Classical Management Theory

Here we focus on three well-known early writers on management:

Henri Fayol
FW Taylor
Max Weber
Definition of management: Management takes place within a structured
organisational setting with prescribed roles. It is directed towards the achievement
of aims and objectives through influencing the efforts of others.
Classical management theory

Emphasis on structure

Prescriptive about 'what is good for the firm'

Practical manager (except Weber, sociologist)

Henri Fayol (1841 - 1925), France

[Link] of work

Reduces the span of attention or effort for any

one person or group. Develops practice and
familiarity

2. Authority

The right to give an order. Should not be

considered without reference to responsibility

3. Discipline

Outward marks of respect in accordance with

formal or informal agreements between firm and
its employees

4. Unity of command

One man superior

5. Unity of direction

One head and one plan for a group of activities

with the same objective

6. Subordination of
individual interests to the
general interest

The interests of one individual or one group

should not prevail over the general good. This is a
difficult area of management

7. Remuneration

Pay should be fair to both the employee and the

firm

8. Centralisation

Is always present to a greater or less extent,

depending on the size of the company and
quality of its managers

9. Scalar chain

The line of authority from top to bottom of the

organisation

10. Order

A place for everything and everything in its place;

the right man in the right place

11. Equity

A combination of kindliness and justice towards

the employees

12. Stability of tenure of

personnel

Employees need to be given time to settle into

their jobs , even though this may be a lengthy
period in the case of the managers

13. Initiative

Within the limits of authority and discipline, all

levels of staff should be encouraged to show
initiative

14. Esprit de corps

Harmony is a great strength to an organisation;

teamwork should be encouraged

Advantages

Fayol was the first person to actually give a definition of management which
is generally familiar today namely 'forecast and plan, to organise, to
command, to co-ordinate and to control'.

Fayol also gave much of the basic terminology and concepts, which would be
elaborated upon by future researchers, such as division of labour, scalar
chain, unity of command and centralization.

Disadvantages

Fayol was describing the structure of formal organizations.

Absence of attention to issues such as individual versus general interest,

remuneration and equity suggest that Fayol saw the employer as paternalistic
and by definition working in the employee's interest.

Fayol does mention the issues relating to the sensitivity of a patients needs,
such as initiative and 'esprit de corps', he saw them as issues in the context
of rational organisational structure and not in terms of adapting structures
and changing people's behaviour to achieve the best fit between the
organisation and its customers.

Many of these principles have been absorbed into modern day organisations,
but they were not designed to cope with conditions of rapid change and
issues of employee participation in the decision making process of
organisations, such as are current today in the early 21st century.

F W Taylor - (1856 - 1915), USA- The Scientific Management School

Taylorism involved breaking down the components of manual tasks in
manufacturing environments, timing each movement ('time and motion' studies) so
that there could be a proven best way to perform each task. Thus employees could
be trained to be 'first class' within their job . This type of management was
particularly relevant to performance drives e.g 'Action On' projects.
This was a rigid system where every task became discrete and specialized. It is fair
to suggest that this is unlikely to be of value to the NHS with the Modernisation
agenda suggesting that we should have a flexible workforce.
Key points about Taylor, who is credited with what we now call 'Taylorism':

he was in the scientific management school

his emphases were on efficiency and productivity

but he ignored many of the human aspects of employment

For the managers, scientific management required them to:

develop a science for each operation to replace opinion and rule of thumb

determine accurately from the science the correct time and methods for
each job (time and motion studies)

set up a suitable organisation to take all responsibility from the workers

except that of the actual job performance

select and train the workers (in the manner described above)

accept that management itself be governed by the science deployed for each
operation and surrender its arbitrary powers over the workers, i.e. cooperate
with them.

For the workers, scientific management required them to:

stop worrying about the divisions of the fruits of production between wages
and profits.

share in the prosperity of the firm by working in the correct way and receiving
wage increases.

give up their idea of time wasting and co-operate with the management in
developing the science

accept that management would be responsible for determining what was

done and how

agree to be trained in new methods where applicable

The benefits (mainly for the management) arising from scientific management can
be summarised as follows:

its rational approach to the organisational work enables tasks and

procedures to be measured with a considerable degree of accuracy

measurement of paths and processes provide useful information on which to

base improvements in working methods, plant design, etc

improving work methods brought enormous increases in productivity

it enabled employees to be paid by results and to take advantage of incentive

payments

it stimulated management into adopting a more positive role in leadership at

shop floor level.

