Evolution Of Management Theory

Evolution Of Management Theory Management has existed throughout the time of man. Management throughout the passing of time has evolved and segregated into different theories however the end game, remains the same that is to achieve a certain goal while working together as a team. There are various definitions to the term management. Lawrence Appely defines management as Management is the development of people and not the direction of things, management is personnel; administration (Agarwal, 2010, p.4). Whereas William Spreigel terms it as Management is that function of an enterprise which concerns itself with the direction and control of the various activities to attain the business objectives. Management is essentially an executive function; it deals particularly with the active direction of the human effort. (Agarwal, 2010, p.4). Management is the integrating force in all organized activity. The verb manage comes from the Italian maneggiare (to handle especially tools), which in turn derives from the Latin manus (hand). The French word mesnagement (later mà ©nagement) influenced the development in meaning of the English word management in the 17th and 18th centuries. (www.wikipedia.com. 2012. Management. [ONLINE] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Management. [Accessed 13 December 12].) Management has been put to use throughout the history of mankind. Management like thought has been seen right from the building of the pyramids to emperor Ashoka conquering all of India or bharat as it was and still is known. Management is extremely important in the functioning of any task, or organisation in order for it to be successful. If there is a fault in the management it can lead to failure of the task or improper functioning of the company. It is difficult to trace the exact origins of management but one can see its evolution throughout time. In chronological order the very first piece of evidence of management theory can be seen in Chanakyas Arthashashtra, followed by Sun Tzus The Art of War, followed by Niccolà ² Machiavellis The Prince, followed by Adam Smiths The Wealth of Nations. The 19th century later gave rise to classical economists such as and John Stuart Mill (1806-1873 Adam Smith (1723-1790). These economists provided an academic background on resource-allocati on, production and pricing issues. Alternatively, visionaries like James Watt (1736-1819), Matthew Boulton (1728-1809) Eli Whitney (1765-1825), and developed fundamentals of procedural assembly such as standardization, quality-control procedures, cost-accounting, inter-changeability of parts, and work-planning. The first complete principles of management appeared around the year 1920. The Concept of Corporation (published in 1949) a well-known book that was written by Peter Drucker (1909-2005) was one of the earliest books on applied management. Science of management written by Henry R Towne was published in the 1890s, The Principles of Scientific Management conceptualized by Frederick Winslow Taylor was published in the year 1911, Applied motion study was published in the year 1917, which was written by Frank and Lillian Gilbreth.J. Duncan wrote the first college management textbook in 1911. Yoichi Ueno was the first person to introduce taylorism to Japan in 1912 and he became the first management consultant of the Japanese-management style. Ichiro Ueno, his son pioneered Japanese quality assurance. As one can see from the above examples we know that management has been influenced by various disciplines such as economics, political science, psychology, anthropology and even literature. Earlier management theories aimed at getting to know these newcomers of the industrial life at the end of the nineteenth century and beginning of the twentieth century in Europe and the United States. THE CLASSICLAL OR UNIVERSAL SCHOOL The oldest form of the school of management of thought is the classical school. It dates, back to the twentieth century. The classical or universal thought deals with how to manage work organisations more effectively. There are three areas of management that can be classified under the classical school or universal school of thought. They are as follows- 1. Scientific management 2. Bureaucratic management 3. Administrative management The beliefs of the classical or universal school of thought- Fredrick Taylor was the founder of the classical school of thought. Earlier, the body of the classical school of thought implied that employees, have only psychical and economical needs, and that the concept of job-satisfaction was in fact alien to it. This school advocates high specialization of labour, centralized decision making, and profit maximization. The basic components compounded by Taylor for the scientific management school are as follows- Determination of standards of performance. Functional foremanship Responsibilities of management. Differential piecework of system of wage payment Mental revolution. Henri Fayol, and Max Weber are exceptional contributors of Classical School of management thought who made great contribution and laid the grounds for contemporary management. THE BEHAVIOURAL OR HUMAN RELATION SCHOOL The Hawthorne plant of Western Electric Company conducted experiments by Mayo,Roethlisberger and others for the first time on the human aspects of organizations in the 1930s. This approach had previously been ignored by the classical theorists. This school is dubbed as neo-classical as it follows the academic form of classical theory and emphasises the human element of management as a counterpoint in contrast to the impersonality of classical theory. These experiments led to the development of new premises. These premises were the motivation to work; morale and productivity are related to the social conditions among the workers and the supervisor, and not to the psychical conditions at work. Considerable contributions made by Kurt Lewin, Chris Argyris,Rensis Likert ,and Douglas McGregor have helped shaped this school for