Management Evolution: History, Styles and Theories
Management history can be traced back to Sumerians in 5000 B.C. They kept records of tax systems, properties and other monetary and non monetary holdings. Later, Egyptians showed to the world their expertise in managing to erect pyramids. Then Catholic Church and governments of times were employing some form of management to handle their affairs. Then industrial revolution took place and it brought in picture big organizations and factories first in England and later in North America. The concept of Economies of Scale also came in the picture according to which large people were required to work to achieve cost benefits. The involvement of large number of people in work areas brought complexities. In the initial days, however, the emphasis was more on machines than people. The working conditions favored machines and their efficiency rather than people and their capabilities. This aspect of efficiency and machines paved the way for scientific management. Frederick Taylor was the person who put forward the concept of scientific management. His scientific management system pioneered the theories of business administration in the early twentieth century. He emphasized on the inclus
Mary Parker's work emphasized on human realtions and behavioral aspects in management. The view of importance of human behavior in the work environment became important with the passage of time. The focus that was previously on relation of managers, employees and organization as a whole then shifted to human behavior within organization. The subject of industrial psychology also gained importance and later Hawthorne studies gave management a new direction. Frank and Lilian Gilbreth's work and time and motion studies also moved forward the case of scintific management. Framk became a brick layer and studied and observed the procedures. "The bricklayers training him used a variety of motions to complete their tasks and he wondered which were the most efficient" (Bovee, Thill, Wood & Dovel, 1993). Scientific management was essentially task management as opposed to the old management of 'piece work' or 'day work'. Old management of piece work or day work was management of initiative and incentive. Incentive was provided and everything was left to the initiative of the worker. Instead, Taylorism emphasized management planning. Planning was to be done by the manager and not by workmen as was the case hitherto. Formulae and rules replaced worker judgment by the introduction of scientific management. Manager was now expected to be responsible for getting involved in production, maintenance and labor dealing. The basic idea behind scientific management was to match the physical properties of the tasks with the physiological properties of the workers. So, appropriate work methods became essential. Taylor's scientific management required skill in implementation and a good sense of timing to ensure success and avoid labor unrest. The scientific division of work created a need for the co-ordination of the divided work. This led to the development of the principles school.
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Approximate Word count = 2474
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)
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