Evolution of Management
By
Jason Kolff
American Public University
January 27, 2008
In this paper I will be explaining the evolution of management from the beginning of the
industrial revolution to present which includes Classical School of Management, the
Human Relations/ Behavioral School of Management, Theory X and Y, the Scientific
Approach, Contingency Approach, and Theory Z. I will also be comparing the classical
style and the present style to each other and to my and current work environment.
The Classical school of thought began during the Industrial Revolution around 1900 and
continued into the 1920s when new problems related to the factory system began to appear.
Managers were unsure of how to train employees (many of them non-English speaking
immigrants) or deal with increased labor dissatisfaction, so they began to test solutions.
Traditional or classical management focuses on efficiency and includes scientific,
bureaucratic and administrative management. Bureaucratic management needs a rational
set of structuring guidelines, such as rules and procedures, hierarchy, and a clear division
of labor. Scientific management focuses on the “one best way” to do the job.
Administrative management emphasizes the flow of information in the operation of the
organization.
The first management theory approach to emerge was scientific management.[1] It was
introduced in an attempt to create a mental revolution in the workplace. It can be defined
as the systematic study of work methods in order to improve efficiency. Frederick W.
Taylor was its main contributor. Other major contributors were Frank Gilbreth, Lillian
Gilbreth, and Henry Gantt.
Scientific management has several major principles. 1st – it calls for the application of the
scientific method to work in order to determine the best method for accomplishing each
task. find – scientific management suggests that workers should be scientifically selected
based on their qualifications and trained to perform their jobs in the optimal manner. 3rd –
scientific management advocates genuine cooperation between workers and management
based on mutual self-interest. 4th – scientific management suggests that management
should take complete responsibility for planning the work and that workers primary
responsibility should be implementing managements plans. Other important characteristics
of scientific management include the scientific development of difficult but fair
performance standards and the implementation of a pay-for-performance incentive plan
based on work standards.
Bureaucratic management focuses on the ideal of organization. Max Weber was the major
contributor to bureaucratic management. Based on his observations, Weber concluded that
many early organizations were inefficiently managed, with decisions based on personal
relationships and loyalty. He proposed that a form of organization, called a bureaucracy,
