OVERVIEW OF CLASSICAL AND

BEHAVIOURAL THEORIES

MANAGEMENT THEORY 11 – BUS 423

DR. ADENIJI, C. G.
 Objectives
• To understand;
• The classical and behavioural theories.
• Criticisms
• Managerial Implications
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 and
need for job satisfaction either does not exist or
are unimportant. Accordingly it advocates high
specialization of labour,centralized decision
making and profit maximization.”
 The classical period
• 1890- 1930 is considered as the classical period. This
period is called as scientific management period
because only during this period the contributions of
F.W. Taylor and Henry Fayol furthered the causes of
scientific management.

• Till then management was concerned only in terms

of privileges, authority and obligations of ownership.
However this period witnessed a great advance in
the management practice and also the introduction
of better and faster methods of production.
• The salient features of this period can be
outlined as follows.
• Various methods were devised for utilizing
human effort intelligently with a view to
maximize the output with minimum waste.
• Work was planned and controlled.
• The organizational structure was thoroughly
overhauled.
• Wage payment systems were made incentive-
oriented so as to provide maximum
motivation to workers.
 MAJOR CONTRIBUTORS
• • FREDERICK WINSLOW TAYLOR (1856-1915)
• F.W. Taylor was considered as one of the greatest classical
theorists of management and he is the father of scientific
management movement. Taylor was one of the first theorists to
introduce scientific management principles in management.
According to Taylor, scientific management is the discovery of
best method of performing a particular work under the existing
conditions of knowledge and organizing ability.

• He also tried to develop the best and fruitful method of

productivity in a given situation. The implementation of
scientific management can increase the productivity as it uses
the standardized tools and methods. The scientific management
approaches focuses on the group efforts rather than individual
efforts.
 FRANK GILBERTH (1868- 1924) & LILLIAN GILBERTH(1878-1972)

• Frank and Lillian Gilbreth also contributed

much scientific management approach of
classical theories of management.

• They helped Taylor in the development of

scientific management principles. Frank and
Lillian Gilbreth contributed much in designing
the principles related to time study and
motion study
 Henri Fayol(1841-1925)

• Henry Fayol developed certain principles which

could be used in all management situations.
The main contribution by Fayol includes he
introduced the concept of division of industrial
activities.
• He also contributed some essential qualities of
an effective manager. He is the management
expert who classified the management process
in to different functions like planning,
organizing…etc. He was the developer of 14
principles of management.
 Max Weber – Bureaucracy

• Max Weber is another expert in classical

approach of management. Weber was of the
opinion that well established principles and
practices were the best option for growth and
productivity.

• Once the best practices are indentified they

should be implemented and practiced without
fail. He was also in favor of a high hierarchical
structure with clear cut directions which
should be followed to the letter.
 Criticisms
• 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.
 Behavioral Approach to Management

• The development of the ‘behavioural

management’ came with the famous
experiments at the Hawthorn. Among the people
who wrote about the Hawthorne experiments
was Elton Mayo, who is often quoted as having
been a leader of the researchers.
• However, there appears to be some doubt as to
the extent to which Mayo was actually involved
in conducting the experiments and his exact
contribution to the human relations movement.
 CONTRIBUTORS
• Roethlisberger & Dickson
• The two theorists were one of the earliest
ones to view employees as humans rather
than as workers.

• Their work is primarily a detailed chronicle of

an earlier study, now known as the famous
Hawthorne experiment.
 The Hawthorne Studies
• A series of studies conducted at the Western Electric
Company Works in Cicero, Illinois.
• They found that as the level of light was increased in the
experimental group, output for both groups increased.
• Then as the light level was decreased in the
experimental group, productivity continued to increase
in both groups.
• In fact, a productivity decrease was observed in the
experimental group only when the level of light was
reduced to that of a moonlit night.
• The engineers concluded that lighting intensity was not
directly related to group productivity
 Cont’d
• In 1927, the Western Electric engineers asked
Harvard professor Elton Mayo and his
associates to join the study as consultants
• One experiment was designed to evaluate the
effect of a group piecework incentive pay
system on group productivity.

• The results indicated that the incentive plan

had less effect on a worker’s output than did
group pressure, acceptance, and security.

• The researchers concluded that social norms

or group standards were the key determinants
of individual work behaviour.
• Mayo concluded :
• People’s behaviour and attitudes are closely
related, that group factors significantly affect
individual behaviour, that group standards
establish individual worker output, and that
money is less a factor in determining output
than are group standards, group attitudes, and
security.

• What is important is that they stimulated an

interest in human behaviour in organizations.
 Mary Parker Follet
• Mary Parker Follet attempted to interpret
classical management principles in terms of
human factors.

• She gave solution for managing the conflicts in

the organizations. She also suggested that the
managers should be ready to recognize the
importance of group work and the manager
should be a good co-coordinator.
 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

• Abraham Maslow observed that workers are

motivated by needs that are hierarchical in
nature.

• He developed a standard set of needs where

one fulfilled need will then lead to the next one.

• The hierarchy of needs are physiological, safety,

social, esteem, and self-actualization needs. 
 McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y
• “Douglas McGregor’s Theory X/ Theory Y (first
espoused in the early 1960s) is based to a
great extent of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
theory from the mid 1950s”.

• McGregor theorized two distinct worker

attitudes that determine productivity namely
X and Y. In the former scenario, work is seen
as a bother and hence the employee needs
strict supervision and clear cut directions. 
 Criticisms

• They appear to be too rigid and cannot fully

explain the complexity of human behavior.

• All the factors are pre-determined and it is

assumed that all human emotions and needs
fall within these parameters.
 Managerial Implications
• The management theories assist in increasing
the service quality and organizational
productivity.
• All managers do not use the single concept
or theory while implementing strategies in the
office.
• A combination of a number of concepts
depending on the workforce, purpose and
workplace are used by the managers.
 Cont’d
• From the way that managers design jobs to
the way that they work with employee teams
to the way that they communicate, we see
elements of the behavioural approach.