Management Theory Taxonomy 1

Running head: MANAGEMENT THEORY TAXONOMY

Management Theory Taxonomy

Susana Silvestri

Grand Canyon University

MGT 301 – Principles of Management

July 3, 2009
 Management Theory Taxonomy 2

Management Theory Taxonomy

Introduction

This document presents the taxonomy of 10 management theories and models that

incorporate grounded theory addressing different aspects of leadership.

This taxonomy is organized by the name of theory, author and description.

Theory Name Author Description

Theory X Theory Y Douglas McGregor These theories were created under the

assumption that people can be classified

into types of worker, let’s analyzed these

two assumptions:

Theory X – This theory describes people

that naturally dislike working, their only

satisfaction is their paycheck.

Theory Y – This theory describes people

that are born workers, who find work

satisfying and make it an important part of

their lives.

The importance of McGregor’s Theory X

Theory Y is basically to determine the type

of management Hard or soft management)

to be applied to the two identified type of

employees.

Follett Theory Mary Parker Follett In this theory the author talks about a

behavioral management where the

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organizations are treated as communities in

which management and workers should

labor in harmony. In her Theory she

explains that groups with mechanisms

through which diverse individuals could

combine their talents for a greater job. She

believed that the manager’s job was to help

people to cooperate with one another to

achieve an integration of interest.

Nowadays, we see organizations utilizing

this theory by employee ownership, profit

sharing, and gain sharing plans which

empowers and motivates the employees. If

the employee have a motivation, their

performance will be much better.

Hawthorne Studies Elton Mayo The Hawthorne effect is the tendency of

persons singled out for special attention to

perform as expected. These studies

changed the landscape of management from

an engineering approach to a social sciences

approach. Worker productivity would be

interpreted in terms of social group

dynamics, motivation, leadership, and

human relations. The manager is an

immediate part of the social system in which

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work is performed, responsible for leading,

motivating, communicating, and designing

the social milieu in which work takes place.

Maslow’s Theory of Abraham Maslow This theory describes the human needs as

Human Needs physiological needs, safety needs, needs of

love, affection and belongingness, needs for

esteem, and needs for self-actualization.

Maslow believes that the only reason that

people would not move well in direction of

self-actualization is because of hindrances

placed in their way by society.

Managers who understand and help people

satisfy their important needs at work will

achieve productivity.
The Two Factor Frederick Herzberg In this theory is determined that people are

Theory being influenced by two factors which are

the motivation factors and hygiene factors.

The motivation factors are needed so that

employees are motivated to perform better.

On the other hand, the hygiene factors are

necessary so that there is no dissatisfaction

on the employees’ part. High hygiene

factors and high motivation factors are the

ideal combination for a certain work setting.

Contingency Theory Fiedler, Hersey & Contingency theory asserts that when
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Blanchard, Vroom managers make a decision, they must take

& Yelton into account all aspects of the current

situation and act on those aspects that are

the key to the situation at hand.

The Value Chain Michael Porter The Value Chain Framework helps the

Framework organization to analyze specific activities

that would enable them to create value and

competitive advantage. This includes

various processes that could lead value

creation, like inbound and outbound

logistics, operations, sales and marketing,

service, procurement, and firm

infrastructure.
Total Quality Edward Deming The Total Quality Management lists down

Management (TQM) various ways in which a firm or an

organization could improve their

performance and productivity. With Total

Quality Management, the heads of these

firms have a guideline to follow when it

comes to management practices. Some of

these guidelines include adopting the new

philosophy, institute training, driving out of

fear, breaking the barriers between staff

areas, and eliminating numerical quotas.

Emotional Daniel Goleman Daniel Goleman utilized the concept of
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Intelligence Emotional Intelligence and applied it in

management. The non-cognitive aspects of

an employee’s intelligence are being

addressed, like the employee’s emotions and

feelings. Knowing this would enable you to

properly interact with the employees, being

able to address the important aspects that

could help in improving their working

attitude.
The Existence, Clayton P. Alderfer Clayton Alderfer’s Existence, Relatedness,

Relatedness, Growth Growth Theory addresses the various needs

(ERG) Theory of human beings. It is a reaction to

Maslow’s famous Hierarchy of Needs. In

this concept, the author determined three

categories of human needs which greatly

affect a worker’s behavior. These are the

Existence Needs, the Relatedness Needs,

and the Growth Needs.

Conclusion

The continuing effort to identify the best leadership or management style might now

conclude that the best style depends on the situation.

The best system is the one that works for the organization and enables people to do their

best work. And chances are it's not a system at all, but a culture that is created by loving and

nurturing the business and the employees.

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References

Management 9th Edition (2008). John R. Schermerhorn, Jr. –

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. – Danvers, MA

Research; Retrieve June 29, 2009, from www.valuebasedmanagement.net, The Two Factor

Theory

Research; Retrieve June 29, 2009, from www.valuebasedmanagement.net, Contingency Theory

Research; Retrieve June 29, 2009, from www.valuebasedmanagement.net, The Value Chain

Framework

Research; Retrieve July 1, 2009, from www.valuebasedmanagement.net, Total Quality

Management (TQM)

Research; Retrieve July 1, 2009, from www.valuebasedmanagement.net, Emotional Intelligence

Research; Retrieve July 1, 2009, from www.valuebasedmanagement.net, The Existence,

Relatedness, Growth (ERG) Theory