Selected Management Theories

What is management?

Management is the process of getting

work done through others.

Nursing management is the process of

working through nursing staff members to
provide care, cure, and comfort to
patients. (Gillies)
Theories of Management
Classical Theories
1. Scientific Management Theory
2. Systematic Management Theory
3. Organizational Theory: Weber’s Bureaucracy
Human Relations Theories
Modern Management Theories
Scientific Management Theory
Developed by Frederick Winslow Taylor
(1856-1915) in response to the need for a
more efficient industrial production.
“ Father of Scientific Management”
Taylor was an engineer in a steel
company and a paper mill.
He conducted several researches to find
out how to increase the productivity of
workers.
Scientific Management Theory
Performed time and motion studies to determine
the “one best way” of performing a task.
The method of task performance that would
yield maximum work output for minimum
energy expenditure by the worker.
Scientific selection of the best man to perform
the job in the most efficient manner.
Training the selected worker in the most
efficient manner.
 Scientific Management Theory

Paying the worker according to a

differential piece rate. (performance- based
hour rate)
Birth of the assembly line of work.
Specialization is the key factor in work
production.
Concerned with the 3 E’s (efficiency,
economy, effectiveness)
Taylor’s Fundamental Four Principles
of Management
1. The development of a true science of
management, so that, for example, the best
method for performing each task could be
determined.
2. The scientific selection of the workers, so that
each worker would be given responsibility for
the task for which he or she was best suited.
3. The scientific education and development of
the worker
4. The intimate, friendly cooperation between
management and labor
Systematic Management Theory
 Developed by French mining engineer Henri Fayol
(1841-1925).
 He was employed as a general manager of a coal and
steel company for 30 years.
 He believed that “with scientific forecasting and proper
methods of management, satisfactory results were
inevitable”.
 Introduced some general management principles from
his observations.
 Defined managerial tasks into the following: planning,
organizing, directing, coordinating, and controlling.
(PODDC)
Fourteen (14) Management Principles
by Henri Fayol
 Division of work
 Authority
 Discipline
 Unity of Command
 Unity of Direction
 Subordination of individual interests to that of the organization
 Remuneration of services
 Centralization
 Scalar Chain
 Order
 Equity
 Stability of Tenure of Personnel
 Initiative
 Esprit De Corps
 Division of Labor
The more people specialize, the more efficiently they can
perform their work.
 Authority
Managers need to be able to give orders so that they can get
things done.
 Discipline
Members in an organization need to respect the rules and
agreements that govern the organization.
 Unity of Command
Each employee must receive his or her instructions about a
particular operation from only one person/boss. If an employee
was responsible to more than one superior, conflict in
instructions and confusion of authority would result.
 Unity of Direction
Those operations within th eorganization that have the same
objectives should be directed by only one manager using one plan.
 Subordination of individual interests to that of the organization
In any undertaking, the interests of the employees should not take
precedence over the interests of employees should not take precedence
over the interests of the organization as a whole.
 Renumeration
Compensation for work done should be fair to both employees and
employers.
 Centralization
Consolidation of management functions. Decisions are made from
the top. This produces uniformity of action, utilizes experts and reduces
risks of errors in the performance of tasks.
 Decentralization
Focuses on importance of human elements. Increases motivations of nurses
at lower levels since they are asked to participate in decision making.
 Hierarchy
The line of authority in an organization, often represented today by the
next boxes and lines of the organization chart, runs in order of rank from top
management to the lowest level of enterprise.
 Order
Materials and people should be in the right place at the right time. People in
particular should be in the jobs or positions most suited for them.
 Equity
Managers should be both friendly and fair to their subordinates. No
favoritism.
 Stability of Staff
A employee turnover rates is not good for the efficient
functioning of an organization. Lifetime employment for good
workers. Granting security of tenure or permanent status after a
satisfactory performance.
 Initiative
Subordinates should be given the freedom to conceive and carry
out their plans, even when some mistakes result.
 Esprit de Corps
Promoting team spirit will give the organization a sense of
unity. One way to achieve this spirit is to verbal
communications whenever possible instead of formal written
communications.
Lyndall Urwick
Integrated the ideas of Henri Fayol with
those of Frederick Taylor.
His conceptual framework blended
classical organization theory into the
beginnings of classic management theory.
He described the managerial process as
planning, organizing, coordinating and
controlling.
Organizational Theory: Weber’s Bureaucracy
Max Weber (1864-1920) a German intellectual
who studied at the University of Heidelberg.
Served as a professor of Law at the University
of Berlin and as professor of Economics at
Friedberg University.
He studied political theory, social institutions,
economics, and bureaucracy.
He advocated that the bureaucracy is the most
ideal form of organization for a complex
institution.
Characteristics of a Bureaucracy
Well defined hierarchy of authority
Division of work based on specialization
of function
Highly specified rules governing the
duties and rights of position incumbents
Impersonality in interpersonal
relationships
Selection for employment and promotion
based on merit or technical competence.
Human Relations Theories
Elton Mayo and Fritz Roethlisberger
conducted a series of experiments at the
Hawthorne Western Electric plant in
Chicago.
They wanted to find out if there were
other factors that affected work output.
The Hawthorne experiments were done
between the period of 1927 and 1933.
Hawthorne Experiments
 Mayo and Roethlisberger wanted to test the scientific
management theory of Taylor (worker productivity vs.
intensity of illumination, rest periods)
 First experiment was done with six (6) women
telephone relay assemblers.
 Conditions inside the test room:
a. Test room allowed workers to talk while working.
b. Interaction with the supervisor
c. Establishment with friendships with other test room
workers.
Hawthorne Experiments
 Second experiment was done with 14 men workers in a
bank wiring room.
 Resulted in establishing production quotas and norms
that conflict those established by management.
 Conclusion: There are other factors than physical
environment that influenced work productivity.
a. support of fellow workers
b. norms established by the work group
c. opportunity to participate in decision-making
d. recognition from administrators
The Hawthorne experiments gave birth to
the Human Relations school of management.
Hawthorne effect- refers to the momentary
change of behavior or performance in
response to a change in worker’s
environment.
Prominent advocates were:
Douglas McGregor
Chris Argyris
Rensis Likert.
Douglas McGregor
 McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y
 Theory X assumptions:
1. The average individual has an inherent dislike for
work
and will avoid it whenever possible.
2. The average individual prefers to be directed, hopes

