INTRODUCTION TO MANAGEMENT

Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it be a business,

a not-for-profit organization, or government body. Management includes the activities of
setting the strategy of an organization and coordinating the efforts of its employees or
volunteers to accomplish its objectives through the application of available resources, such
as financial, natural, technological, and human resources. The term "management" may also
refer to the people who manage an organization.

MANAGEMENT AS SCIENCE

Management is multi-disciplinary in nature. Though management considering its subject

matter and practical utility may be considered as “SCIENCE”, for reasons discussed below:-

(1) Management by definition involves getting things done through people. Compared to
the other inputs, ‘people’, who constitute the human resources of any organization are
unique in respect of their aspirations, attitudes, perceptions and the like.

(2) The behavior of the human beings cannot be accurately predicted, so no readymade and
standard solution could be prescribed.

(3) Management is more concerned with future which is complex and unpredictable.

MANAGEMENT AS AN ART

(1) Art refers to the ‘know-how’ the ways of doing things to accomplish a desired result.

(2) The focus is on the skill with which the activities are performed.

(3) As the saying goes ‘practice makes a man perfect’, constant practice of the knowledge
contributes for the formation and sharpening of the skills.

(4) Therefore, what is required is the right blend of the theory and practice.

Sayantan, Subham, Prashant P, Abhishek, Kritika

EVOLUTION OF MANAGEMENT THOUGHT | GROUP 1
 MANAGEMENT AS A PROFESSION

McFarland gives the following characteristics of a profession-

(1) Existence of an organized and systematic body of knowledge.

(2) Formalized methods of acquiring knowledge and skills.

(3) Existence of an apex level body with professionalization as its goal.

(4) Existence of an ethical code to regulate the behavior of the members of the profession.

(5) Charging of fees based on service.

(6) Concern for social responsibilities.

DEFINITION OF MANAGEMENT BY DIFFERENT AUTHORS

 “Management is the art of getting things done through others and with
formally organized groups.” (Harold Knootz)

 “ Management is the art of getting things done through people.” (Mary Parker
Follett)

 “ Management is a social and technical process which utilizes resources,

influences human action and facilitates changes in order to accomplish
organizational goals.” (Theo Haimann and William Scott)

 “Management is the forecast to plan, to organize, to command, to co-ordinate

and control activities of others.” (Henri Fayol)

 “Management is a multi-purpose organ that manage a business

manage managers, and manages workers and work.” (Peter Drucker)

 “Management is a distinct process consisting of planning, organizing, actuating

and controlling ; utilized in both science and arts and followed in order to
accomplish pre- determined objectives.” (George R Terry)

 “Management is the art of knowing what you want to do and then seeing that
they do it in the best and the cheapest manner.” (F.W Taylor)

Sayantan, Subham, Prashant P, Abhishek, Kritika

EVOLUTION OF MANAGEMENT THOUGHT | GROUP 1
 EVOLUTION OF MANAGEMENT THOUGHT

The practice of management is as old as human civilization. Thousands of year back also, the
management was in existence as planning, organising, staffing, directing and controlling was
done to achieve a goal. The ancient civilization of Egypt (the great Pyramids), Greece
(leadership and war tactics of Alexander), the Great Wall of China, the Qutub Minar, and the
Taj Mahal are marvellous results of good management practices. The origin of management as
a discipline was developed in the late 19th century. Overtime, the management thinkers have
attempted to find ways to organise and classify the voluminous information about management
that has been collected and disseminated.

The management gurus have given five approaches to the management, they are as follows:

 Classical Approach

 Behavioral Approach

 Quantitative Approach

 Systems Approach

 Contingency Approach

CLASSICAL APPROACH

The oldest formal study of management thought is described as the classical approach. It
generally puts emphasis on rationality, and making organizations and workers as efficient as
possible. There are three areas of study that can be grouped under this approach. They are
scientific management, administrative management and bureaucratic management.

1. Scientific Management

It focuses on individual worker’s productivity and increased pay through the application of
scientific methods. Its goal was providing workers the tools necessary for maximizing their
efficiency and output. This was also criticized for creating an “assembly-line” atmosphere,
where employees do only menial jobs. This is the reason for which it is said that it is useful for
such businesses which is based on repetitive tasks, such as a factory. The major contributor to
this management principle was Frederick Winslow Taylor – the Father of Scientific
Management (1856-1915).

Sayantan, Subham, Prashant P, Abhishek, Kritika

EVOLUTION OF MANAGEMENT THOUGHT | GROUP 1
 Principles of Scientific Management

1) Replacement of rule of thumb by Science.

2) Harmony among the group.

3) Cooperation and not individualisation.

4) Maximum output, not restricted output.

5) Development of workers to the fullest capacity.

2. Administrative Management

It focuses more on what managers do and what constitutes good management practices in the
entire organization. This theory generally emphasises upon a formalized administrative
structure (clear lines of authority from the top to down), a clear vision of labour, and delegation
of power and authority to the administrators relevant to their areas of responsibilities. The most
prominent individual who contributed to this theory was Henri Fayol (1880-1949). Henri Fayol
identified 5 functions that managers perform- planning, organising, commanding,
coordinating, and controlling. He developed 14 principles of management:

1) Division of Work- Specialization increases output by making employees more

efficient.

2) Authority- Managers must be able to give orders and authority gives them this right.

3) Discipline- Employees must obey and respect the rules that govern the organization.

4) Unity of command- Every employee should receive orders from only one superior.

5) Unity of direction- The organization should have a single plan of action to guide
managers and workers.

6) Centralization- It refers to the degree to which subordinates are involved in decision

making.

7) Scalar Chain- Line of authority from top management to lower ranks.

8) Remuneration- Workers must be paid a fair wage for their services.

Sayantan, Subham, Prashant P, Abhishek, Kritika

EVOLUTION OF MANAGEMENT THOUGHT | GROUP 1
 9) Subordination of individual interests to the general interest- The interests of any
one employee or group of employees should not take precedence over the interests of
the organization as a whole.

10) Stability of tenure of personnel- Management should provide orderly personnel

planning and ensure the replacements are available to fill vacancies.

11) Order- People and materials should be in right place at the right time.

12) Equity- Managers should be kind and fair to their subordinates.

13) Initiative- Employees who are allowed to originate and carry out plans will exert high
levels of effort.

14) Espirit de corps- Promoting team spirit will build harmony and unity within the
organization.

3. Bureaucratic Management

The most prominent individual who contributed to this theory was Max Weber. He gave the
theory of authority structures and relations based on ideal type of organization (bureaucracy).
His major focus was rational legal authority system.

Features of Ideal Bureaucracy-

1) Division of Labour- Jobs broken down into simple, routine and well defined tasks.

2) Authority Hierarchy- Positions organised in a hierarchy with a clear chain of

command.

3) Formal Selection- People selected for jobs based on technical qualifications.

4) Formal Rules and Regulations- System of written rules and standard operating
procedures.

5) Impersonality- Uniform applications of rule and control, not according to the

personalities.

6) Career orientation- Managers are career professionals, not owners of units they
manage.

Weber recognised that this “Ideal Bureaucracy” didn’t exist in reality.

Sayantan, Subham, Prashant P, Abhishek, Kritika

EVOLUTION OF MANAGEMENT THOUGHT | GROUP 1
 BEHAVIORAL APPROACH

The behavioural approach of management thought was developed, in part, because of the
perceived weaknesses in the assumptions of the classical approach. The classical approach
emphasized efficiency, process and principles but some of the people felt that this emphasis
disregarded important aspects of organizational life, particularly related to human behavior.
Hence, this approach focused upon trying to understand the factors that affect human behavior
(work related satisfaction and good working conditions) at a workplace.

One of the most prominent contributor to this theory was Elton Mayo who gave Hawthorne
Studies (study of employee productivity under different working conditions).

HAWTHRONE STUDIES

 Hawthrone experiment came to the conclusion that the productivity of the employees
does not depend only on the physical conditions of work and money wages paid to
them.

 But it depends more on the satisfaction of the employees in their work situation.

 Thus, he concluded that work arrangements to meet the objective requirement must
satisfy the employee’s subjective requirement (at the same time), at his work place.

Hawthorne experiment consists of four parts namely:

1. Illumination Experiment

2. Relay Assembly Test Room Experiment

3. Interviewing Programme

4. Bank Wiring Test Room Experiment

Illumination Experiment: This experiment was basically conducted to see if there is any
relationship between the output (productivity) and illumination. It was seen that when intensity
of light was increased, the output also increased. And after that even when the intensity of light
was gradually brought down to normal level, then also the output was increasing. Hence, it was
concluded that there was no relationship between output of workers and illumination in the
factory. Thus, there must be another factor which affected the productivity.

Sayantan, Subham, Prashant P, Abhishek, Kritika

EVOLUTION OF MANAGEMENT THOUGHT | GROUP 1
 Relay Assembly Test Room Experiment: The main motive of this phase was to see that if
production depends upon the factors like length of the working day, rest hours, and other
physical conditions. In this experiment, a small homogenous work-group of six girls was
formed; who were friendly to each other and were asked to work in an informal atmosphere
under the supervision of a researcher. It was observed that during the period of experiment, the
productivity and morale increased. Productivity went on increasing and became stable at a high
level even when all the improvements were taken away and the pre-test conditions were
reintroduced. The researchers concluded that socio-psychological factors feeling of being
important, recognition, attention, participation, cohesive work group and non- directive
supervision i.e. freedom to work on their own under no pressure or directions; helped for the
higher productivity.

Interviewing Programme: The objective of this programme was to make a systematic study
of the employees’ attitudes which would reveal the exact meaning of what, their “working
situation” has for them. In this, the researchers interviewed a large number of workers with
respect to their opinions on work, work conditions and supervision. Initially those questions
were asked in the interview which was considered to be important by the managers and
researchers i.e. direct approach. By this direct approach, the researchers observed that the
answers of the workmen were guarded. Therefore, these approach was replaced by the indirect
technique in which the interviewer only listened to what workmen had to say rather than putting
forward the questions. The findings confirmed the importance of social factors at work in the
total/overall work environment.

Bank Wiring Test Room Experiment: This experiment was conducted by Roethlisberger and
Dickson with a view to develop a new method of observation and get more exact information
about social groups within a company and also to find out the causes which restrict output. It
was conducted to study a group of 14 workers under conditions which were as close as normal
conditions. After the experiment, the production records of the group were compared to their
earlier production records. It was observed that the group evolved its own norms of production
for each individual workers, which was lower than those which was set by the management.
Because of which the workers produce only that much, defeating the incentive system. Those
workers who tried to produce more than the group norms were isolated, harassed or punished
by the group. The conclusion/findings of the study are as follows:

Sayantan, Subham, Prashant P, Abhishek, Kritika

EVOLUTION OF MANAGEMENT THOUGHT | GROUP 1
  Each individual was restricting output.

 The group had its own unofficial standards of performance.

 Individual output remained fairly constant over a period of time.

 Informal groups play an important role in working of an organisation.

Feature of Hawthrone experiment-

1) A business organisation is a social system not just a techno-economic system.

2) Economic incentives are not the only method to motivate, rather the employee can be
motivated by psychological and social wants because his behaviour is also influenced
by feelings, emotions and attitudes.

3) Productivity is linked with employee satisfaction in any organization. So, the

management must take greater interest in employee satisfaction.

4) We must rely more on informal group effort as group psychology plays an important
role in any organization.

The key to higher productivity lies in employee morale, high morale results to higher output.

CONTINGENCY APPROACH

The contingency approach focuses on applying management principles and processes as

dictated by the unique characteristics of each situation. It emphasizes that there is no one best
way to manage and that it depends on various situational factors, such as the external
environment, technology, organizational characteristics, characteristics of the manager, and
characteristics of the subordinates. Contingency theorists often implicitly or explicitly criticize
the classical approach for its emphasis on the universality of management principles; however,
most classical writers recognized the need to consider aspects of the situation when applying
management principles.

Sayantan, Subham, Prashant P, Abhishek, Kritika

EVOLUTION OF MANAGEMENT THOUGHT | GROUP 1
 SYSTEMS APPROACH

The systems approach focuses on understanding the organization as an open system that
transforms inputs into outputs. The systems approach began to have a strong impact on
management thought in the 1960s as a way of thinking about managing techniques that would
allow managers to relate different specialties and parts of the company to one another, as well
as to external environmental factors. The systems approach focuses on the organization as a
whole, its interaction with the environment, and its need to achieve equilibrium.

Characteristics of Systems Approach:

• A system is a set of interrelated and interdependent parts. It is of two types namely

Open and Closed. Closed systems are not influenced by and do not interact with
environment. In contrast Open system are influenced and interact with environment.
Today, organisations are called Open systems.

• Decisions and actions in one organisational area affects other areas, for ex. If the
purchasing department does not acquire right quantity and quality of inputs then the
production department won’t be able to perform its function.

It says that the organisations are not self-contained. They are dependent on environment for
inputs and as outlets of their output

QUANTITATIVE APPROACH

• Quantitative analysis involves using scientific or mathematical data to understand a

problem, such as analyzing surveys to predict consumer demand.

• This contrasts with a qualitative approach, which uses a more social methodology, like
interviewing people.

• The quantitative approach focuses on the results from a large number of people, instead
of focusing on individuals.

E.g.:- Reverse Pyramid Story, Quantitative Approach, LPP Work Scheduling, Six Sigma.

Sayantan, Subham, Prashant P, Abhishek, Kritika

EVOLUTION OF MANAGEMENT THOUGHT | GROUP 1