2. 2
Contents
Introduction… ...............................................................................................................................................3
Classical Approaches.................................................................................................................................4
Scientific Management .........................................................................................................................4
Administrative Management................................................................................................................8
Bureaucratic Management .................................................................................................................10
Behavioral approaches............................................................................................................................11
Quantitative approach............................................................................................................................14
Management Science..........................................................................................................................14
Operations Management....................................................................................................................15
Management Information Systems ....................................................................................................15
Modern approaches................................................................................................................................15
Systems Theory...................................................................................................................................16
Contingency Theory ............................................................................................................................17
Conclusion...............................................................................................................................................18
Referance................................................................................................................................................19
3. 3
Introduction…
David Ulrich wrote in his influential 1997 book HR Champions that “an HR professional from the
1940s would find it difficult to recognize the HR function of the year 2000.” Though HR was considered
to be a negative avenue in the pre historic era with time it has turned to be one of the most critical
aspects of an organization if not the most important in the present context. Many outside the HR
profession used to view HR in a negative light. A well known 1995 article in Fortune Magazine began
with the uncomplimentary view of HR as “the last bureaucracy”, the author goes on to say “I am
describing of course, your human resources department, and have a modest proposal; why not blow the
sucker up?” Ten years later Fast Company ran a cover story titled: Why We Hate HR. In the same year
Business Week wrote an article: Why HR Gets No Respect. From the evil Personnel Director in the
popular comic Dilbert to widely disseminated business magazine it seems that around the world Human
Resources is often portrayed negatively. The US based Society for Human Resource Management
(SHRM) in 2005 found that worldwide over half (54.8%) of HR professionals said the most frequently
encountered obstacle to career advancement was “HR’s not being held in high esteem by the
organization.” However, after the Hawthorne studies in the late 1920s things were to change
dramatically. Since the Hawthorne Studies, conducted at the Western Electric Plant in Hawthorne,
Chicago, which showed a positive relationship between productivity and the working environment, HR
has been evolving thick and fast. Human resource has been gaining more attention ever since as the
workforce considered to be an important resource to gain competitive advantage of organization and
also it helpful in utilizing the resources of an organization to an optimum extent in order to achieve
organizational goals. The current role of HR is often stated with popular buzz words such as ‘Business
Partner’ or ‘Strategic Partner’ and the common story is that HR has moved from a functional role to a
strategic one. As Barry Leskin of the Business Journal writes “The head of a company’s HR department
has moved from a transactional based role reporting to an administrative manager, to being a member
of senior management.”
But just like we can’t speak about humans without Sir Charles Darwin, or Physics without Sir
Isaac Newton, HR cannot be discussed without its own founding fathers or the pioneers of HRM during
each stage or approach. When we consider about the evolution of human resource management we can
study about it divided into four main stages
1. Classical approaches
2. Behavioral approaches
3. Quantitative approaches
4. Modern approaches
4. 4
Classical Approaches
Classical approach consists of three main ideologies within itself.
Scientific Management.
Administrative Management.
Bureaucratic Management.
To get a clear knowledge about classical approach it is important to discuss about these key
areas in more depth.
Scientific Management
Scientific management (also called Taylorism or the Taylor system) is a theory of management that
analyzes and synthesizes workflows, improving labour productivity. The core ideas of the theory were
developed by Frederick Winslow Taylor in the 1880s and 1890s, and were first published in his
monographs, Shop Management (1905) and The Principles of Scientific Management (1911).
While working as a lathe operator and foreman at Midvale Steel, Taylor noticed the natural
differences in productivity between workers, which were driven by various causes, including differences
in talent, intelligence, or motivations. He was one of the first people to try to apply science to this
application, that is, understanding why and how these differences existed and how best practices could
be analyzed and synthesized, then propagated to the other workers via standardization of process steps.
He believed that decisions based upon tradition and rules of thumb should be replaced by precise
procedures developed after careful study of an individual at work, including via time and motion studies,
which would tend to discover or synthesize the "one best way" to do any given task.[4]
The goal and
promise was both an increase in productivity and reduction of effort.
