Many of us have heard the metaphor
that an organization runs like a well-oiled machine. Well, that was
exactly what factory owners were striving for in the wake of the Industrial
Revolution.
With the Industrial boom, business
owners needed to increase efficiency and productivity to keep up with supply
and demand. Frederick Taylor's Scientific Management theory, Max Weber’s
Bureaucracy theory, and Henri
Fayol’s Administrative theory tried to solve these issues.
These
theories share some of the same principles such as “hierarchy, division of
labor, standardized approach to work, centralization of authority, separation of
personal and work life, and selecting the best employees for the job” (Lyon,
2017a). However, there are some major differences in approach and application.
The differences are as follows:
- Taylor looked
at organizations at the micro-level (Lyon, 2016a). He focused on how long
and how many movements it took to complete small jobs and used the average
time and number of movements to establish a standard for all workers (Lyon, 2016b).
- Weber studied
organizations at a macro-level (Lyon, 2017a). He was all about formality
and rules. He believed that formal leadership was needed, work rules
and regulations should emulate societal ones, power should come from the position
and not the person, jobs should be filled by qualified people,
and tenure should be in place to protect employees from being fired without
cause (Lyon, 2016a).
- Fayol studied
organizations on an administrative level (Lyon, 2017a). He believed
that all managers needed to able to plan, organize, command, coordinate,
and control (Lyon, 2017b).
The classical management approaches
increased efficiency and productivity; however, workers were dehumanized and
treated as cogs in a machine with little to no regard for their emotional and
physical well-being.
In contrast to classical theory, Mary Parker Follet’s
dismissed the cog in the machine mentality in favor of a more humanized
approach to management. Her theory focused on integration, group collaboration,
sharing control, and “using conflict to understand” and resolve
issues (Mary Parker Follet, n.d.).
Both classical and human relations
management approaches are still alive in today’s workforce. Taylor’s application
of time and motion studies to work is present in fast-food restaurants and
factories to improve efficiency and productivity (Lyon, 2016b). Bureaucracy is
seen in governmental agencies, universities, and factories (Lyon, 2016b).
Moreover, organizations such as Facebook and Google use Follet’s principles of
management to foster an open, collaborative, and community
environment in the workplace (Byrd, Perry, Waldon, Bhasin, & Davis, 2018).
Recommendations:
- Do not treat employees as simple cogs in the machine;
it can be detrimental to their emotional and physical well-being.
- Invest in your employees by listening and providing
continual training and benefits. Happy and healthy employees
are more loyal and productive.
- Leaders need to integrate and collaborate with their
employees. Integration and collaboration create a sense of community and
makes employees feel understood and valued.
- Promote a group mentality. Leaders should put the best
interest of the group before an individual’s interests.
- Do not show favoritism in the workplace. Hire and
promote based on qualifications and do not discriminate based, race,
ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, religion, or disability.
References
Byrd, B., Perry,
V., Waldon, M., Bhasin, A., & Davis, S. (2018). Mary Parker Follett
- managing communication USC (500) fall 2018. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYtEjn4v1Qs
Lyon, A.
(2016a). [Organizational Communication Channel]. Retrieved
from Max Weber Bureaucracy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zp554tcdWO8&list=PLvkPI8QIE9MKnF4CH0XqvKgSaHUE0K9-4&index=4
Lyon, A.
(2016b). [Organizational Communication Channel]. Retrieved from
Frederick Taylor scientific management:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNfy_AHG-MU
Lyon, A.
(2017a). [Organizational Communication Channel]. Retrieved
from Classical management theory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1jOwD-CTLI
Lyon, A.
(2017b). [Organizational Communication Channel]. Retrieved
from Henri Fayol's principles of management:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90qpziPNRnY&list=PLvkPI8QIE9MKnF4CH0XqvKgSaHUE0K9-4&index=2
Mary Parker Follet.
(n.d.). Retrieved from
https://moodle.drury.edu/pluginfile.php/912743/mod_resource/content/1/Classical%20approaches%20and%20org%20structure%20.pdf
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