THE COPPERBELT UNIVERSITY

DIRECTORATE OF DISTANCE EDUCATION AND OPEN LEARNING

MSC IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT

GBS 550: MANAGEMENT THEORY AND PRACTICE

Assignment 3

By
Irad Sinkala
SIN: 21900229

Lecturer: Dr. Trinah Moore

14th September 2021

DEVELOPMENTS IN MANAGEMENT THEORY
Introduction

The early theorists are divided into two major categories

Practicing Managers – Taylor and Fayol
Social scientist – Mayo and McGregor
Practicing managers based their writing on the personal experience of management with the
object of producing a set of rational principles of management which could be applied
universally in order to achieve organizational efficiency. The other category (social scientist)
based its focus on they set out what managers ought to do in order to fulfil their leadership
function within their organization.
The social scientists, by contrast, were academics with focus of study into human behaviour in
the workplace.

The most recent theorists of management,

Mintzberg, Porter, Peters and Moss Kanter, embraced factors such as organisation mission,
vision, culture and values, organisational structure, leadership, the external environment, and
customer satisfaction (including both internal as well as external customers

Classical Theories

The two greatest exponents of classical theories were Henri Fayol and F.W. Taylor who live in
the year (1841—1925) and (1856—1915) respectively.

Primarily concerned with the structure and activities of formal, or official, organisation. At first
these ideas were developed separately, Fayol in France and Taylor in the United States. By the
1930s their work was being promoted and developed by writers such as L.F. Urwick and EEL.
Brech on both sides of the Atlantic.

Bureaucracy

Max Weber (1864—1924), was developed a theory of authority structures in which he identified
a form of organisation to which he gave the name 'bureaucracy'.
Human Relations and Social Psychological Schools

The leading figure of human relations was Professor Elton Mayo, whose association with the so-
called 'Hawthorne Studies' between 1927 and 1932 provided an enormous impetus to
considerations of the human factor at work.
The fundamental idea behind the human relations approach to management is that people's needs
are the decisive factor in achieving organisational effectiveness.

Maslow's work on motivation based on a hierarchy of human needs, ranging from basic
physiological needs (food, sleep etc) to higher psychological needs, such as self-fulfilment.

Extra contributors included McGregor, Argyris, Likert and Herzberg.

Systems and Contingency Approaches

The early work on this approach was conducted by British researchers from the Tavistock
Institute of Human Relations, who, despite their title, recognised that human or social factors
alone were not the most important consideration in achieving organisational effectiveness.
They recognised that organisations were part of a larger environment with which they interacted
and in particular were affected by technical and economic factors just as much as social ones.
They coined the phrase 'open socio-technical system' to describe their concept of a business
enterprise. An 'open' social system is one that interacts with its environment, eg a commercial
enterprise, a 'closed' social system is self-contained, eg a strict monastic community.

Modern Approaches to Management

The concerns of modern theorists have been topics such as developing strategic mission and
implanting organizational values/culture (ie doing the right things) as well as on managing
change, promoting total quality management, achieving organisanonal excellence, facilitating
personal empowerment and optimizing stakeholder relationships.
 School of Mgt thought Major contributors Main focus or characteristic

1890 - 1916 Frederick Winslow Taylor Scientific method applied to production

Frank Bunker Gilbreth problems

Henry Lawrence Grantt Time study

Motion study
Functional organisation

1910 – 1936 Henri Fayol Managerial principles

Administrative L Urwick Macro orientation for administrative
Management J Mooney design

A Riley Reliance on experience and intuition rather

E F L Brech than empirical data

1930- 1950 Mary Parker Follet Importance of human motivation

Human Relations Elton Mayo Group approach to management
Beginning of scientific experimentation on
human problems

1950 -> Rigorous application of scientific method

Behavioural Science to individual and organisation behaviour
problems
Emphasis on psychology sociology and
anthropology for research in organisation
theory

1950 -> Mathematical models of management

Management Science problems – simulation etc.
Development of scientific method
Use of interdisciplinary teams
Systems approach to management
Definitions of Management
 There is no generally accepted definition of 'management' as an activity, although the classic
definition is still held to be that of Henri Fayol. His general statement about management in
many ways still remains valid after more than eighty years, and has only been adapted by more
recent writers, as shown below:

'To manage is to forecast and plan, to organise, to command, to coordinate and to control.'H.
FAYOL (1916)

