Classical Management Theory

Context of Emergence

• Industrial Revolution: Late 1700s to late 1800s
  • Transition from farms to factories
  • Introduction of large factories and mechanization
  • Key ingredients: power (steam and hydropower), machinery, and transportation
• Technological Advances:
  • Inventions like the cotton gin (Eli Whitney, 1873) increased efficiency
  • Transportation improvements with railroads and steamboats

Emerging Issues and Questions

• Large groups of people working together
• Increased pace of industry
• How to organize, maximize productivity, and manage people effectively

Founding Fathers of Classical Management Theory

1. Max Weber: Bureaucracy

   • Organizations as extensions of government/legal system
   • Legal-rational approach, clear rules, standardized guidelines
   • Authority linked to official position in hierarchy
   • Opposed traditional family-type systems and charismatic leadership
   • Addressed favoritism (particularism)

2. Frederick Taylor: Scientific Management

   • Micro focus, applying science to work
   • Addressed inefficiencies with time and motion studies
   • Standardized tasks to "one right way"
   • Example: Improved bricklaying efficiency by 300%

3. Henri Fayol: Administrative Science

   • Mid-level focus on management
   • Systematic training for managers
   • Key management activities: planning, organization, command, coordination, control
   • Published influential book in the late 1940s

Common Elements Among Theorists

• Clear hierarchy and chain of command
• Division of labor and standardized work
• Centralization of authority
• Separation of personal life from organizational life
• Selection based on qualifications and performance
• Fair compensation and potential profit-sharing

Relevance Today

• Still Influential:
  • Manufacturing, warehouses, delivery services, and food service
• Influence in Modern Organizations:
  • Still a major influence despite emergence of new theories and reactions
  • Knowledge-based companies (e.g., Google, Facebook) often react against classical management
  • Indirect influence in workplaces

Conclusion

• Classical Management Theory remains foundational in organizational studies
• Continues to be relevant and influential in various sectors