The four objectives of management under scientific management were as follows:
The development of a science for each element of a man's work to
replace the old rule-of-thumb methods.The scientific selection, training
and development of workers instead of allowing them to choose their
own tasks and train themselves as best they could.
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The development of a spirit of hearty cooperation between workers and management to ensure that
work would be carried out in accordance with scientifically devised procedures.
The division of work between workers and the management in almost equal shares, each group taking
over the work for which it is best fitted instead of the former condition in which responsibility largely
rested with the workers. Self-evident in this philosophy are organizations arranged in a hierarchy,
systems of abstract rules and impersonal relationships between staff.
Key Points
Taylor's principles became widely practiced, and the resulting cooperation between workers and
managers eventually developed into the teamwork we enjoy today. While Taylorism in a pure sense isn't
practiced much today, scientific management did provide many significant contributions to the
advancement of management practice. It introduced systematic selection and training procedures, it
provided a way to study workplace efficiency, and it encouraged the idea of systematic organizational
design.
Henry L. Gantt worked as a teacher and draughtsman before becoming a
mechanical engineer. In 1887, he joined Frederick W. Taylor in applying
scientific management principles to their work at Midvale
Steel and Bethlehem Steel—working there with Taylor until 1893. In his
later career as a management consultant—following the invention of the
Gantt chart—he also designed the 'task and bonus' system of wage
payment and additional measurement methods worker efficiency and
productivity.
In 1916, influenced by Thorsten Veblen he set up the New Machine, an association which sought to
apply the criteria of industrial efficiency to the political process. With the Marxist Walter Polakov he led
a breakaway from the 1916 ASME conference to discuss Gantt's call for socializing industrial under the
control of managers and Polakov's analysis of inefficiency in the industrial context.
6. 6
Henry Gantt is listed under Stevens Institute of Technology alumni and the American Society of
Mechanical Engineers (ASME) awards an annual medal in honor of Henry Laurence Gantt which signifies
his role in the co-operate world.
The Gilbreths are considered the founders of modern industrial
management, who sought to improve workers’ productivity while making
their work easier. They were, above all, scientists who sought to teach
managers that all aspects of the workplace should be constantly
questioned, and improvements constantly adopted. In this way, their
work advanced appreciation for the importance of the addressing the
needs of workers, and through taking care of those individuals the whole
purpose would be better served. The Gilbreths applied their management techniques in running their
large household. They created a Family Council, with a purchasing committee, a budget secretary, and a
utility committee. Two of their children later wrote humorous accounts of their family life, Cheaper by
the Dozen and Belles on Their Toes. Under Lillian’s persuasion, Frank Gilbreth changed his career from
construction to management. In 1908, Frank published his first book, Field System. Lillian and Frank
collaborated on fatigue and motion studies and focus on ways on promoting the individual workers
welfare. To them the ultimate aim of scientific management was to help workers to reach their full
potential as human beings. In their conception motion and fatigue) were intertwined. Every motion
that increased worker’s fatigue was eliminated to reduce fatigue. Using motion picture cameras they
tried to find out the most economical motions for each task in order to upgrade performance and
reduce fatigue.
Main features of scientific management:
Standardization – is a process in which fixed methods are applied to work activities practiced by the
workers.
Time and Motion study – is process in which work is divided into several motions or small tasks and
unnecessary motions are removed to find out the best way to doing a job.
Financial Incentives – In this method incentives are provided to the workers on the basis of their
performance.
Piece-rate incentive system – To reward the workers who produced the maximum output. To motivate
workers In order to help organizations perfume better.
7. 7
Drawbacks & Criticism of Scientific Management
While scientific management principles improved productivity and had a substantial impact on
industry, they also increased the monotony of work. The core job dimensions of skill variety, task
identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback all were missing from the picture of scientific
management.
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. Complaints that Taylorism was dehumanizing led to an investigation by
the United States Congress. Despite its controversy, scientific management changed the way that work
was done, and forms of it continue to be used today.