being whatever it is today. Abraham Maslow a renowned psychologist developed a very widely recognised hierarchy of needs. This is now known as Maslows hierarchy of needs. This is a concept of motivation based on the needs of every human being. His concept had three assumptions. They are- The needs of a human being are never truly satisfied. Human behaviour is purposeful and is motivated by the need for satisfaction. The needs of a human being can be classified according to a hierarchical structure of importance, from the lowest to highest. The above three premises prove that human beings need a motivation in order to get the job done. This theory has been highly useful for managers in order to help motivate their employees. THE MANAGEMENT SCIENCE OR QUANTITATIVE SCHOOL Mathematicians, physicists, and scientists came together in order to solve the problems caused by World War II. The key feature of this school is its use of mathematics and statistics to help in determining production and operation problems. This approach helps in solving technical rather than human behaviour problems. It comprises a diverse team of experts from whatever fields the problem being attacked calls for. The team members then analyse the problem and then make a mathematical representation of it. Therefore they would change some aspects of the equation to see what would happen in the real world. The most important contributions of management science are in the areas of operations management and production management. (Duening, 2003) THE CONTENGENCY/SITUATIONAL OR ALL DEPENDS SCHOOL The contingency school was birthed in the 1970s. As the very name suggests this school of thought is based on possibility. In this approach managers deal with each problem differently based on the situation and its belief lies in evaluating many options to solve one problem. This theory recognises that there is no one best way to design organisations and manage them. It weighs down the variables and then decides based on the varying factors as to what would be the best solution. This approach is highly dependent on the judgement of the manager in any given situation. It focuses on the inter-relationships within and among the subsystems as well as between the organisation and its environment. (Agarwal, 2010) For example-when taco bell asked itself what would ensure its success, they revamped their business based on the simple philosophies of customers value food, provision, and the aesthetic appeal of the restaurant. Taco bell then hired new managers who would ensure that their philosophies were put into action thereby ensuring their success. (Anon., n.d.) THE SYSTEM SCHOOL The system school of thought sees the organization as one whole purposeful and united body rather than seeing it in its different parts and pieces. Its early contributors include Lawerence J.Henderson,W.G.Scott, Daniel Katz, J.D Thompson, etc. This approach helps the managers to look at the broader picture. This school conveys to us that every single action done by any section of the company affects the other segments of the company in varying degrees. In this school managers make their decisions only after they have weighed down each and every single option as to if that decision has been taken, how it will affect the company. The managers cannot function based on their department alone; they must take the whole company into account. In order for them to run smoothly they must be in constant touch with the other departments of the company as well, so that they can base their decisions accordingly. CONCLUSION Management as one has seen above is under constant development. It always has more room for change for its own betterment. It has existed since time immemorial. The schools of thought are simply the different approaches that are used by any person, or organisation in order for it to achieve its goals. In this document there are 5 schools of thought that have been explained. They are the classical school, the human relations school, , the management science school, the contingency theory school. They are summarized as follows- The classical school- the classical school consist of three theories, namely. Scientific management, Bureaucratic management and Administrative management. The major purposes of the school were to develop the basic principles that could guide the design, creation and maintenance of large organisations and to identify the basic functions of managing organizations. (Duening, 2003) The behavioural school or human relation school- this school takes on a managerial approach as to how the role of people affects the success of the organisation. It also emphasises the structure of the organisation and work environment affects their behaviour and performance.it simply states that if the employees are kept in a good working environment then their productivity will increase, which in turn will lead to successful operations of the company. (Duening, 2003) The management science or quantitative school- this school gives us a mathematical representation of the problems that are faced. Therefore when one changes one of the factors in the equation one can anticipate what the result would be in the real world. Important contributions that were made were in the areas of production management and operations management. The contingency /situational or all depends school- this theory implies that every situation that a management faces is unique therefore it is left up to the managers discretion as to how h/she chooses to deal with it. This requires the manager to have a great deal of experience and good judgement. It also states that there is no one best way to deal with a problem. Instead it asserts the need to understand different problems and how to deal with them differently. The system school- the system school saw the organisation as a whole instead of dividing it into bits and pieces. This helped keep in mind the larger picture and that was the achievement of the companys goals rather than those of the individual departments.

