CHAPTER 2
MANAGEMENT HISTORY
Early Management
Management has been practiced a long time. Organized endeavors directed by people responsible for
planning, organizing, leading, and controlling activities have existed for thousands of years. Let‟s look at
some of the most interesting examples.
The Egyptian pyramids and the Great Wall of China are proof that
projects of tremendous scope, employing tens of thousands of people,
were completed in ancient times. It took more than 100,000 workers
some 20 years to construct a single pyramid. Who told each worker
what to do? Who ensured that there would be enough stones at the site
to keep workers busy? The answer is managers. Someone had to plan
what was to be done, organize people and materials to do it, make sure
those workers got the work done, and impose some controls to ensure
that everything was done as planned.
Another example of early management can be found in the city of
Venice, which was a major economic and trade center in the
1400s. The Venetians developed an early form of business
enterprise and engaged in many activities common to today‟s
organizations. For instance, at the arsenal of Venice, warships
, were floated along the canals, and at each stop, materials and riggings were added to the ship. Sounds a
lot like a car “floating” along an assembly line, doesn‟t it? In addition, the Venetians used warehouse and
inventory systems to keep track of materials, human resource management functions to manage the labor
force (including wine breaks), and an accounting system to keep track of revenues and costs.
In 1776, Adam Smith published The Wealth of Nations, in which he argued
the economic advantages that organizations and society would gain from the
division of labor (or job specialization)—that is, breaking down jobs into
separate tasks. Using the pin industry as an example, Smith claimed that 10
individuals, each doing a specialized task, could produce about 48,000 pins a
day among them. However, if each person worked alone performing each task
separately, it would be quite an accomplishment to produce even 10 pins a day!
Smith concluded that division of labor increased productivity by increasing
each worker‟s skill and ability, saving time lost in changing tasks, and creating
labor- saving inventions and machinery. Job specialization continues to be
popular. For example, think of the specialized tasks performed by members of a hospital surgery team,
meal preparation tasks done by workers in restaurant kitchens, or positions played by players on a football
team
Starting in the late eighteenth century when machine power was
substituted for human power, a point in history known as the industrial
revolution, it became more economical to manufacture goods in factories
rather than at home. These large efficient factories needed someone to
forecast demand, ensure that enough material was on hand to make
products, assign tasks to people, direct daily activities, and so forth. That
“someone” was a manager: These managers would need formal theories to
guide them in running these large organizations. It wasn‟t until the early
1900s, however, that the first steps toward developing such theories were
taken
In this module, we‟ll look at four major approaches to management theory: classical, behavioral,
quantitative, and contemporary
Classical Approach
The classical approach, emphasized rationality and making organizations and workers as efficient as
possible. Two major theories comprise the classical approach: scientific management and general
administrative theory. The two most important contributors to scientific management theory were
Frederick W. Taylor and the husband-wife team of Frank and Lillian Gilbreth. The two most important
contributors to general administrative theory were Henri Fayol and Max Weber/
Scientific Management
If you had to pinpoint when modern management theory was born, 1911 might be a good choice. That
was when Frederick Winslow Taylor’s Principles of Scientific Management was published. Its
contents were widely embraced by managers around the world. Taylor‟s book described the theory of
scientific management: the use of scientific methods to define the “one best way” for a job to be
done. Taylor worked at the Midvale and Bethlehem Steel Companies. As a mechanical engineer,he
MANAGEMENT HISTORY
Early Management
Management has been practiced a long time. Organized endeavors directed by people responsible for
planning, organizing, leading, and controlling activities have existed for thousands of years. Let‟s look at
some of the most interesting examples.
The Egyptian pyramids and the Great Wall of China are proof that
projects of tremendous scope, employing tens of thousands of people,
were completed in ancient times. It took more than 100,000 workers
some 20 years to construct a single pyramid. Who told each worker
what to do? Who ensured that there would be enough stones at the site
to keep workers busy? The answer is managers. Someone had to plan
what was to be done, organize people and materials to do it, make sure
those workers got the work done, and impose some controls to ensure
that everything was done as planned.
Another example of early management can be found in the city of
Venice, which was a major economic and trade center in the
1400s. The Venetians developed an early form of business
enterprise and engaged in many activities common to today‟s
organizations. For instance, at the arsenal of Venice, warships
, were floated along the canals, and at each stop, materials and riggings were added to the ship. Sounds a
lot like a car “floating” along an assembly line, doesn‟t it? In addition, the Venetians used warehouse and
inventory systems to keep track of materials, human resource management functions to manage the labor
force (including wine breaks), and an accounting system to keep track of revenues and costs.
In 1776, Adam Smith published The Wealth of Nations, in which he argued
the economic advantages that organizations and society would gain from the
division of labor (or job specialization)—that is, breaking down jobs into
separate tasks. Using the pin industry as an example, Smith claimed that 10
individuals, each doing a specialized task, could produce about 48,000 pins a
day among them. However, if each person worked alone performing each task
separately, it would be quite an accomplishment to produce even 10 pins a day!
Smith concluded that division of labor increased productivity by increasing
each worker‟s skill and ability, saving time lost in changing tasks, and creating
labor- saving inventions and machinery. Job specialization continues to be
popular. For example, think of the specialized tasks performed by members of a hospital surgery team,
meal preparation tasks done by workers in restaurant kitchens, or positions played by players on a football
team
Starting in the late eighteenth century when machine power was
substituted for human power, a point in history known as the industrial
revolution, it became more economical to manufacture goods in factories
rather than at home. These large efficient factories needed someone to
forecast demand, ensure that enough material was on hand to make
products, assign tasks to people, direct daily activities, and so forth. That
“someone” was a manager: These managers would need formal theories to
guide them in running these large organizations. It wasn‟t until the early
1900s, however, that the first steps toward developing such theories were
taken
In this module, we‟ll look at four major approaches to management theory: classical, behavioral,
quantitative, and contemporary
Classical Approach
The classical approach, emphasized rationality and making organizations and workers as efficient as
possible. Two major theories comprise the classical approach: scientific management and general
administrative theory. The two most important contributors to scientific management theory were
Frederick W. Taylor and the husband-wife team of Frank and Lillian Gilbreth. The two most important
contributors to general administrative theory were Henri Fayol and Max Weber/
Scientific Management
If you had to pinpoint when modern management theory was born, 1911 might be a good choice. That
was when Frederick Winslow Taylor’s Principles of Scientific Management was published. Its
contents were widely embraced by managers around the world. Taylor‟s book described the theory of
scientific management: the use of scientific methods to define the “one best way” for a job to be
done. Taylor worked at the Midvale and Bethlehem Steel Companies. As a mechanical engineer,he