to avoid responsibility, and is more interested in

financial incentives than in personal achievement.
3. Because people dislike work, they must be controlled,
threatened, and coerced to put forth sufficient effort
to meet the organization’s objectives.
Theory Y assumptions:
1. The expenditure of physical and mental effort
in work is as natural as rest or play.
2. Man will exercise self-control and self-
direction in the service of objectives to which
he is personally committed.
3. The average person learns, under proper
conditions, both to seek and to accept
responsibility.
This theory encourages workers to develop their
potential as they are able to learn under proper
conditions to seek and accept responsibility.
Chris Argyris
Chris Argyris (1964) proposed that the
rigid structure and stringent rules of the
typical bureaucracy block normal
maturational changes, encouraging
employees to become passive and
dependent and diminishing their job
satisfaction and emotional well-being.
Rensis Likert
Likert proposed that effective
organizations are those which supervisors
focus their attention on building effective
work groups with high performance goals,
so that workers become strongly
identified with organizational goals and
exhibit favorable attitudes toward
superiors and other workers.
Mary Parker Follett
Follett saw management as a social process that
consisted primarily of motivating individuals
and groups to work toward a common end.
Successful leadership was more of a result of
training skills and not of specific personality
traits.
Follett in a way advocated participative or
democratic style of leadership.
Modern Management Practitioners
Peter Drucker
1. Introduced management by objectives (MBO)
– workers are directed by objectives of
performance rather than by their manager.
2. Jobs must be designed to fit the worker, that
workers be given more control over their
jobs, and the worker be considered the most
vital resource in the agency.
Steps in a typical MBO Program:
1. The organization’s overall objective and
strategies are formulated.
2. Major objectives are allocated among
individual and department units.
3. Unit managers collaboratively set specific
objectives for their units with their superiors.
4. Specific objectives are collaboratively set for
all department members.
5. Action plans defining how objectives are
to be achieved are specified and agreed
upon by the managers and subordinates.
6. The action plans are implemented.
7. Progress toward objectives is periodically
reviewed, and feedback is provided.
8. Successful achievement of objectives is
reinforced by performance-based rewards.
The Systems Approach
The systems approach defines a system as a set
of interrelated and interdependent parts arranged
in a manner that produces a unified whole.
There two basic systems: closed system and
open system.
Organizations are open systems. We accept that
organizations are constantly interacting with its
environment.
Some Implications for Nursing
Administration
 Taylor’s time and motion studies are illustrations of how
the nurse can study complexity of care to predict
staffing needs and study efficiency of nursing care.
 Fayol’s definition of management can help clarify the
manager’s role and his principles of management can
help direct the manager’s actions.
 Human relations era should remind the nurse manager
of the importance of developing workers to their
potential and meeting their needs for recognition,
accomplishment, and sense of belonging.