INTRODUCTION TO CLASSICAL APPROACH

DEFINITION OF CLASSICAL APPROACH

“Classical approach of management professes the body of management thought based on the belief that employees have only economical and physical needs and that the social needs & need for job satisfaction either does not exist or are unimportant. Accordingly it advocates high specialization of labour,centralized decision making & profit maximization.”

• Classical approach is the oldest formal school of thought which began around 1900 and continued into the 1920s.

• Its mainly concerned with the increasing the efficiency of workers and organizations based on management practices, which were an outcome of careful observation.

• Classical approach mainly looks for the universal principles of operation in the striving for economic efficiency.

• Classical approach includes scientific, administrative & bureaucratic management.

• SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT focuses on the “one best way” to do a job.

• ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGEMENT focuses on the manager & basic managerial functions.

• BUREAUCRACTIC MANAGEMENT focuses on the guidelines for structuring with formalization of rules, procedures and a clear division of labour.

MAJOR CONTRIBUTORS

• FREDERICK WINSLOW TAYLOR (1856-1915)

• FRANK GILBERTH (1868-1924) & LILLIAN GILBERTH(1878-1972)

• HENRI FAYOL (1841-1925)

• MAX WEBER (1864-1920)

CLASSICAL APPROACH• SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT THEORY

• FREDERICK W.TAYLOR (1856-1915) - FATHER OF SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT

• ANALYSED MANAGEMENT SCIENTIFICALLY TO FIND OUT THE MOST EFFICTIVE WAY TO DO A JOB - “ONE BEST WAY” TO DO THE JOB.

• GENERAL ADMINSTRATIVE MANAGEMENT THEORY

• HENRI FAYOL (1841- 1925) - FATHER OF MODERN MANAGEMENT

• ANALYSED MANAGEMENT AS A UNIVERSAL PROCESS OF PLANNING,ORGANIZING, COMMANDING,COORDINATI-NG& CONTROLLING. ALSO INTRODUCED FOURTEEN PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT.

THEORIES

• TAYLOR’S THEORY OF SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT

• FAYOL’S ADMINISTRATIVE THEORY

• WEBER’S THEORY OF BUREAUCRACY

SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT

FEDRICK WINSLOW TAYLOR(1856-1915) Father of Scientific Management

“one best way for doing the job”

Definition

Scientific management was a theory of management that analyzed and workflows, with the objective of improving labor productivity

management of a business, industry, or economy, according to principles of efficiency derived from experiments in methods of work and production, especially from time-and-motion studies- (mass noun)

In 1898, Taylor joined Bethlehem Steel.

Taylor was a mechanical engineer who sought to improve industrial efficiency.

Working in the steel industry, Taylor had observed the phenomenon of workers' purposely operating

well below their capacity, that is, soldiering. He attributed soldiering to three causes:

The almost universally held belief among workers that if they became more productive, fewer of them would be

needed and jobs would be eliminated.

Employees take great care never to work at a good pace for fear that this faster pace would become the new standard. If

employees are paid by the quantity they produce, they fear that management will decrease their per-unit pay if the quantity

increases.

Workers waste much of their effort by relying on rule-of-thumb methods rather than on optimal work methods that

can be determined by scientific study of the task.

Taylor insisted that management itself would have to change and further, that the manner

of change could be determined only by scientific study.

Hence, term ‘Scientific Management’ evolved.

Taylor suggested that decisions based on rules of thumb and tradition be replaced with

precise procedures developed after careful study of individual situations

Time StudiesTaylor argued that even the most basic, mindless tasks could be planned in a way that dramatically would increase productivity, and that scientific management of the work was more effective

than the "initiative and incentive" method of motivating workers.

To scientifically determine the optimal way to perform a job, Taylor performed experiments that he called time studies, (also

known as time and motion studies).

He use stop watches to measure the workers efficiency

The following are examples of some of the time-and-motion studies that were performed by Taylor.

1.Pig IronIf workers were moving 12 1/2 tons of pig iron per day and they could be incentivized to try to move 47 1/2 tons per day, left to their own wits they probably would become exhausted after a few hours and fail to reach their goal.