Applications of scientific management sometimes fail to account for two inherent difficulties:
It ignores individual differences: the most efficient way of working for one person may be
inefficient for another;
It ignores the fact that the economic interests of workers and management are rarely identical,
so that both the measurement processes and the retraining required by Taylor's methods would
frequently be resented and sometimes sabotaged by the workforce.
Both difficulties were recognised by Taylor, but are generally not fully addressed by managers
who only see the potential improvements to efficiency. Taylor believed that scientific management
cannot work unless the worker benefits. In his view management should arrange the work in such a way
that one is able to produce more and get paid more, by teaching and implementing more efficient
procedures for producing a product.
Although Taylor did not compare workers with machines, some of his critics use this metaphor
to explain how his approach makes work more efficient by removing unnecessary or wasted effort.
However, some would say that this approach ignores the complications introduced because workers are
necessarily human: personal needs, interpersonal difficulties and the very real difficulties introduced by
making jobs so efficient that workers have no time to relax. As a result, workers worked harder, but
became dissatisfied with the work environment. Some have argued that this discounting of worker
personalities led to the rise of labour unions.
8. 8
Administrative Management
Administrative management basically focuses on how a business should be organized and the
practices an effective manager should follow. While pioneers of scientific management tried to
determine the best way to perform a job, those in the administrative management explored the
possibilities of an ideal way to put all jobs together and operate an organization. Thus the main focus of
administrative school or general management theory is on finding "the best way” to run organizations.
Administrative management is also called "traditional principles” of management. Henry Fayol, a French
industrialist, is the chief architect and considered as the father of the administrative management
theory. Other prominent exponents include Chester I. Barnard, and Amid Colnel Urwick.
Henry Fayol discussed about 14 principles.
1. DIVISION OF WORK: Work should be divided among
individuals and groups to ensure that effort and attention are focused
on special portions of the task. Fayol presented work specialization as
the best way to use the human resources of the organization.
2. AUTHORITY: The concepts of Authority and responsibility are
closely related. Authority was defined by Fayol as the right to give
orders and the power to exact obedience. Responsibility involves
being accountable, and is therefore naturally associated with
authority. Whoever assumes authority also assumes responsibility.
3. DISCIPLINE: A successful organization requires the common effort of workers. Penalties should be
applied judiciously to encourage this common effort.
4. UNITY OF COMMAND: Workers should receive orders from only one manager.
5. UNITY OF DIRECTION: The entire organization should be moving towards a common objective in a
common direction.
9. 9
6. SUBORDINATION OF INDIVIDUAL INTERESTS TO THE GENERAL INTERESTS: The interests of one
person should not take priority over the interests of the organization as a whole.
7. REMUNERATION: Many variables, such as cost of living, supply of qualified personnel, general
business conditions, and success of the business, should be considered in determining a worker’s
rate of pay.
8. CENTRALIZATION: Fayol defined centralization as lowering the importance of the subordinate
role. Decentralization is increasing the importance. The degree to which centralization or
decentralization should be adopted depends on the specific organization in which the manager is
working.
9. SCALAR CHAIN: Managers in hierarchies are part of a chain like authority scale. Each manager,
from the first line supervisor to the president, possesses certain amounts of authority. The
President possesses the most authority; the first line supervisor the least. They should always
keep upper level managers informed of their work activities.
10. ORDER: For the sake of efficiency and coordination, all materials and people related to a specific
kind of work should be treated as equally as possible.
11. EQUITY: All employees should be treated as equally as possible.
12. STABILITY OF TENURE OF PERSONNEL: Retaining productive employees should always be a high
priority of management. Recruitment and Selection Costs, as well as increased product-reject
rates are usually associated with hiring new workers.
13. INITIATIVE: Management should take steps to encourage worker initiative, which is defined as
new or additional work activity undertaken through self direction.
14. ESPIRIT DE CORPS: Management should encourage harmony and general good feelings among
employees.