it contributed to major improvements in physical working conditions for

employees

it provided the formation for modern work studies

The drawbacks were mainly for the workers:

it reduced the worker's role to that of a rigid adherence to methods and

procedures over which he/she had no discretion

it led to increased fragmentation of work due to its emphasis on divisional

labour

it generated an economically based approach to the motivation of employees

by linking pay to geared outputs

it put the planning and control of workplace activities exclusively in the hands
of the managers

it ruled out any realistic bargaining about wage rates since every job was
measured and rated 'scientifically'

Therefore, in summary, while the scientific management technique has been

employed to increase productivity and efficiency both in private and public services,
it has also had the disadvantages of ignoring many of the human aspects of
employment. This led to the creation of boring repetitive jobs with the introduction
of systems for tight control and the alienation of shop floor employees from their
managers.
Taylorism prevailed in the '30s through to the early '60s - and in many organisations
considerably later than this. Peters and Waterman in the 70s/80 and Senge late
'80s/early '90s led us towards what we now call 'systems thinking' where the rights
and potential wider contributions of employees received considerably greater
emphasis.
Max Weber (1864 - 1924), Germany
Bureaucracy in this context is the organisational form of certain dominant
characteristics such as a hierarchy of authority and a system of rules.
Bureaucracy in a sense of red tape or officialdom should not be used as these
meanings are value-ridden and only emphasize very negative aspects of the original
Max Weber model.
Through analyses of organisations Weber identified three basic types of legitimate
authority: Traditional, Charismatic, Rational-Legal.
Authority has to be distinguished from power in this discussion. Power is a unilateral
thing - it enables a person to force another to behave in a certain way, whether by
means of strength or by rewards. Authority, on the other hand, implies acceptance
of the rules by those over whom it is to be exercised within limits agreeable to the
subordinates that Weber refers to in discussing legitimate authority.
Weber presented three types of legitimate authority:
Traditional authority: where acceptance of those in authority arose from tradition
and custom.
Charismatic authority: where acceptance arises from loyalty to, and confidence
in, the personal qualities of the ruler.
Rational-legal authority: where acceptance arises out of the office, or position, of
the person in authority as bounded by the rules and procedures of the organization.
It is the rational-legal authority form that exists in most organisations today and this
is the form to which Weber ascribed the term 'bureaucracy'.
The main features of bureaucracy according to Weber were:

a continuous organisation or functions bounded by rules

that individuals functioned within the limits of the specialisation of the work,
the degree of authority allocated and the rules governing the exercise of
authority

a hierarchical structure of offices

appointment to offices made on the grounds of technical competence only

the separation of officials from the ownership of the organisation

the authority was vested in the official positions and not in the personalities
that held these posts. Rules, decisions and actions were formulated and
recorded in writing.

It is not coincidence that Weber's writings were at a time of the major industrial
revolutions and the growth of large complex organisations out of the cottage
industries and/or entrepreneurial businesses.
The efficiency of this rational and logistical organisation shares a considerable
amount of common ground with the thinking of Fayol. In particular, features such as
scalar chain, specialisation, authority and the definition of jobs which were so
essential to successful management as described by Fayol, are typical of
bureaucracy. There is also little doubt that Weber's ideas concerning specific
spheres of competence and employment based on technical competence would
have considerable appeal for Taylor's scientific managers.
Advantages

Appointment, promotion and authority were dependent on technical

competence and reinforced by written rules and procedures of promoting
those most able to manage rather than those favoured to manage. We take a
lot of this for granted in the UK today. Anything else is regarded as nepotism
and corruption.

The adoption of bureaucratic type of management systems allow

organisations to grow into large complex organised systems that are focused
towards formalised explicit goals.

It cannot be stated strongly enough that the Weber theory has the advantage
of being used as a 'gold standard' on which to compare and develop other
modern theories.

Disadvantages
Subsequent analysis by other researchers have identified many disadvantages:

Tendency for organisations to become procedure dominated rather than goal

dominated.

Tendency for heavily formalised organisational roles to suppress initiative and

flexibility of the job holders.

Rigid behaviour by senior managers can lead to standardised services that do

not meet the needs of the client.

Rigid procedures and rules are demotivating for the subordinates that work
in the organizations.

Exercise of control based on knowledge as advocated by Weber has led to the

growth of 'experts' whose opinions and attitudes may frequently clash with
those of the more generalised managers and supervisors.