MANAGEMENT IDEAS: YESTERDAY AND TODAY, Anthropology, Economics

<< MANAGERIAL LEVELS AND SKILLS:Middle-level managers, Top managers

CLASSICAL VIEW OF MANAGEMENT:Scientific management >>

Principles of Management MGT503

Lesson 2.6

MANAGEMENT IDEAS: YESTERDAY AND TODAY

The purpose of this lecture is to demonstrate that knowledge of management past history can help you

better understand current management theory and practice. Thus, in order to understand the theories and

practices used today, it's important for management students to look at the evolution of management

thought and practices. The practice of management has always reflected historical times and societal

conditions.

INTRODUCTION

Many current management concepts and practices can be traced to early management theories. The practice

of management has always reflected the times and social conditions, so many organizations are responding

to technology breakthroughs and developing Web-based operations. These new business models reflect

today's reality: information can be shared and exchanged instantaneously anywhere on the planet. The

purpose of this chapter is to demonstrate that knowledge of management history can help understand

today's management theory and practice.

MANAGEMENT'S CONNECTION TO OTHER FIELDS OF STUDY

Management courses have a rich heritage from humanities and social science courses.

Anthropology--the study of societies, which helps us learn about humans, their activities, and

differences in fundamental values, attitudes, and behavior between people in different countries and

within different organizations.

Economics--concerned with the allocation, distribution of scare resources, and understanding the

changing economy, as well as the role of competition and free markets in a global context.

Philosophy--examines the nature of things, particularly values and ethics.

Political Science--studies the behavior of individuals and groups within a political environment,

including structuring of conflict, allocating power in an economic system, and manipulating power

for individual self-interest.

Psychology--science that seeks to measure, explain, and sometimes change the behavior of

humans and other animals.

Sociology--the study of people in relation to their fellow human beings.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF MANAGEMENT

There are many examples from past history that illustrates how management has been practiced for

thousands of years.

The Egyptian pyramids and the Great Wall of China are good examples of projects of tremendous

scope and magnitude that employed tens of thousands of people. How was it possible for these

projects to be completed? The answer is management.

Other examples of early management practices can be seen through assembly lines, accounting

systems, and personnel functions as just a few of the processes and activities in organizations at

that time that are also common to today's organizations.

Adam Smith, author of the classical economics doctrine, The Wealth of Nations, argued brilliantly

about the economic advantages that division of labor (the breakdown of jobs into narrow,

repetitive tasks) would bring to organizations and society.

Principles of Management MGT503

The Industrial Revolution can be thought of as possibly the most important pre-twentieth-

century influence on management. The introduction of machine powers, combined with the division of

labor, made large, efficient factories possible. Planning, organizing, leading, and controlling became

necessary.

the birth of Early management ideas

The Evolution of Management Theories Trying to achieve goals through the judicious

use of people and resources, getting the others to work toward these goals, and keeping

track of whether or not we are accomplishing what we set out to do has been around for

centuries. Expressed in other terms we could say that management is a very old concept.

Generally, though, we think of "modern management" and the specific identification of

planning, organizing, leading, and controlling being the functions of management as having

begun at the end of the 1800s. Most of the contributors we recognize today have been

twentieth century people.

Pre-classical Contributors

These contributors presented their ideas before the late

1800s.

Robert Owen (1771-1858) was a British factory owner who advocated concern

for the working and living conditions of workers, many of them young children.

Many of his contemporaries thought he was a radical for such ideas.

Charles Babbage (1792-1871) is considered to be the "father of modern

computing." He foresaw the need for work specialization involving mental work.

His management ideas also anticipated the concept of profit sharing to improve

productivity.

Henry E. Towne (1844-1924) called for the establishment of a science of

management and the development of management principles that could be applied

across management situations.

An assessment of the preclassical contributors indicates that their efforts were

fragmentary. By and large they applied their efforts towards developing specific

techniques or solutions. They laid the groundwork for major management theories

which came later.

Table of Contents: