Class notes
[HBA02C] Management: summary
- Course
- Institution
Summary of all lectures for the Management course
[Show more]
Seller
Follow
fabriziosacco2
Reviews received
Content preview
History of managementIn Adam Smith’s “The wealth of nation”, he tells the story of the “Pin factory”: when ten
workers each make a pen they get ten pins, but when they are assigned separate tasks they
manage to have 48000 pins.
Management becomes a scientific discipline in the 40s with the emergence of “Big V
consultancies”.
History of management matters because there are recurring patterns, as we can see in Gen Y
and Z. By knowing the history, current managers can learn from others’ mistakes and why
some things happen. Therefore, there are many perspectives and trends.
Classical perspective
The classical perspective emerged during the 19th and early 20th centuries, when the factory
system that began to appear in the 1800s posed unforeseen challenges and the development of
large, complex organizations demanded a new approach to coordination and control. The
gurus are: Frederick Taylor, Frank & Lilian Gilbreth, Henry Ford, Henri Fayol and Max
Weber. This perspective contains three primary subfields: scientific management,
administrative principles, and bureaucratic organization.
Taylor had one aim: efficiency. However, at that time, people didn’t like to work, and
therefore worked as soldiers (“soldiering”). Managers have to find the “one best way”, which
according to Taylor is by scientifically studying the tasks, which results in the standardization
of processes.
Taylor’s principles are the following:
Scientific study of the tasks: replace rule-of-thumb work methods with methods based
on a “time and motion” studies. This is called specialization.
Scientifically select, train and develop each employee rather than passively leaving
them to train themselves.
Provide “detailed instruction and supervision” of each worker in the performance of
that worker’s “discrete task”. This is called standardization/formalization of methods.
Separation of thinking and doing: divide work between managers and workers so that
the managers apply scientific management principles to planning the work and the
workers actually perform the tasks.
The scientific management principles are the following:
Analysis of jobs to be done.
Horizontal differentiation (specialization).
Vertical differentiation (lines of authority).
Standardization of processes.
Control (direct supervision).
Salary increases for productiveness.
,The contributions of these principles are the following:
Demonstrated the importance of compensation for productiveness.
Initiated the careful study of tasks and jobs.
Demonstrated the importance of personnel selection and training.
The criticisms of these principles are the following:
Didn’t appreciate the social context of work and higher needs of workers.
Didn’t acknowledge variance among individuals.
Tended to regard workers as uninformed and ignored their ideas and suggestions.
Lillian and Frank Gilbreth were specialized in motion studies, especially in ergonomics,
which is the design and use of proper tool and eliminating inefficient body movements. In
fact, less motions and less time consumption result in less fatigue to workers. They developed
the 18 Therbligs, 18 kinds of elemental motions used in the study of motion economy in the
workplace:
In Fayol’s general administrative theory, he developed 14 general principles of management:
1. Division of work (specialization).
2. Balancing authority and responsibility.
3. Discipline.
4. Order.
5. Unity of command.
6. Unity of direction.
7. Subordination of individual interests to the general interest.
8. Centralization.
9. Scalar chain (line of authority).
10. Fair remuneration.
11. Stability of tenure of personnel.
, 12. Initiative.
13. Equity.
14. Esprit de corps.
In Weber’s general administrative theory, he envisioned organizations that would be
managed on an impersonal and rational basis, with the aim of stopping corruption and
nepotism: a bureaucracy. There are 6 characteristics in a bureaucracy:
1. Division of labour, with clear definitions of authority and responsibility. Jobs are
broken down into simple, routine, and well-defined tasks.
2. Authority hierarchy: positions are organized in a hierarchy with a clear chain of
command.
3. Formal selection: people are selected for jobs based on technical qualifications.
4. Formal rules and regulations: a system is put in place where written rules and standard
operating procedures are recorded.
5. Impersonality: there’s a uniform application of rules and controls.
6. Career orientation: managers are career professionals, not owners of units they
manage.
The benefits of a bureaucracy are the following:
Job security.
Creativity.
Favouritism is discouraged.
Centralization of power.
Specialization is encouraged.
The drawbacks of a bureaucracy are the following:
Boredom.
Not flexible.
Difficult to maintain high morale.
Wage gaps.
Not client-oriented.
Risk of hierarchy overload, where decisions get piled on top of each other.
Human beings are treated as machines.
Humanistic perspective (or behavioural approach)
The humanistic perspective emphasized the importance of understanding human behaviours,
needs and attitudes in the workplace, as well as social interactions and group processes. This
perspective contains three primary subfields: the human relations movement, the human
resources perspective, and the behavioural sciences approach. The two early advocates were
Mary Parker Follett and Chester Barnard.
, Follett’s ideas served as a contrast to scientific management. She wrote on the importance of
common superordinate goals for reducing conflicts in organizations, who are viewed as an
opportunity to develop integrated solutions rather than simply compromising situations. Her
approach to leadership stressed on the importance of people rather than engineering
techniques.
One of Barnard’s significant contributions was the concept of the informal organization, a
social system that appears in all formal organizations and includes “cliques”, informal
networks and occurring social groupings. He argued that organizations aren’t machines and
stressed that informal relationships are powerful forces that can help the organization if
properly managed.
Another significant contribution was the acceptance theory of authority, which states that
people have free will and can choose whether to follow management orders or not. People
typically follow orders because they perceive positive benefits to themselves, but they still do
have a choice to obey or disobey orders. Managers should treat employees properly because
their acceptance of authority may be critical to organization success in important situations.
The human relations movement was based on the idea that effective control comes from
within the individual worker rather than from strict and authoritarian control. Initially, it
embraced a “dairy farm” view of management: if the cows were treated well, the output will
be better. Hugo Munsterberg was the father of “industrial psychology”, and made
experiments on how to properly select employees, and on how to motivate and train people.
The Hawthorne studies were conducted on the Hawthorne plant of Western Electric company
in Illinois, and is divided into two studies:
1. Study 1 (1927-1931): “the ladies”. This study developed the Hawthorne effect, in
which individuals modify an aspect of their behaviour in response to their awareness
of being observed.
2. Study 2 (1931-1932): “the gentlemen”. This study showed that worker productivity
increased partly as a result of being part of a group selected to perform a certain task
and the camaraderie that developed among the members. In fact, it was believed that
the factor that best explained increased output wasn’t an increase in income but
human relations.
The human resources perspective maintained an interest in worker participation and
considerate leadership but shifted the emphasis to considering the daily tasks that people
perform. This perspective combines prescriptions for design of job tasks with theories of
motivation. In the human resources view, jobs should be designed so that tasks aren’t
perceived as dehumanizing or demeaning, but instead allow workers to use their full
potential. Two of the best-known contributors to the human resources perspective are
Abraham Maslow and Douglas McGregor.
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller fabriziosacco2. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $7.60. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
70055 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now