The Classical School - Fayol Flashcards
advantages of the classical school approach
-money will always have some positive effect on workers’ motivation (eg. underpaid workers will not work hard enough)
-piecemeal incentive rewards workers who produce quickly and accurately
-hierarchical structures often provide many promotion routes for employees within them
-high level of supervision reduces the chances of slacking within the firm
-decision-making tends to be quick as the leadership style is often autocratic
-a clear organisation structure can improve the flow of communication
-clearly defined tasks of responsibility within the firm reduce internal conflict
-divisions of labour produce a high output and specialisation can increase the quality of work
disadvantages of the classical school approach
-demotivating for workers as it treats them like machines who often never see an end product
-division of labour can result in boring and repetitive work
-workers become inflexible as they only focus on one task - job rotation is discouraged
-workers feel alienated and undervalued as they are labour and not considered part of the team
-assumes workers are only interested in financial rewards and it is their only motivation
-authoritarian work environment and management style can be intimidating and stressful for workers
-valuable ideas and opportunities may be missed as upward communication, initiative and worker input
-lack of flexibility may result in high turnover and absenteeism in modern-day work
describe the classical school of management
-(Taylor’s) scientific management was based on the principles of standardisation, efficiency and discipline
-viewed the organisation as a machine and tried to make it efficient
-suggested workers were motivated only by money
-suggested there was one best way to perform tasks to maximise workers’ efficiency
-aimed to achieve standardisation by dividing jobs into small tasks
-piece rate payment is still used in industries which require a quick rate of output
> financial incentives are still used as a primary motivator in many industries (eg. bonuses, piecemeal incentive and commission)
> however most employees today are not only motivated by money, as they were mostly in Taylor’s day, when financial times were harder
-that managers should plan and workers should carry out the work