Five areas of management constitute the essence of proactive performance in our chaotic world:
(1) an obsession with responsiveness to customers,
(2) constant innovation in all areas of the firm,
(3) partnership — the wholesale participation of and gain sharing with all people connected with
the organization,
(4) leadership that loves change (instead of fighting it) and instils and shares an inspiring vision,
and
(5) control by means of simple support systems aimed at measuring the "right stuff" for today's
environment.
Mintzberg (1973) describes these roles as organized sets of behaviors identified with a position',
and gathers them into three main groupings, as follows:

Interpersonal roles Informational roles Decisional roles

Figurehead Monitor Entrepreneur
Leader Disseminator Disturbance handler
Liaison Spokesman Resource allocator

Considering Rosemary Stewarts definition;

Two tasks are involved
▪ First task comprises setting objectives, planning, (including decision making) and setting up
formal organisation.
▪ Second consists of motivation, communication, control, and the development of people.
Thus the two units for the study this course. It must however be mentioned that the two in
practice overlap.
Administration

Fayol himself used the French word administration to mean what we now would understand as
'management', in his original treatise on the subject, and so did Lyndall E Urwick.

Organisations

Brech (1965) once described organisation as 'the framework of the management process'. It must
be recognised, however, that this 'framework' can be described in several different ways. As yet
there is no widely accepted definition of an organisation. there are some commonly accepted
features of organisations such as;

purpose,

people

structure.

'Organisations are intricate human strategies designed to achieve certain objectives.'ARGYRIS

(1960)
'Since organisations are systems of behaviour designed to enable humans and their machines to
accomplish goals, organisational form must be a joint function of human characteristics and the
nature of the task environment.' SIMON (1976)

Relationship between Management and Organisation Theory

Its task is to enable the organization’s purposes to be defined and fulfilled by adapting to change
and maintaining a workable balance between the various, and frequently conflicting, pressures at
work in the organisation.

The Process of Management

The process of management is concerned with all three of these elements, and especially with the
conversion processes of organisations. As Drucker (1955) first put it, over forty years ago,
management is concerned with the 'systematic organisation of economic resources' and Its task is
to make these resources productive.
 The groupings of management activities can be summarised as follows:
Planning Deciding the objectives or goals of the organisation and preparing how to
meet them.
Organising Determining activities and allocating responsibilities for the achievement
of plans; coordinating activities and responsibilities into an appropriate
structure.
Motivating Meeting the social and psychological needs of employees in the
fulfilment of organisational goals.
Controlling Monitoring and evaluating activities, and providing corrective
mechanisms

Business Organisations and Corporate Governance

A Business organisation, in contrast to a public service organisation or a charity, exists to

provide goods or services usually at a profit. The business organisations we are concerned with
here range in size from the one-man business, or sole trader, through partnerships between two
or more people working in collaboration, to large public limited companies (plc's) employing
thousands of staff in a variety of locations. There are also cooperative enterprises, notably in
retail distribution, but also in manufacturing on a small scale.

The most common types of business organisation are as follows:

 limited companies
 sole traders
 partnerships
 cooperatives

Limited Companies

A limited company is a company that has been incorporated as a separate legal entity,
independent of its members.

Features of a Limited Company

The corporation or company is capable of owning property, employing people, making contracts,
and of suing or being sued.

Public Limited company

This is a company that is managed by Directors and owned by Shareholders and the company
shares are made available for purchase by the public. The company name must end with the
words 'Public limited company'.

Private limited Company

The Private limited company does not offer its shares to the public and is restricted in the
transfer of its shares between the private shareholders. The name of a private

Company directors

The directors of the company are its agent, and are accountable for the conduct of the company's
affairs. They are appointed by the shareholders/ members to achieve the company's objects.

Sole Traders

A Sole Trader is a self-employed person who owns and runs his/her businesses as an individual.
This is the simplest form of business organisation. The legal requirements for setting up such a
business are minimal, but the owner is fully liable for any debts incurred in running the business,
since the owner literally is the business. Ownership and control are combined. All profits made
by the sole trader are subject to income tax rather than the corporation tax levied on company
profits. Apart from the need to maintain accounts for controlling the business and for dealing
with the Inland Revenue, there are no formal accounts to be published.