By first conducting experiments to determine the amount of resting that was necessary, the worker's manager could determine the optimal timing of lifting and resting so that the worker could move the 47 1/2 tons per day without tiring.

Not all workers were physically capable of moving 47 1/2 tons per day; perhaps only 1/8 of the pig iron handlers were capable of doing so.

While these 1/8 were not extraordinary people who were highly prized by society, their physical capabilities were well-suited to moving pig iron. This example suggests that workers should be selected according to how well they are suited for a particular job.

2.The Science of Shoveling

In another study of the "science of shoveling", Taylor ran time studies to determine that the optimal weight that a worker should lift in a shovel was 21 pounds. Since there is a wide range of densities of materials, the shovel should be sized so that it would hold 21 pounds of the substance being shoveled.

firm provided the workers with optimal shovels. The result was a three to four fold increase in productivity and workers were rewarded with pay increases. Prior to scientific management, workers used their own shovels and rarely had the optimal one for the job.

The main things Taylor noticed for inefficiency

The lack of standard tools or techniques

There is no match

between skill and job

No motivation from the

management

Taylor's 4 Principles of

Scientific Management

Replace rule-of-thumb work methods with methods based on a scientific study of the tasks.

Scientifically select, train, and develop each worker rather than passively leaving them to train themselves.

Cooperate with the workers to ensure that the scientifically developed methods are being followed.

Divide work nearly equally between managers and workers, so that the managers apply scientific management principles to

planning the work and the workers actually perform the tasks.

Basic idea of Scientific Management

General approachDeveloped standard

method for performing each job

Selected workers with appropriate abilities for

each job

Trained workers in standard method.

Supported workers by planning their work and

eliminating interruptions.

Provided wage incentives to workers for increased

output.

Contributions

Demonstrated the importance of compensation for

performance

Initiated the careful study of tasks and jobs

Demonstrated the importance of personal selection and

training

Criticism

Did not appreciate the social context of work and higher needs of workers.

Did not acknowledge variance among individuals.

Tended to regard workers as uninformed and ignored their ideas

for suggestions

FRANK B GILBRETH & LILLIAN M GILBRETH

Followers of Taylor

Frank B Gilbreth (1868-1924) pioneered time and motion study and arrived at many of his management techniques independently of

Taylor .

He stressed efficiency and was known for his quest for “one best way” to do work.

His work had great impact on medical surgery by drastically reducing the time patients spent on

operating table.

He invented a device – ‘MICRO CHRONOMETER’ in order to record workers movement and the

amount of time spend to done a job

Experiments

Gilbreth performed experiments that focused on specific motions, such as bricklaying experiments that resulted in a dramatic decrease in the number of motions required to lay bricks. The husband and wife Gilbreth team used motion picture technology to study the motions of the workers in some of their experiments.

Lady Gilbreth was more interested in human aspect of work

On the basis of their study and experiments frank give shape to 17 principles known as

“Therblig”

Implementation Frederick Taylor’s scientific management

techniques were expanded by automaker Henry Ford

Replaced workers with machines for heavy lifting and moving

Applied to total car assembly, Improving efficiency and reducing worker-hours required to

produce a model-t ford to less than two

Drawbacks of Scientific Management

While scientific management principles improved productivity and had a substantial impact on industry, they

also increased the monotony of work

While in many cases the new ways of working were accepted by the workers, in some cases they were not.

The use of stopwatches often was a protested issue and led to a strike at one factory where "Taylorism" was being

tested.

Complaints that Taylorism was dehumanizing led to an investigation by the United States Congress.

Despite its controversy, scientific management changed the way that work was done, and forms of it continue to be used today.

General Management Theory

o Henri Fayol(1841-1925)

Father of modern operational management theory

Fayol:

-French mining engineer and a management theorist.

-Started as an engineer at a mining company and became Director in 1888.

- Viewed management as a profession that can be trained and developed.

-First one to analyze the functions of management.

Contd.

-Made three major contributions to the theory of Management:

(A)A clear distinction b/n technical & managerial skills.

(B)Identified functions constituting the management process.

(C)Developed principles of management.

(A) According to,

-Activities of an industrial enterprise can be grouped in to six categories: technical, commercial, financial, security, accounting & managerial.