A Day in the Life of a Migraine Sufferer :: Biology Essays Research Papers

A Day in the Life of a Migraine Sufferer Each year over twenty-six million people nation wide are affected by migraines. Once thought to be a concentration of evil spirits in the brain, common cures consisted of everything from drilling holes in the skull, to inserting garlic cloves into the temples(4). Today however, scientists realize that this all too common occurrence is actually a neurological disorder, which can result in the disability of its victim for hours or even days. I myself have been a constant sufferer of migraines since the age of ten. The following is the day in the life of a migraine sufferer: myself. I believe that the most appropriate place to begin is a brief look into my medical background. Since the age of ten I have constantly been struck with migraines, occurring more and more frequently as I age. Migraines can strike children as well as adults, however; typically the migraines become less frequent after early adulthood(3).Ninety percent of migraine sufferers also report having a family history of migraines, suggesting a genetic link(5).I, for example, know that both my father and grandmother to this day frequently have migraines and have since a very young age. Furthermore, even though I typically have at least one debilitating migraine per week, I am otherwise in perfect health. This is common among migraine sufferers; they are entirely healthy and therefore, cannot understand why they are showing such painful symptoms(3).Each day that I have I migraine it is a struggle to work, to move, sometimes even to breath. If caught in time, I can typically medicate myself before a full- blown migraine occurs, but often I realize to late what will soon occur. This was the case on April 1, 2001, when I received a classic migraine that left me in a state of suspended animation for over twenty hours. The day began with stiffness in my neck and an ache around my temples and brow bone. Migraines are typically a long process, which begins slowly and climaxes in intolerable pain. The stiffness of my neck and facial muscles, as well as an irritated feeling in my scalp, are often the first warning signs of a migraine day. However, I chose to ignore the signs and à ¬tough it outà ® since I was late for class. Instead of my usual breakfast of dry cereal and water, I grabbed a cup of yogurt and a coke for the road.

Air Carriers

Air carriers compete through cost leadership, differentiation and horizontal integration. Adoption of deregulation policies around the world led to opportunities for entry of new players. However, since existing large air carriers have decades of first mover advantage, the air transportation industry became segmented into two general groups, the traditional carriers comprised of flag and luxury air carriers and low-cost carriers differentiation by price and cost structures.Competition occurred on two levels, between traditional and low-cost carriers and among the air carriers belonging to these segments. Traditional airlines commonly compete based on differentiation of service quality, brand equity, and provision of additional value to consumers. Low-cost airlines compete based on cost leadership by developing pricing policies and cost structures that allow the provision of basic services at the lowest possible price. (Costa et al., 2002)Although, low cost carriers targeted a specifi c market, the low cost market, this meant a pull from the existing market of traditional airlines because of an alternative low cost option.Traditional airlines responded to this by engaging in horizontal integration by buying out low cost airlines as well as engaging in strategic alliance and consolidation strategies ranging from intensive ‘hub and spoke’ networks and code sharing to mergers and acquisitions intended to fill in the service gaps of low cost airlines and keep their market.These constitute exclusionary practices by exploiting industry practices such as overcapacity to dominate national routes and make it difficult for new entrants to use the same routes that goes against the competitive expectations from deregulation.Anti-trust regulations emerged in many jurisdictions to monitor and regulate practices that end up stifling competition. Monopolistic or quasi-monopolistic alliances and consolidation are subject to regulation necessary to ensure competition that balances the interests of various stakeholders. (Kleymann & Seristo, 2004)This led to the implementation of competitive strategies maximizing options within regulatory limits.How does the speed in air carriers impact inventory levels of firms using air transportation? and how the speed advantage relates to the choice of modes when choosing between air carriage and other modes of freight and passenger transport?The speed of air carriers impacts inventory levels of business firms using air transportation services because air carriers become a party in the logistics and supply chain partners of business firms (Thompson & Strickland, 2003).The air transportation industry plays a key role in many industries such as manufacturing and retail serving international markets and the tourism industry that all rely on the service quality and speed of air carriers to meet consumer expectations.In the case of manufacturing and retail companies, one goal is to maintain a fast rate of inventory turnover, which means product delivery to consumers the soonest possible time after production leaving only sufficient inventory in the warehouse to meet sudden upward shifts in demand and minimizing unnecessary costs.A fast inventory turnover then translates to growth in sales and profit and even a sustainable market. (Baldwin et al., 2000) However, to ensure a fast inventory turnover, the air carriers engaged by business firms should be fast enough to meet the period of delivery to all its consumers around the world.As such, speed advantages in an important consideration in the decision of business firms in preferring a mode of transportation to another. With advancements in technology in other modes of transportation, air, land and sea transportation have become substitutes. Bullet trains can offer comparative speeds as air carriers and sea vessels have always been the traditional mode of transportation.Air carriers need to differentiate its transportation services relative to t he other modes of transportation gain a competitive advantage and influence the decision of passengers and cargo owners to prefer air carriers.Since speed is a factor for passengers and cargo owners, this should be cultivated by air carriers as an advantage by developing aviation technology, maintaining their air carriers regularly,   continuing training of staff,   and coordinating with air transportation authorities and airports to support its speed advantage. (Doganis, 2001)ReferencesBaldwin, C., Dyer, H., & Fites, D. (2000). Harvard business review on managing the value chain. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.Costa, P. R., Harned, D. S., & Lundquist, J. T. (2002). Rethinking the aviation industry: New strategies could help the business recover-but will also put more pressure on established players. The McKinsey Quarterly, 2, 88-100.Doganis, R. (2001). The airline business in the twenty-first century. London: Routledge.Kleymann, B., Seristo, H. (2004). Managing strat egic airline alliances. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing.Thompson, A. A., & Strickland, A. J. (2003). Strategic management (13th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Life Alone

