Classical Management Theory

A theory that focused on finding the “one

best way” to perform and manage tasks
Classical and included
Management
Theory •Classical Scientific management
•Classical Administrative Management
•Classical Bureaucratic management

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Classical Management Theory
Classical Focused on the manufacturing
Scientific environment and individual’s work
School productivity and efficiency

Classical Emphasized the flow of information

Administrative and how organizations should
School operate/functions of management

Classical Identified Organization

Emphasized as a system
the flow of information
Bureaucratic and
and management
how as ashould
organizations study of this
School system
operate
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 Relationship Between Three Classical Theories Of Management

Focuses on the
individual worker’s
productivity
Focuses on the
overall
organizational
Focuses on the system
functions of
management
Lessons from Classical Scientific Thinkers

Analyze everything

Teach effective methods to others

Constantly monitor workers

Plan responsibly

Control the work and the workers

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 Thoughts and Profile of Henri Fayol

Henri Fayol was born in 1841 at Istanbul Turkey.

He was a French management theorist.
Fayol was one of the most influential contributors
to modern concepts of management.
Fayol has been described as the father of modern
operational management theory
The nineteen-year old engineer started at the mining
company ultimately acting as its managing director
 Based largely on his own management experience,
Fayol developed his concept of administration.

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DIFFERENCE BETWEEN VIEWS OF TAYLOR AND
FAYOL
 Although his ideas have become a universal part of the
modern management concepts, some writers continue to
associate him with Taylor!!

 A primary difference between Fayol and Taylor was that Taylor

viewed management processes from the bottom up, while
Fayol viewed it from the top down.
In the classic General and Industrial Management Fayol wrote
that "Taylor's approach differs from the one we have outlined in
that he examines the firm from the "bottom up

 Fayol suggested that it is important to have unity of command :

a concept that suggests there should be only one supervisor
for each person in an organization….. Fayol criticized Taylor’s
functional management in this way.’’
 The most marked outward characteristics of
functional management lies in the fact that each
workman, instead of coming in direct contact with the
management at one point only, receives his daily
orders and help from eight different bosses.
 Fayol said, those eight, were (1) route clerks, (2)
instruction card men, (3) cost and time clerks, (4)
gang bosses, (5) speed bosses, (6) inspectors, (7)
repair bosses, and the (8) shop disciplinarian . This
was an unworkable situation, and that Taylor must
have somehow reconciled
 Major Contributions of Henri Fayol
First recognized that successful managers had to understand
the basic managerial functions and believed specific
management skills could be learned and taught
 He mentioned Six activities of an enterprise:
1. Technical (production, manufacture, adaptation)
2. Commercial (buying, selling, exchange)
3. Financial (search for an optimum use of capital)
4. Security (protection of property and persons)
5. Accounting (Stock taking, balance sheets, cost statistics)
6. Managerial: Fayol’s universal management functions:
1.Planning 2.Organizing 3.Commanding 4.Coordinating
5.Controlling
 Developed a set of 14 general principles of management.
 Provided 16 managerial duties that a manager has to
perform
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 Fayol’s General Principles of
Management
1. Division of work 8. Centralization
2. Authority and 9. Scalar chain
responsibility 10. Order
3. Discipline 11. Equity
4. Unity of command 12. Stability
5. Unity of direction 13. Initiative
6. Subordination of individual 14. Esprit de corps
interest to the common
good
7. Remuneration of personnel
Source: Based on Henri Fayol, General and Industrial Management, trans. Constana Storrs (London: Pittman & Sons, 1949).
 Division of work: Specializing encourages continuous
improvement in skills and the development of
improvements in methods.
 Authority : The right to give orders and the power to
exact obedience.
 Discipline : No slacking, bending of rules. The workers
should be obedient and respectful of the organization.
 Unity of command : Each employee has one and only one
boss.
 Unity of direction : A single mind generates a single plan
and all play their part in that plan.
 Subordination of Individual Interests : When at work, only
work things should be pursued or thought about.
 Remuneration : Employees receive fair payment for
services, not what the company can get away with.
 Centralization : Consolidation of management functions.
Decisions are made from the top.
 Scaler Chain (line of authority) : Formal chain of
command running from top to bottom of the
organization, like military
A

B1 B2

C1 C2

D1 D2

E1 E2
 Order : All materials and personnel have a prescribed
place, and they must remain there.
 Equity : Equality of treatment (but not necessarily
identical treatment)
 Personnel Tenure : Limited turnover of personnel.
Lifetime employment for good workers.
 Initiative : Thinking out a plan and do what it takes to
make it happen.
 Esprit de corps : Harmony, cohesion among personnel. It's
a great source of strength in the organization. Fayol
stated that for promoting esprit de corps, the principle of
unity of command should be observed and the dangers of
divide and rule and the abuse of written communication
should be avoided.
 Bureaucratic Management
• Focuses on the overall organizational system.
• Bureaucratic management is based upon:
– Firm rules
– Policies and procedures
– A fixed hierarchy
– A clear division of labor
Bureaucratic Management: Weber
• Max Weber (1864–1920)
– A German sociologist and historian who envisioned a
system of management that would be based upon
impersonal and rational behavior—the approach to
management now referred to as “bureaucracy.”
• Division of labor
• Hierarchy of authority
• Rules and procedures
• Impersonality
• Employee selection and promotion
 Weber’s Forms of Authority
• Traditional authority
– Subordinate obedience based upon custom or
tradition (e.g., kings, queens, chiefs).
• Charismatic authority
– Subordinates voluntarily comply with a leader
because of his or her special personal qualities or
abilities (e.g., Martin Luther King, Gandhi).
• Rational-legal authority
– Subordinate obedience based upon the position held
by superiors within the organization (e.g., police
officers, executives, supervisors).

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 Table 2.2 Weber’s Three Types of Authority

Type Description
Traditional Subordinate obedience based upon
custom or tradition
Charismatic Subordinate obedience based upon
special personal qualities associated
with certain social reformers, political
leaders, religious leaders, or
organizational leaders
Rational–legal Subordinate obedience based upon
the position held by superiors
within the organization
 Bureaucratic Hierarchical Power Structure