(1)Technical Processing production & operation(2)Commercial Buying, selling & exchange(3)Financial Optimum use of capital(4)Security Protection of asset and resources(5)Accounting Ascertaining the financial position(6)Managerial Optimum use of resources for optimum result

(B) Fayol described management as a scientific process built up of five

immutable elements: Planning, Organizing, Commanding,

Coordinating, Controlling

Functions of Management1. Planning –process of activities required to meet a goal.

2. Organizing – making orderly determination & arrangement of a task.

3. Commanding(Directing) – involves guiding, supervising, motivating & leading people for attainment of the time-oriented tasks.

Contd.

4. Coordinating- bringing together the elements

5. Controlling- having control over all of the aspects that contribute to meeting the goal.

(C) Fayol’s Principles• Henri Fayol, developed a set of 14 principles:

1. Division of Labour: allows for job specialization. • Fayol noted firms can have too much specialization

leading to poor quality and worker involvement.2.. Authority and Responsibility: Fayol included both

formal and informal authority resulting from special expertise.

3. Discipline: obedient, applied, respectful employees needed

4. Line of Authority: a clear chain from top to bottom of the firm[ ‘Gang Plank’]

5. Centralization: the degree to which authority rests at the very top.

Fayol’s Principles

6. Unity of Direction: One plan of action to guide the organization.

7. Unity of Command: Employees should have only one boss.

8. Order: Each employee is put where they have the most value.

9. Initiative: Encourage innovation.10. Equity: Treat all employees fairly in justice

and respect.

Fayol’s Principles

11. Remuneration of Personnel: The payment system contributes to success.

12. Stability of Tenure: Long-term employment is important.

13. General interest over individual interest: The organization takes precedence over the individual.

14. Esprit de corps: ‘Union is strength’- refers to harmony & mutual understanding among the members of an organization.

MAX WEBER(1864-1920)

• German theorist and sociologist.

• Follower of General Administrative Theory proposed by Henry Fayol.

• Introduced most of the concepts on Bureaucratic Organizations.

• During 1800’s, European Org. were managed on a personal, family-like basis.

• Employees loyal towards a single individual.

• Resources used to realize individual desires.

• Weber envisioned Org. would be managed on an impersonal, rational basis. This form of Org. is known as Bureaucracy.

Birth of Bureaucracy

• Org. based on rational authority would be more efficient and adaptable to changes.

• Employee selection and advancement is based on competence and technical qualification.

• Org. relies on rules and regulations which are impersonal and applied uniformly to all employees.

Characteristics

• Division of labour.

• Positions in an Org. are organised in a hierarchy.

• Managers depends not on personality for successfully giving orders but on legal power invested in managerial position.

Cont…

The Ideal Bureaucracy

Division of labour

Management & ownership is separate

Decisions recorded in

writing

Selection based on technical

qualification

Positions organised in

hierarchy

Managers subject to

rules & procedures

• Today, the term Bureaucracy is taken on a negative meaning.

• Its associated with endless rules and red tapism.

• But still they provide a standard way of dealing with employees.

• Equal treatment for all employees.

• This foundation enables many Org. to become extremely efficient.

MANAGEMENT AS AN ART

Art means the application of knowledge and personal skills to achieve desired result. Art involves practical application of theoretical knowledge and skill. Management is an art because it fulfils this feature.

Management as an art: features

• Situational• Personal skill• Personal judgment• Continuous practice• Practical knowledge

Management as a science

Science is a systematically organized body of knowledge. It is based on logically observed findings, facts and events. It consist of exact principles which are capable of verification and its findings are universal truths and could be applied in any situation.

Management as a science: features

• Management is now a systematized body of knowledge.

• Principles and theories are now available in every area of management.

• Principles of management has evolved through practical experience and theoretical research.

• Management principles have wide range of application• Management theory and principles can be taught in

classrooms and industry.

Management- Both art and science

It means management is a combination of an organized body of knowledge and skillful application of this knowledge.

• It is a science because it uses certain principles.• It is a art because it requires continuous practice

and personal skill

Thus science and art in management exist together in every function of management.