lecture 2 - evolution of management

Question 1

Why do we need to explore the past?

Answer 1

• Helps to develop strategic thinking and conceptual skills
• Learn from recognising and understanding past mistakes
• Influence the way we manage today
• Management changes due to social, political and environmental factors

Question 2

what is the classical perspective?

Answer 2

Focuses on the efficiency, productivity, and output of employees as well as of the organisation as a whole.

Emerged from industrial factories.
The factory system that emerged in the 1800s with large, complex organisations posed problems:
- Tooling the plants
- Organising managerial structure
- Training employees
- Scheduling complex manufacturing operations
- Dealing with labour dissatisfaction and strikes

Question 3

what perspective made the professional salary manager ?

Answer 3

classical perspective

Question 4

Scientific Management

Answer 4

Frederick Taylor; The Gilbreths
General Approach:
- Shift all responsibility for the organisation of work from the worker to the manager.
- Use scientific methods to select best way to do the job
- Select the best person to perform the job
- Train the worker to do work efficiently in standard method
- Supported workers by planning their work and eliminating interruptions
- Provide wage incentives to increase output
- Monitor worker performance to ensure work procedures are followed & results achieved

Question 5

who was Frederick W. Taylor (1856-1915)

Answer 5

father of scientific management. Physical movement of workers. Worker vs manager.
- Appalled by workers inefficiencies
- Pig-iron experiment
- Workers daily output of loading pig-iron onto rail cars was 12.5 tons a day – After trying different combinations of procedures techniques and tools, productivity rose to 48 tons – Used the right person, correct tools and equipment, gave strict instructions and increased wages
- Achieved consistent productivity improvements of 200 percent or more.

Question 6

Frank Gilbreth’s (1868-1924) Experiments

Answer 6

• Frank Gilbreth analysed the work motions of bricklayers
• Exterior brick laying motions reduced from 18 to 5
• Interior brick laying reduced from 18 to 2.
• Bricklayers became more productive and less fatigued.
• His work reduced the time patients spent on the operating table during medical surgery
• Saved countless lives

Question 7

human at the centre of HRM.

Answer 7

Lilian Gilbreth (1878-1972)
- A psychologist
- Completed 2 PhDs
- When Frank died she had 12 children aged between 2 and 19
- She continued his work
- Became a Professor at Purdue University
- Pioneered the field of industrial psychology
- Made substantial contributions to human resource management

Question 8

Scientific Management Today.

Answer 8

• Standardised work practices, e.g Mcdonalds, production line (cars, people staying same spot and the cars moving) and piece rates.
  Links to modern Operations Management and Total Quality Management.

Question 9

Scientific Management Criticisms

Answer 9

• Did not appreciate the social context of work and the higher needs of workers
• Did not acknowledge variance amongst individuals
• Tended to regard workers as uninformed and ignored their ideas and suggestions
• Frederick Taylor on the pig iron worker:

Question 10

Bureaucratic Organisations

Answer 10

• Systematic approach developed in Europe by Max Weber (1864-1920)
• Emphasised management on an impersonal, rational basis.

Question 11

6 elements of the ideal bureaucracy

Answer 11

Formalisation, rationality, expertise, rules-based decision making, hierarchy and specialisation

Question 12

Bureaucracy Today.

Answer 12

Seen to some extent in all organisations. Amplified in large and/or public sector

Question 14

principles of Fayols 14 principles that are in practice today.

Answer 14

• Unity of command: – each subordinate receives orders from one superior
• Division of work: – specialisation to produce more and better quality
• Unity of direction: – similar activities in an organisation should be grouped under one manager
• Scalar chain: – every employee included in the chain of command.

Question 15

humanistic approach

Answer 15

• Emphasise on the human.
  Assumptions
• people seek satisfying social relationships
• respond to group pressures
• search personal fulfilment
  Favourable tratement of employees.
• Building morale
• Maintaining social interactions.
  Human Relations/Human Resources; Behavioral Sciences

Question 16

what is the human relations movement?

Answer 16

All contribute to the idea, of placing the human in that position. Human being needs to be reflective as a creature that needs to be nurtured.

Hawthrone studies - Elton mayo
Abraham Maslow - theory of human needs
theory X and theory Y - Douglas McGregor
personality and origisation - Chris Argyris

Question 17

Theory X and Y

Answer 17

Mcgregor. Theory X – people do not want to work and are lazy. Have to use something to get them to do something, controlling. But the other side of that is that people want to work.

Question 18

Behavioural Sciences

Answer 18

image: matrix concept.
focuseson the psychological and sociological processes that influence employees (attitude, motivation and group dynamics)
Led to organisational development (OD) and change, matrix organisations, self-managed teams, concept of corporate culture, management by walking around….

Question 19

THREE Recent Trends.

Answer 19

Systems Thinking: Importance of individual elements and their interaction
Contingency View: Each situation is unique, but contains elements of previous situations* Total Quality Management: Management of the whole organisation to deliver quality to customers

Question 20

Systems thinking

Answer 20

Comes from Humanistic perspective * Series of linked subsystems – need to understand the entire system

Question 21

Contingency View.

Answer 21

Just because it works somewhere doesn’t mean it will work everywhere.
Organisations are different, face different situations and require different ways of managing. * HRM: Best Practice -v- Best Fit