â€Å"No one is ever born into Life alone. Everyone has shared the bond of family, at least at birth, and for many people it is a bond that will follow them throughout life†. For many people it is the most important bond of all†. I chose this topic because I thought that it would be cool to take a look at my life story. At first, I thought that this project would be easy but when I thought that I had finished but I had to start it over because it was too short and I didn't have enough information on the topic. Before I did this project I knew that my parents were born in Poland but I didn't know specifically where they were born in Poland. Another thing that I learned, was that a family can be defined in many ways, but the common definition of family is love and being with one another. Lastly, I learned that people want others to rely on, talk to if they need help, do things with, share love, and be part of. The story of my search was very easy because every time I tired to search something on the web then it gave me the answers right away. Also, the story of my search was very easy because for example when I wanted to draw a Polish flag on my tri-fold board or get an image of the national animal or flower, then I just had to search it up on the web and it appeared right away. During the course of this project, I learned that my mom was born in Dabrowa-Tarnowska, Poland and my dad was born in Tarnobrzeg, Poland. Furthermore, while I was doing my project, I learned that Poland has a lot of traditions like, the Marzanna-Burning, the Wet Monday that happens after Easter, the Christmas-Straw under the tablecloth, and many more.

Free Essays on Pipe Organ

The â€Å"king of instruments† has a long history, one which can arguably be traced to the concept of a collection of â€Å"fixed-pitched pipes blown by a single player (such as the panpipes)† (Randel 583). The first examples of pipe organs with the basic features of today can be traced to the third century B.C.E. in the Greco-Roman arena; it is said to have been invented by Ktesibios of Alexander and contained â€Å"a mechanism to supply air under pressure, a wind-chest to store and distribute it, keys and valves to admit wind to the pipes, and one or more graded sets of fixed-pitch pipes.† (Randel 583) These early organs used water as a means to supply air-pressure, hence the use of the terms hydraulic and hydraulis. Hydraulic organs were in use for several hundred years before the concept of bellows, similar in concept and style to those of a blacksmith, came into use with the organ. Numerous bellows were used to supply air to the wind-chest, often being pumpe d in pairs by men. The disadvantages of this method of air supply include the lack of consistent pressure, which leads to inconsistent pitch and tuning; also, many people were required to operate the bellows since there were upwards of twenty-four bellows per organ (Hopkins & Rimbault 35). Also, with organs of this size, the bellows took up large amounts of space, thus forcing the organ to be located in a fixed place, such as a church. Up until the eleventh century (approximately), pitch and range of organs were extremely limited, mainly in part to the lack of a any style of keyboard. Keys of a sort were introduced around this time, though not in the manner we are accustomed to. â€Å"The earliest keyboards were sets of levers played by the hands rather than the fingers.† (Randel 428) They looked similar to large rectangles â€Å" an ell long and three inches wide† (Hopkins & Rimbault 33) and were played by pushing on them with a hand, although some were large enough t hat one might n... Free Essays on Pipe Organ Free Essays on Pipe Organ The â€Å"king of instruments† has a long history, one which can arguably be traced to the concept of a collection of â€Å"fixed-pitched pipes blown by a single player (such as the panpipes)† (Randel 583). The first examples of pipe organs with the basic features of today can be traced to the third century B.C.E. in the Greco-Roman arena; it is said to have been invented by Ktesibios of Alexander and contained â€Å"a mechanism to supply air under pressure, a wind-chest to store and distribute it, keys and valves to admit wind to the pipes, and one or more graded sets of fixed-pitch pipes.