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Barnard looked at organizations as systems of cooperation of human
activity, and noted that they are typically short-lived. It is rare for a firm to
last more than a century. Similarly most nations last for less than a
century. The only organization that can claim a substantial age is
the Roman Catholic Church. According to Barnard, organizations are not
long-lived because they do not meet the two criteria necessary for
survival: effectiveness and efficiency. Effectiveness is defined the usual
way: as being able to accomplish stated goals. In contrast, Barnard's
meaning of organizational efficiency differed substantially from the
conventional use of the word. He defined efficiency of an organization as the degree to which that
organization is able to satisfy the motives of the individuals. If an organization satisfies the motives of its
members while attaining its explicit goals, cooperation among its members will last.
Bureaucratic Management
At a time when organizations were run like families, Max Weber looked for ways to
bring a more formalized structure to organizations. Weber created the idea of bureaucratic
management where organizations are more authoritative, rigid and structured. A well-defined
formal hierarchy and chain of command distinguishes the level of authority within an
organization. Individuals who hold higher positions will supervise and direct lower positions
within the hierarchy.
Major characteristics of Weber’s ideal bureaucracy:
Division of labour – jobs broken down into
simple, routine and well defined tasks.
Formal rules and regulations – system f written
rules and standard operating procedure.
Impersonality – uniform application of rules
and controls, not according to personalities.
Authority hierarchy – positions organized in a
hierarchy with a clear chain of command.
Career orientation – career advancement on
merit and not on manager’s discretion only.
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Limitations or failures of classical approach:
The principles of scientific management failed to focus on management from a managerial point
of view. For instance Taylor overlooked the social needs of workers and emphasized on only the
economic and physical needs which was emphasized in depth earlier in the report, and Weber’s
bureaucracy theory was not flexible enough to suit the complex changes in the ever changing
environment. The classical theories failed to consider other aspects of management such as organization
behavior, leadership, motivation and informal relationships. It focused only on productivity.
Behavioral approaches
As management research continued in the 20th century, questions began to come up regarding
the interactions and motivations of the individual within organizations. Management principles
developed during the classical period were simply not useful in dealing with many management
situations and could not explain the behavior of individual employees. In short, classical theory ignored
employee motivation and behavior. As a result, the behavioral approach was a natural outgrowth.
The behavioral management theory is often called the human relations movement because it addresses
the human dimension of work. Behavioral theorists believed that a better understanding of human
behavior at work, such as motivation, conflict, expectations, and group dynamics, improved
productivity.
The theorists who contributed to this school viewed employees as individuals, resources, and
assets to be developed and worked with — not as machines, as in the past. Several individuals and
experiments contributed to this theory.
Elton Mayo's contributions came as part of the Hawthorne
studies, a series of experiments that rigorously applied classical
management theory only to reveal its shortcomings. The Hawthorne
experiments consisted of two studies conducted at the Hawthorne
Works of the Western Electric Company in Chicago from 1924 to 1932.
The first study was conducted by a group of engineers seeking to
determine the relationship of lighting levels to worker productivity.
Surprisingly enough, they discovered that worker productivity increased as the lighting levels decreased
12. 12
— that is, until the employees were unable to see what they were doing, after which performance
naturally declined.
A few years later, a second group of experiments began. Harvard researchers Mayo and F. J.
Roethlisberger supervised a group of five women in a bank wiring room. They gave the women special
privileges, such as the right to leave their workstations without permission, take rest periods, enjoy free
lunches, and have variations in pay levels and workdays. This experiment also resulted in significantly
increased rates of productivity. In this case, Mayo and Roethlisberger concluded that the increase in
productivity resulted from the supervisory arrangement rather than the changes in lighting or other
associated worker benefits. Because the experimenters became the primary supervisors of the
employees, the intense interest they displayed for the workers was the basis for the increased
motivation and resulting productivity. Essentially, the experimenters became a part of the study and
influenced its outcome. This is the origin of the term Hawthorne effect, which describes the special
attention researchers give to a study's subjects and the impact that attention has on the study's
findings. The general conclusion from the Hawthorne studies was that human relations and the social
needs of workers are crucial aspects of business management. This principle of human motivation
helped revolutionize theories and practices of management.
Abraham Maslow, a practicing psychologist, developed one of the
most widely recognized need theories, a theory of motivation based
upon a consideration of human needs. His theory of human needs had
three assumptions:
Human needs are never completely satisfied.
Human behavior is purposeful and is motivated by the need
for satisfaction.
Needs can be classified according to a hierarchical structure of importance, from the lowest to
highest.
Maslow broke down the needs hierarchy into five specific areas:
Physiological needs. Maslow grouped all physical needs necessary for maintaining basic human
well-being, such as food and drink, into this category. After the need is satisfied, however, it is no
longer is a motivator.
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Safety needs. These needs include the need for basic security, stability, protection, and freedom
from fear. A normal state exists for an individual to have all these needs generally satisfied.
Otherwise, they become primary motivators.
Belonging and love needs. After the physical and safety needs are satisfied and are no longer
motivators, the need for belonging and love emerges as a primary motivator. The individual
strives to establish meaningful relationships with significant others.
Esteem needs. An individual must develop self-confidence and wants to achieve status,
reputation, fame, and glory.
Self-actualization needs. Assuming that all the previous needs in the hierarchy are satisfied, an
individual feels a need to find himself.
Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory helped managers visualize employee motivation.
Douglas McGregor was heavily
influenced by both the Hawthorne
studies and Maslow. He believed that
two basic kinds of managers exist. One
type, the Theory X manager, has a
negative view of employees and
assumes that they are lazy,
untrustworthy, and incapable of
14. 14
assuming responsibility. On the other hand, the Theory Y manager assumes that employees are not only
trustworthy and capable of assuming responsibility, but also have high levels of motivation.
An important aspect of McGregor's idea was his belief that managers who hold either set of
assumptions can create self-fulfilling prophecies — that through their behavior, these managers create
situations where subordinates act in ways that confirm the manager's original expectations.
As a group, these theorists discovered that people worked for inner satisfaction and not
materialistic rewards, shifting the focus to the role of individuals in an organization's performance
Quantitative approach
This approach emphasizes the use of mathematical models in solving many complex
management problems. The quantitative tools and methodologies, known as Operations Research
Techniques are designed to aid in decision making relating to operations and production. The
quantitative approach to management involves the use of quantitative techniques, such as statistics,
information models, and computer simulations, to improve decision making. There exist three main
branches when addressing about Quantitative approach.
Management Science
The management science approach stresses the use of mathematical models and statistical methods
for decision-making. It visualizes management as a logical entity, the action of which can be expressed
in terms of mathematical symbols, relationships and measurement data. Another name commonly
used for management science is operations research. Recent advances in computers have made it
possible to use complex mathematical and statistical models in the management of organizations.
Management science techniques are widely used in the following areas:
Capital budgeting and cash flow management
Production scheduling
Development of product strategies
Planning for human resource development programs
Maintenance of optimal inventory levels
Aircraft scheduling
15. 15
Various mathematical tools like the waiting line theory or queuing theory, linear programming, the
program evaluation review technique (PERT), the critical path method (CPM), the decision theory, the
simulation theory, the probability theory, sampling, time series analysis etc. have increased the
effectiveness of managerial decision-making. To apply a quantitative approach to decision-making,
individuals with mathematical, statistical, engineering, economics and business background skills are
required. Since one person cannot have all these skills the quantitative method requires a team
approach to decision-making. This approach has been criticized for its overemphasis of mathematical
tools. Many managerial activities cannot be quantified because they involve human beings who are
governed by many irrational elements.
Operations Management
Operations management is an applied form of management science. It deals with the effective
management of the production process and the timely delivery of an organization’s products and
services. Operations management is concerned with: (i) inventory management, (ii) work scheduling,
(iii) production planning, (iv) facilities location and design, and (v) quality assurance. The tools used
by operations managers are forecasting, inventory analysis, and materials requirement planning
systems, networking models, statistical quality control methods, and project planning and control
techniques.