Partnerships

A partnership exists when at least two, and usually not more than twenty persons agree to carry
on a business together. It is defined as a relationship which 'subsists between persons carrying on
a business in common with a view to profit'. The legalities required to set up a partnership are
minimal, although it is advisable to have a formal Partnership agreement drawn up by a solicitor.
 The agreement specifies the rights and obligations of individual partners, and makes provision
for changes brought about by death or retirement of partners

The company secretary may, or may not, be a director. In a small company the CEO may act as
company secretary.

Corporate Governance

This is the manner in which company directors promote and control their company's operations,
it is a way they exercise their stewardship and it's not just a matter of interest to their
shareholders/members, but is a matter of public interest too.

Some Important examples of the areas of governance covered by the Code are summarized as
follows:

 Every listed company should be headed by an effective board, which should lead and control the
company. The board should meet regularly and should have a formal schedule of matters
reserved to it for decision; directors should bring an independent judgement to bear on issues of
strategy, performance, resources and standards of conduct; directors should receive appropriate
training on first appointment, and as necessary thereafter.

 There are two key tasks at the top of every public company — the running of the board (the
chairman's role), and the executive responsibility for the operation of the company's business
(the chief executive's role). There should be a clear division of responsibilities between the two
roles, so as to ensure a balance of power and authority, and thus avoid a situation where one
person has unfettered powers of decision.

 The board should have a balance between executive and non-executive directors, with at least
one third from the latter. The majority of non-executives should be independent of the
management and free of business relationships that could interfere with their independence.

 There should be a formal and transparent procedure for the appointment of directors, and all
directors should offer themselves for re-election every three years.
Cooperative Enterprises

These are small groups of people who set up business along explicitly democratic lines and with
the benefit of limited liability.

The legislation governing cooperative enterprises is the Industrial & Provident Societies Act,
1965, which requires that in lieu of Memorandum and Articles, every cooperative shall have a
set of rules approved by the Registrar of Friendly Societies.

THE SEARCH FOR PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT

Henri Fayol

Henri Fayol, (1841—1925) is a celebrated French industrialist and theorist who started working
as a mining engineer at the age of nineteen. He worked with the same company his entire
working life, rose to the post of Managing director at the age of forty-seven and only retired after
his seventy-seventh birthday. The company grew and thrived under his leadership despite its
near-bankrupt state when he took over. He won extensive popularity due to his entrepreneurial
success and in 1916, he published his map work on management, ensuring himself a place in the
annals of industrial history. The publication of Administration industrielle et generale' in 1916
brought to light the distillation of a lifetime's experience of managerial work.

Fayol outlined six key activities, these are:

1. Technical activities such as production.
2. Commercial activities such as buying and selling.
3. Financial activities such as securing capital.
4. Security activities such as safeguarding property.
5. Accounting activities such as providing financial information.
6. Managerial activities such planning and organizing.
 F.W. Taylor and Scientific Management

Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856—1915), was one of the early practical manager-theorists. He
was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1856 and he spent most of his life working on the issues
of achieving greater efficiency on the shop-floor. He came up with resolutions which were
directly linked to his experience at work as a shop-floor worker and later as a manager. Having
served his time, he moved to the Midvale Steel Company. He rose from a laborer to a shop
superintendent in the course of eleven years. It was during this period that his ideas of 'scientific
management' were birthed. He left Midvale to work for the Bethlehem Steel Company in 1889,
it was during this time when he put his ideas together and conducted some of his most well-
known experiments in improving labor productivity. He was eager to share his ideas with others,
which he greatly achieved through his writings and 'The Principles of Scientific Management'
which was published in 1911 was the most notable. After his demise, his works were put
together and published as 'Scientific Management' in 1947

The Principles of Scientific Management

Taylor knew that the methods he was suggesting would appear to be revolutionary rather than
appear as a new method. He mentioned from the onset that 'scientific management' would require
a complete mental revolution on the part of both management and workers.

In its application to management, the scientific approach required the following steps:
Develop a science for each operation to replace opinion and rule-of-thumb.
 Determine accurately from the science the correct time and method for each job.

 Set up a suitable organization to take all responsibility from the workers except that of actual job
performance.

 Select and train the workers.

