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Chapter 02: The Evolution of Management Thinking

Sách trang 267, 268, 270, 271, 272
1. List three of the basic ideas of scientific management.
- Students can list any three of the following: develop standard methods for performing each job; select workers with
appropriate abilities for each job; train workers in standard methods; support workers by planning their work and
eliminate interruptions; and provide wage incentives to workers for increased output.

2. List the three assumptions associated with McGregor's Theory X.

- (1) The average human being has an innate dislike of work and will avoid it if possible. (2) Because of the human
characteristic of dislike for work, most people must be coerced, controlled, directed, or threatened with punishment to
get them to put forth adequate effort toward the achievement of organizational objectives. (3) The average human being
prefers to be directed, wishes to avoid responsibility, has relatively little ambition, and wants security above all.

3. Discuss the contributions and criticisms of Taylor's scientific management.

- Contributions of scientific management are that it demonstrated the importance of compensation for performance,
initiated the careful study of tasks and jobs, and demonstrated the importance of personnel selection and training.
Criticisms of scientific management are that it did not appreciate the social context of work and higher needs of
workers, did not acknowledge variance among individuals, and tended to regard workers as uninformed and ignored
their ideas and suggestions.

4. The writings of Fayol, Taylor, and Weber provide the foundation for modern management. Identify the school of
thought associated with each writer and compare the focus that each writer takes in relation to the organization.
- Fayol is associated with the administrative principles approach, focusing on the manager level. Taylor is associated with
scientific management, and he focused on the work level. Weber is associated with the bureaucratic organizations
approach, and his focus was on the level of the organization.

5. Briefly describe what happened in the Hawthorne studies, and explain the results and conclusions of these studies.
- Researchers, working under the direction of Harvard professors Elton Mayo and Fritz Roethlisberger, were studying the
effects of various lighting conditions on worker performance at the Western Electric plant in Hawthorne, Illinois. Each
time an experimental change was made, performance improved, regardless of the change. The early conclusion was that
workers perceived that their work was important enough to hire researchers to work with them, and this recognition of
importance was sufficient to motivate improved performance. This conclusion led to the development of the human
relations movement, stressing the importance of satisfied, happy workers. Recent analysis suggests that money may
have been the single most important motivating factor.

6. Describe the assumptions behind McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y. How do the theories relate to the classical
perspective on management and early human relations ideas?
- Refer to Exhibit 2.5 in the text for the assumptions behind each theory. McGregor believed that the classical perspective
was based on Theory X assumptions about workers. He also felt that a slightly modified version of Theory X fit early
human relations ideas. He proposed Theory Y as a more realistic view of workers for guiding management thinking.

7. Briefly describe systems thinking, including synergy.

- Systems thinking is the ability to see both the distinct elements of a system or situation and the complex and changing
interaction among those elements. A system is a set of interrelated parts that function as a whole to achieve a common
purpose. Subsystems are part of a system, such as an organization, that depend on one another. Changes in one part of
the system (the organization) affect other parts. Managers need to understand the synergy of the whole organization,
rather than just the separate elements, and to learn to reinforce or change whole system patterns. Synergy means that the
whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The organization must be managed as a coordinated whole.

8. Discuss the differences between the case view, universalist view, and the contingency view.
- These viewpoints relate to the applicability of management principles. The case view holds that every situation is
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unique, thus there are no universal principles. Conversely, the universalist view believes that the same management
principles will work across every situation in every organization. The contingency view is an integration of these two
(i.e., while there are no universal principles, there are common patterns and characteristics). The manager's task is to
identify what principles will work when, based on an analysis of key contingencies.

9. Social media has become a state-of-the-art business leadership tool. Write a short essay that identifies some popular
social media platforms and expounds on how they can help managers balance production goals with employee needs.
-: Many companies use Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, online community pages, and video streams to reach out
to and get feedback from customers, clients, and other stakeholders in an effort to build relationships. Social media is
also used for collaboration within and across firms among employees and colleagues; fast, immediate access can
improve efficiency, increase productivity, and facilitate smoother operations and build stronger relationships between
managers and employees.