Management Information Systems
Management information systems focus on designing and implementing computer-based
information systems for business organizations. In simple terms, the MIS converts raw data into
information and provides the needed information to each manager at the right time, in the needed
form.
Modern approaches
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Besides the classical, behavioral and quantitative approaches to management, there are
certain modern approaches to management. Two of these approaches are the systems theory and
the contingency theory, which have significantly shaped modern management thought.
Systems Theory
Those who advocate a systems view contend that an organization cannot exist in isolation
and that management cannot function effectively without considering external
environmental factors. The systems approach gives managers a new way of looking at an
organization as a whole and as a part of the larger, external environment.
According to this theory, an organizational system has four major components: inputs,
transformation processes, output and feedback (see Figure 2.4). Inputs – money, materials,
men, machines and informational sources – are required to produce goods and
services. Transformation processes or throughputs – managerial and technical abilities – are
used to convert inputs into outputs. Outputs are the products, services, profits and other
results produced by the organization. Feedback refers to information about the outcomes
and the position of the organization relative to the environment it operates in.
The two basic types of systems are closed and open systems. A system that interacts with its
environment is regarded as an open system and a system that does not interact with its environment
is considered a closed system. Frederick Taylor, for instance, regarded people and organizations as
closed systems. In reality, all organizations are open systems as they are dependent on interactions
with their environment. Whether it is a new product decision or a decision related to the employees
of the organization, the organization must consider the role and influence of environmental factors.
an open organizational system.
17. 17
Contingency Theory
This is also known as the situational theory. This approach has been widely used in recent years to
integrate management theory with the increasing complexity of organizations. According to this
theory, there is no one best way to manage all situations. In other words, there is no one best way to
manage. The response “It depends” holds good for several management situations.
The contingency approach was developed by managers, consultants, and researchers who tried to
apply the concepts of the major schools of management thought to real-life situations. Managers,
who follow this approach, make business decisions or adopt a particular management style only after
carefully considering all situational factors. According to the contingency approach, “The task of
managers is to identify which technique will, in a particular situation, under particular circumstances,
and at a particular time, best contribute to the attainment of management goals” (see Figure 2.5).
Figure 2.5: The
Contingency
Managerial
Viewpoint
18. 18
Conclusion
HR spawned from the human relations movement, which began in the early 20th century due to
work by Frederick Taylor. Taylor explored what he termed "scientific management" (later referred to by
others as "Taylorism"), striving to improve economic efficiency in manufacturing jobs. He eventually
keyed in on one of the principal inputs into the manufacturing process—labor—sparking inquiry
into workforce productivity. The movement was formalized following the research of Elton Mayo,
whose Hawthorne studies documented how stimuli unrelated to financial compensation and working
conditions—attention and engagement—yielded more productive workers. Contemporaneous work
by Abraham Maslow, Douglas Mcgregor, and Mary Parker Follet formed the basis for studies
in behavioral approach. Quantitative approach discussed about the use of mathematical models in
solving many complex management problems while modern approaches discussed the latest
evolvement in the field of HRM.
What we can clearly observe from all this is that this evolution is a continuous process. It is not
something that would come to an end in a jiffy or in a particular day. As long as the world evolves HR
would also evolve proportionally to it. Also what we can point out as a conclusion is that there is no such
perfect theory or approach to be biased towards. Many depend on the type of the organization or the
goal of the organization or simply with respect to the task at hand. What we have to realize is that the
company or the organization that adopts most effectively & efficiently to the evolution of the market
would be the ultimate winners. But what is of significant importance is that the ‘Human aspect’ of an
organization has gone from a zero to something that the organizations existence depends on. What we
see in this evolution of HR is that the human aspect being more &more recognized and given priority
about. As the great German philosopher Immanuel Cant once said “Always recognize that human
individuals are ends, and do not use them as means to your end”.
19. 19
Referance
Bruce E. Kaufman; Managing the Human Factor
https://sites.google.com/site/livembaonline/evolution-of-management-thought/quantitative-approach
https://sites.google.com/site/livembaonline/evolution-of-management-thought/modern-approaches-
to-management
