Classical Management Theory
Early Management Theories
Early Theories of Organizations emerged mainly for military and Catholic Church. The
metaphor of the machine was dominant, where organizations are viewed as machines.
Therefore, the organizational application was, since workers behave predictably (as
machines do rarely deviate from the norm), management knows what to expect, and
workers operating outside expectations are replaced.
Classical Management Theories
There are three well-established theories of classical management: Taylor Theory of
Scientific Management, Fayol Administrative Theory, Weber Theory of Bureaucracy.
Although these schools, or theories, developed historical sequence, later ideas have not
replaced earlier ones. Instead, each new school has tended to complement or coexist with
previous ones.
Taylor Theory of Scientific Management, U.S.A
Frederick Taylor (1856-1915) The Father of Scientific Management.
Scientific Management theory arose from the need to increase productivity in the U.S.A.
especially, where skilled labor was in short supply at the beginning of the twentieth
century. The only way to expand productivity was to raise the efficiency of workers.
Taylor devised four principles for scientific management theory, which were:
1. The development of a true science of management,
2. The scientific selection and training of workers,
3. Proper remuneration for fast and high-quality work
4. Equal division of work and responsibility between worker and manager
Limitations of The Theory of Scientific Management:
Although it maximized efficiency and productivity but its main limitation was ignoring
human aspects of employment. This is manifested in the following:
Some workers and unions opposed this theory because they feared that working harder or
faster would exhaust whatever work was available, causing layoffs.