 Accept that management itself be governed by the science developed for each operation and
surrender its arbitrary power over worker i.e. cooperate with them.
 L.F. Urwick

Lyndall F. Urwick was an enthusiastic and prolific writer on the subject of administration and
management. In one of his best-known writings titled, ‘The Elements of Administration' he
brought out numerous principles which, according to him, could be applied to organizations to
enable them to achieve their objectives effectively

E.F.L. Brech
He wrote widely on management and organization issues. Brech was concerned with the
development of people within the organization. He viewed management as a social process
wherein, planning and regulating the operations of the enterprise towards an agreed objective
exists.

MAX WEBER AND THE IDEA OF BUREAUCRACY

Bureaucracy is a term with different definitions, and this has led to many misconceptions about
what it truly means. The most common definitions are as follows:
 Bureaucracy is 'red tape', i.e. an excess of paperwork and rules leading to gross inefficiency. This
is the pejorative sense of the word.

 Bureaucracy is 'officialdom', i.e. all the apparatus of central and local government. This is a
similar meaning to red tape.

 Bureaucracy is an organizational form with certain dominant characteristics, such

The fundamental works of Max Weber (1864—1920)

Weber was a sociologist whose interest in organizations was from the perspective of their
authority structures. His aim was to understand why people in organizations obeyed those in
authority over them.
Weber identified three basic types of legitimate authority which are:
 Traditional authority – this is when acceptance of those in authority comes from traditions and
customs such as monarchies, tribal hierarchies etc.

 Charismatic authority — this is when acceptance arises from loyalty to, and confidence in, the
personal qualities of the ruler.

 Rational-legal authority – this is when acceptance arises from an office, or position of the person
in authority, following the rules and procedures of the organization.

According to Weber, the main features of a bureaucracy are as follows:

 A continuous organization of functions which is bound by rules.

 Specified spheres of competence.

 A hierarchical arrangement of offices, i.e. where one level of job is subject to control by the next
higher level.

 Appointments to offices are made on grounds of technical competence.

 The separation of officials from the ownership of the organization.

 Official positions exist in their own right, and job holders have no rights to a particular position.

 Rules, decisions and actions are formulated and recorded in writing.

The features of bureaucracy listed above enable the authority of officials to be in subjection to
the published rules and practices. Therefore, authority is legitimate rather than arbitrary.

Weaknesses of the bureaucratic model.

 Rules, originally designed to serve organizational efficiency have a tendency to become all-
important in their own right.
 Relationships between office-holders are based on the rights and duties of each role.
 Decision-making tends to be categorized, the choices are pre-programmed and this discourages
the search for further alternatives.
 The effects of rigid behavior are often very damaging for client to customer relations and also for
management to worker relationships.
 Standardization and routine procedures make change and adaptation difficult when
circumstances change.
MOTIVATION — THE EARLY THEORISTS

The Concept of Motivation

Motivation is defined as those processes, both instinctive and rational, by which people seek to
satisfy the basic drives, perceived needs and personal goals, which trigger human behavior.
(Cole, 1995, p. 1 19)
Human motivation is said to be a complex matter, a person's motives may be clear to himself,
but confusing to others. In some cases, both the person concerned and those affected by his
behavior understand what is driving him and in other cases, the person involved may be totally
unaware of his motives, while others may see them plainly. It is therefore imperative for those in
managerial positions to be aware of all these issues, and take into account their own
preconceptions in this area of their work

Schein’s classification of managers' assumptions about people.

Rational-economic model: This view suggests that the pursuit of self-interest and the
maximization of gain are the prime motivators. This view places human beings into two
categories: the trustworthy and the untrustworthy.
Social model: This view sees people as predominantly motivated by social need, that is the need
for personal relationships.
Self-actualizing model: This concept is based on Maslow's theory of human needs which stresses
the individual's need for self-fulfillment as the prime motivator.
Complex model: This model accepts that understanding people's motivation is a complex
business in which several interrelated factors are at work.

The Hawthorne studies

In these studies, the emphasis was on the worker rather than on work. The studies were primarily
concerned with studying people, especially in terms of their social relationships at work. After
much research, the Hawthorne study concluded that people are social beings both at work and
outside work. The study also concluded that belonging to a group is very important for human
 beings because it leads to the establishment of informal groups within the formal groupings as
laid down in the organization structure.
Main conclusions to be drawn from the Hawthorne researches are:
 Individual workers cannot be treated in isolation, but must be seen as members of a group.
 The need to belong to a group and have status within it is more important than monetary
incentives or good physical working conditions.
 Informal groups at work exercise a strong influence over the behavior of workers.