† (Randel 583) These early organs used water as a means to supply air-pressure, hence the use of the terms hydraulic and hydraulis. Hydraulic organs were in use for several hundred years before the concept of bellows, similar in concept and style to those of a blacksmith, came into use with the organ. Numerous bellows were used to supply air to the wind-chest, often being pumpe d in pairs by men. The disadvantages of this method of air supply include the lack of consistent pressure, which leads to inconsistent pitch and tuning; also, many people were required to operate the bellows since there were upwards of twenty-four bellows per organ (Hopkins & Rimbault 35). Also, with organs of this size, the bellows took up large amounts of space, thus forcing the organ to be located in a fixed place, such as a church. Up until the eleventh century (approximately), pitch and range of organs were extremely limited, mainly in part to the lack of a any style of keyboard. Keys of a sort were introduced around this time, though not in the manner we are accustomed to. â€Å"The earliest keyboards were sets of levers played by the hands rather than the fingers.† (Randel 428) They looked similar to large rectangles â€Å" an ell long and three inches wide† (Hopkins & Rimbault 33) and were played by pushing on them with a hand, although some were large enough t hat one might n...

I just need a one page summary on an argument Essay

I just need a one page summary on an argument - Essay Example They hold that decisions made by individuals in their health are binding in the case they become terminally ill or incapacitated. For this reason, they support practices of advance directives, arguing that they do not pose any risks to patients (Levine, 2009). This further implies that advance directives do not in any way limit rights of patients. Patients have choices to make; meaning that those that do not wish to document their wishes at a time they are incapacitated can refrain from doing so. Arguments against advance directives hold that patients at their health may lack adequate information about advance directives, and they may, therefore, make hasty decisions without necessarily knowing how they would react in an incapacitation situation. In such a circumstance, patients’ autonomy in the context of advance directives is questioned. However, Steven Luttrell and Ann Sommerville argue that patients and people in general always make decisions without necessarily having adequate information about a situation. On the same note, judgment is used where experience lacks. Fundamentally, the directive cannot be implemented if the patient in his or her terminal illness changes his or her mind on earlier filed advance

Pros and cons of outsourcing Human Resource Managment Functions Research Paper

Pros and cons of outsourcing Human Resource Managment Functions - Research Paper Example Organizations turn to outsourcing to slash their operational costs and improve financial position. Human resource outsourcing aims at reducing expenses by relegating official work to countries that provide HRM services at the fraction of what a company will pay at its home base (Ivancevich, 2004). European and North American companies are the main proponents of HRM outsourcing as they face the biggest challenge of financial constraints and relatively high turnover rates, despite the increasing recession. The top management finds it much easier to transfer the employee hiring and management duties to an outside vendor that might have its operational base in some other country or region. The basic function of a HRM vendor is to recruit and manage employees while freeing the client of this daunting task. The company can divert its attention to improving its financial performance or introducing new technology or working procedures, among other things. The less pressure on the client company over the management of employees and the associated financial burdens, thus, results in a better performance and greater efficiency (Mullins, 2007). The critics of HRM outsourcing, however, opine that divesting the employee management system to an outsider vendor can damage the reputation of a company. Additionally, it can also result in a breach of privacy as the outside vendor can delve deeper into the company procedure and hand it over to a rival company. They also say that transferring the salary and other accounting system to an outsider company might pave way for financial embezzlement, among other things. The biggest advantage of HRM outsourcing is the relative financial improvement and increased efficiency of a company. Human resource issues consume a lot of money, energy, and time of a company management as they get involved in the employees’ matters and waste their precious time that they can use in matters that are more useful. Along with the wastage of