10. The classical perspective emphasizes managing with a rational, scientific approach. The humanistic perspective
emphasizes understanding the behavior, needs, and attitudes of those involved in the work process. Isolate two main
characteristics of each approach and combine them to form your own hybrid management perspective.
- Classical perspective main characteristics:

1. Scientific management seeks to improve productivity by employing standardized methods for performing each
job and selecting and training appropriate workers; gives wage incentives; is well illustrated by assembly-line
production.
2. The bureaucratic organizations approach is impersonal with clearly defined roles of authority and responsibility,
and strict recordkeeping; is often seen as a threat to personal liberty.
3. The administrative principles approach focuses on increasing productivity of the entire organization as opposed
to the productivity of individual workers.

Humanistic perspective main characteristics:

1. The human relations movement seeks to satisfy employee needs in order to increase production.
2. The human resources perspective suggests that jobs should be designed to meet people’s higher-level needs by
allowing employees to use their full potential.
3. The behavioral sciences approach uses disciplines such as psychology and sociology to assess human
interactions in the workplace.

11. Management science (or the quantitative perspective) uses mathematics, statistics, and computer technology for
complex problem solving, decision making, and recordkeeping. Define the three subsets of management science, and
evaluate the usefulness of this management technique in today's workplace, including at least one advantage and one
disadvantage.
- Three subsets are operations research (mathematical model building and application), operations management
(specifically used to solve manufacturing and production issues), and information technology (information relay
throughout the organization). Management science has become critical to the efficient management of large companies
and business systems. However, managers cannot rely exclusively on numbers and algorithms, because they do not take
the human factor into consideration.

12. Systems thinking is a management concept that considers all of the interrelated parts of the system that function as a
whole and in common. Changes in any one part of the system affect the whole organization and, in fact, the whole is
greater than the sum of its parts. Write a short paragraph in which you explain how a change in one part of a system (or
organization, product, or community) can affect the whole system (or organization, product, or community) either to its
benefit or detriment. List some contingencies that might influence a manager's decision making. Use your imagination in
choosing a system that is “managed.”
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- The paragraph should explain the relationship between parts of a system and should list contingencies. The example
does not have to be business-related. The system, for example, can represent the human body, where a change in any
one organ will affect the body as a whole; or the system can be an example of a family unit, where a change that affects
any one family member will affect the unit as a whole. Contingencies are variables that exist and make each
organizational system unique; therefore, the manager's decision-making skills and response must be unique to his own
system. For example, a man is offered a new job. The pay is high enough to cover necessities, plus put away savings.
The beneficial or detrimental change depends on how the contingencies are handled. Contingencies unique to his family
system that would influence his decision making might include: a wife and two sons; a daily three-hour commute;
financial family struggles; the job represents his first promotion; acting as head coach of his sons' soccer team; the
family can accompany him on business trips, etc.

13. The bossless workplace is one modern management technique that strives to meet new management challenges and
address the needs of employees, customers, and the environment. There is no hierarchy in a bossless workplace, and all
workers are created equal. What additional management technique must be practiced in order to facilitate a bossless
workplace? In your judgment, is going "bossless" a realistic approach to today's workplace?

-The bossless workplace must have employees who are involved in their jobs and satisfied with working conditions.

- train employees to work effectively within a nonhierarchical system. All workplaces do not lend themselves to
the bossless concept, but all workplaces benefit from applying employment engagement techniques to some
degree.
- create an atmosphere where employees feel a commitment to the company goals and mission.
- communicate honestly with employees and provide opportunities for career advancement as well as community
service. Today's educated, mobile workers want a flexible, collaborative work environment that uses cutting-
edge technology, and where they can have a part in decision making.
 many workers will seek out a company that leans toward being bossless.

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