The Hawthorne studies established the powerful influence of groups in determining behavior in
work places. They set a pace for the social sciences in their study of work organizations.

Mary Parker Follett

A woman, trying to speak out in a man's world, Mary Parker Follet took over the work of the
Hawthorne researchers. She concluded that human problems were not just important, but were
central to the success of organizations.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow came up with the theory of needs based on an hierarchical model with basic needs at the
bottom and higher needs at the top, These needs are as follows:

 Physiological needs- these are needs for food, sleep, sex etc.
 Safety needs – these are needs for stable environment relatively free from threats.
 Love needs – these are needs related to affectionate relations with others and status within a
group.
 Esteem needs- these are needs for self-respect, self-esteem and the esteem of others.
 Self-actualization needs – this is the need for self-fulfilment.

The most fundamental point of Maslow's theory is that people tend to satisfy their needs
systematically. They start with the basic physiological needs and later move up the hierarchy.
 He argues that until a particular group of needs are satisfied, a person's behavior will be
dominated by them.

McGregor — Theory X and Theory Y

Similar to Schein's classification of managers' assumptions about people, McGregor's Theory X
and Theory Y are basically sets of assumptions about behavior McGregor's set of assumptions
 The first set of assumptions regards employees as being inherently lazy, requiring coercion and
control, avoiding responsibility and only seeking security. This attitude is what he termed Theory
X.
 McGregor's second set of assumptions sees people in a more favorable light. In this case
employees are seen as liking work, which is as natural as rest or play; they do not have to be
controlled or forced.
Herzberg's Motivation-Hygiene Theory
Herzberg's studies concentrated on satisfaction at work. His team came to the conclusion that
certain factors tend to lead to job satisfaction, while others lead to dissatisfaction. The factors
giving rise to satisfaction were called motivators. Those giving rise to dissatisfaction were called
hygiene factors. He argued thatthe most important motivators or satisfiers were:

The most important hygiene factors or dissatisfiers as propounded by Herzberg were as follows:
 Company policy and administration.
 Supervision
 Salary.
 Interpersonal relations

The main difference between the motivators and the hygiene factors is that while the motivators
can bring about positive satisfaction, the hygiene factors can only serve to prevent
dissatisfaction.

Rensis Likert
 The central theme in Likert's study is the importance of supportive relationships. He stressed that
management can achieve high performance when employees see their membership of a work
group as supportive.
This idea of supportive relationships is built on the view of the ideal organization structure. He
said supportive relationships lead to effective work groups which can interact with other
effective groups in an overlapping form of organization.
Likert’s systems of Management.
 Exploitative-authoritative: this is where power and direction come from the top downwards,
where threats and punishment are employed, where communication is poor and teamwork non-
existent. Productivity is mediocre.
 Benevolent-authoritative is similar to the above but allows some upward opportunities for
consultation and some delegation. Rewards may be available as well as threats. Productivity is
fair to good but at the cost of considerable absenteeism and turnover.
 Consultative: this is where goals are set or orders issued after discussion with subordinates,
where communication is both upwards and downwards and where teamwork is encouraged, at
least partially. There is some involvement of employees, as a motivator. Productivity is good
with only moderate absenteeism etc.

Chris Argyris
His main interest was in the relationship between people's needs and the needs of the
organization. He suggested that the reason for so much employee apathy was not so much
because of laziness, but rather because people being treated like children. This led to what he
called the immaturity-maturity theory which suggests that the human personality develops from
immaturity to maturity in a continuum, in which a number of key changes take place.

Argyris’ features of the typical classical organization:

 task specialization
 chain of command
 unity of direction
 span of control.
 Argyris's ideas favor a self-actualization model of man with some of the attributes of complex
man too.

Achievement Motivation
People with a high need for achievement mostly have the following characteristics:
 Their need for achievement is consistent.
 They seek tasks in which they can exercise personal responsibility.
 They prefer tasks which provide a challenge without being too difficult and which they see as
within their mastery.
 They want feedback on their results.

 They are less concerned about their social or affiliation needs.

In conclusion the need for achievement is developed more by childhood experiences and cultural
background rather than inherited factors

REFERENCE
Cole G.a (2004), management theory & practice