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Classical Approaches to Understanding Organizations
The classical approach emphasizes clearly defined structures and processes and is concerned with efficiency and maximization of goals (27.) -
Frederick Taylor - The Principles of Scientific Management
It's the only way! Taylor is called the father of managerial analysis. Taylor stated that the Scientific Management involved a division of labor which explained the different responsibilities between the managerial group and the working group. The role of management is to gather information on work processes and decide the most efficient manner to complete tasks. This method focuses on the "one best way" to perform tasks. -
Max Weber
Weber is regarded as the father of organizational sociology and formulated the notion of a bureaucracy. A turning point here is that Weber described a system in which officials were placed in positions based on the individual’s merit rather than birthright. Characteristics of Weber's definition of bureaucracy include the idea that worker and managerial duties are clearly defined and the lines of authority are defined. -
The Administrative Management School
Two main players in the Administrative Management School were Luther Gulick and James Mooney who aimed to develop a series of guidelines outlining "principles of administration" which focused on specialization and hierarchical control. In addition, the concept of each subunit reporting to one superior, increasing authority as individuals move higher up in the hierarchy, and division of work are characteristics of the Administrative Management School. -
The Hawthorne Studies
It's People! Discovery of Human Beings in the WorkforceThe Hawthorne experiments were a series of experiments conducted in the 1920's at the Hawthorne Plant. These studies were significant for the time since it determined that social and psychological factors regarding work behavior have stronger effects on people rather than pay. This created a paradigm shift in management approaches. -
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Human Relations Developments
The human relations movement emphasized social and psychological factors in the workplace. -
Chester Barnard "The Functions of the Executive"
Deviating from the Administrative School, Chester Barnard's book describes the functions and duties of an executive. Barnard viewed organizations as an "economy of incentives" where those in executive positions must provide incentives for workers to participate and cooperate. -
Abraham Maslow
Abraham Maslow contributed greatly during the period of Human Relations School. Maslow developed a theory of human needs based on a hierarchical scale which he called a "hierarchy of prepotency." Once human beings fulfill their most basic needs such as food, sleep and shelter, they then go up the scale and fulfill the next level of needs. His idea is important as it formed the foundation for other theorists to build upon and later reject the classical approach. -
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Herbert Simon and Company
Herbert Simon was a harsh critic of the Administrative Management School and advocated for a more systematic approach in reviewing administrative processes. Simon wanted to put decision-making as the main focus. He developed the term "satisficing" which is the process by which decision makers make the best possible decision with the limited information at hand. Simon's theory prompted additional research by Cyert and March who found supporting evidence of "satisficing" in 1963. -
Tavistock Institute - Coal Mining Study
Researchers at the Tavistock Institute in Great Britain led an investigation on sociotechnical systems focusing on the interrelationships between technical factors and social dimensions. These studies showed that as technical changes in process were introduced, social relationships within the group began to change. Organizations were seen as maintaining equilibrium when responding to economic, social and technical changes. -
Douglas McGregor
Douglas McGregor developed conceptions of Theory X and Theory Y. Under Theory X, employees are viewed as essentially lazy, passive, and irresponsible. Because of this, management must take full responsibility for leading and controlling the organization. Building upon Maslow's ideas, Theory Y takes the view that employees are actually capable of self-direction and self-motivation. McGregor advocated Theory Y which rejected the classical approach. -
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Contingency Theory and Open Systems Approach
Theorists of Human Relations also received criticism. Many critics felt that there was a lack of empirical evidence showing that improved human relations can lead to improved organizational performance. The focus on organization analysis shifted to contingency theory. Organizational analysts believed that different organizations can be affected under different contingencies. This became the dominant approach during the 1960's and 1970's. -
Joan Woodward
Joan Woodward studied British industrial firms and discovered that the firms observed fell into three categories based on their technological production process. She determined that successful firms in each category had some similarities in their processes but differed on their structural organizations.
Her findings break away from the classical approach of "one best way." -
Lawrence and Lorsch
Researchers Lawrence and Lorsch studied American firms in three different industries with varying levels of uncertainty, complexity, and change. This was an important study since it emphasized an organization's environment as a "determinant of efffective structure" (46). -
James Thompson
Greatly influenced by Simon's work about decision-making, James Thompson formulated an analysis that combined the perspectives of open and closed systems. He argued that organization function as a closed system when they try to set up conditions attributable to closed systems, but as conditions change organizations must adopt to the changes becoming more like open systems. -
Aston Studies
The Aston Studies were significant since it was a large effort at empirical measurement of organizations. The studies were conducted in England by a group of researchers who developed a method of grouping "organizations into types based on measured characteristics" (48). -
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Recent Developments
According to Rainey, public organizational theory has moved in new directions over the past twenty years. Rainey hints to theories involving natural selection and population ecology models for analysis in later chapters of his book. Current studies and work have looked at employee motivation and satisfaction, task design, leadership behavior, etc. -
Future Raquel
Something to be.
