus, the enormity of the management task. 

It may also be said to be a basis for conceptual thinking for general managers who need to have an overview of organisational objectives it also equips the manager with a unique skill to understand how a given variable is composed, and hence, it gives rise to a holistic view of the organisation.

The major weakness is that: as this is an evolving field of study, it may not offer conclusive insights into the best managerial practice but generalise i.e. applies to all schools

(v)   THE CONTINGENCY APPROACH (ALSO KNOWN AS A SITUATIONAL APPROACH)

The contemporary thought in management is that of integrating the various schools of management thought and focusing on the interdependence of the many factors involved in the managerial situations.

The managers’ task was to identify which technique will, in a particular situation and under certain circumstances, best contribute to the achievement of organisational goals.

Advocates to this approach maintain that universal solutions and principles cannot be applied to social systems such as organisations; hence the best solution depends on the situation. Some say such a way of looking at management enables us to look at each situation on its own rather than offer blanket solutions.

The major contributions is that: By accepting that there is no one best management technique, proponents of this theory see it as the leading branch in management thought, meaning that it entails elements of all other schools and the choice of a technique is based on the available option. The contingency approach prepares managers for the unanticipated problems relating to the application of other management techniques.

(vi) THE JAPANESE APPROACH TO MANAGEMENT

In recent years, a great deal has been written about the principles of Japanese management, principally because of their ability to increase productivity. However, many of the components of the Japanese model of management are dependent upon the influences of the Japanese culture, and their exportability is limited.

The features of Japanese management include:

• A focus on high quality and getting things ‘right first time’;
• Continuous improvement of all work processes, with a high degree of worker involvement;
• Encouragement of teamwork;
• Non-specialisation and flexibility of workers;
• A paternalistic attitude to workers by the organisation;
• Lifetime employment and job security;
• A strict, bureaucratic, hierarchical structure;
• Egalitarianism and absence of class symbols.