Comparison and Contrast between schools of thought

As organizations grew and became more complex, there arouse a need for systematic understanding of how to manage the overall process of getting things done through other people. To define management in the words of Harold Koontz and Heinz Weihrich management is the process of designing and maintaining an environment in which individuals, working together in groups, efficiently accomplish selected aims. Management is not as rigid as science nor is it a form of art; it is an inexact science and an applied art. It is a goal oriented process that is pervasive and multi-dimensional.

Management has a vast spectrum of theories .management is divided into two major divisions, the classical school of thoughts and the Neo classical school of thoughts. The classical school encompasses Scientific Management of Taylor, Administrative Management of Fayol, and Bureaucratic Organization of Weber. The Neo-Classical Theory includes the Human Relations Movement of Mayo along with Dickson and a few others. And the Behavioral Schools of Maslow, McGregor, and Herzberg etc. The aim of this essay is to bring out the differences and similarities between the theories of the Scientific School of thoughts and the Behavioral school of thoughts. The basis of contrast and comparison will be ‘the worker’ and the views of these schools of thought on handling and controlling the workforce as well as the workplace and the different ways in which they ‘get things done through people’.

Fredrick Winslow Taylor, a trained engineer known as the father of scientific management or Taylorism noticed the differences in the labor productivity which were driven by various causes such as talent, skills, intelligence or motive. He believed that there was only one best way of performing any task. Scientific management called for simplification but specialization of work tasks. Taylor held out that even the most basic, mindless task could be planned in such a way that would drastically increase productivity and that scientifically managing the workers was more effective than the ‘initiative and incentive’ method of motivating workers. He carried out various studies such as the time study, motion study and studied the various movements of the workers and in order to reduce wastage. F.W.Taylor introduced the piece rate system, under which every worker was paid a fixed piece rate for each unit produced.

Henri Fayol was French mining engineer and a management theorist who has incalculably contributed to the modern concepts of management. He proposed six primary functions and 14 principles of management; they were highly influential in the classical school of management and are prime examples of the tenets of the classical approach to management. But the primary functions as well as the 14 principles were more task oriented rather than people oriented.

Max Weber was a German sociologist and political economist, who profoundly influenced social theory, social research, and the discipline of sociology itself. Bureaucracy arose by sub-dividing the functions that the owner-managers originally did themselves such as supervision, personnel selection, accounting and financial management, record keeping, job design, and planning.

Elton Mayo was an Australian psychologist, sociologist and organization theorist, the founder of Human Relations Movement and is known for his research including the Hawthorne Studies. The Hawthorne Studies of the 1930s showed the importance of groups in affecting the behavior of individuals at work. This study enabled him to drive at conclusions about how a manager should behave. He carried out numerous experiments on how to increase and improve productivity. He found out that when workers work in informal groups their work satisfaction varied to large extent. The human relations movement deemed that humans are motivated by social needs and work well when they are put in a group or as a team that is socially bound; the primary concern of any organization must be the satisfaction of social needs, only when an individual is socially satisfied will he be able to work effectively hence organizations are regarded as the co-operative social systems in which informal groups have a substantial effect on productivity.

Abraham Maslow a professor of psychology at Brandeis University founded humanistic psychology and created Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. At the bottom of the pyramid is the Basic needs or Physiological needs, the next level is safety needs. The third level of need is the need of being loved. The fourth level is achieved only when individuals are happy with what they have accomplished and are comfortable with it known as the Esteem level. The top of the pyramid is the need for self actualization.

Douglas McGregor was the creator and developer of Theory X and Theory Y that are known as the theories of human motivation. They describe two very different attitudes towards workforce motivation. McGregor felt that companies followed either one of these approaches. He also thought that the key to connecting self-actualization with work is determined by the managerial trust of subordinates.

The similarity between scientific school and behavioral school was that they both wanted to increase productivity by increasing the efficiency of the workers. On the course of Taylor’s pragmatic studies, he came across concepts that were not in common use in those days. One of it was the rest intervals; workers were taught to take rest intervals quite often which as a result increased production ironically. One of the variables Mayo and his colleagues studied after conducting the Hawthorne studies were the impact of rest intervals. These rest intervals increased the productivity of the workers.

One of the key principles introduced by Taylor was Co-operation, not Individualism, which emphasized on team work rather than individuals performing tasks all alone. After conducting the Hawthorne studies Mayo concluded that the individuals whom he studied worked better when they were put in a group hence, opted for team work.

Behavioral school holds that there must be a fusion between human needs and organizational goals. Every worker must understand that when an organizational goal is achieved it leads to fulfillment of their personal needs. The same idea is reflected in one of the principles conferred by Fayol.The principle ‘subordination of individual needs to general needs’ explains that efforts must be made to reconcile individual interests with common interests. Thought it explains that employee’s interest must not prevail over the organization as a whole. Both the school of thoughts concludes that people’s interest is secondary to organizational goals.

One of the principles contributed by Henri Fayol is ‘esprit de corps’ which means team work. The management should never use the policy of ‘divide and rule ‘rather it should use the concept team work which in return increases production and satisfaction of workers. In the 1930s,after conducting the Hawthorne studies, Mayo and his colleagues concluded that people worked in a more effective and efficient manner when put in groups together. Team work promotes co-operation between the workers and as a team together they could work for the accomplishment of organizational goals.

The main criticism of scientific approach is that it avoids the human element in production and is devoid of human touch. It treats workers as machines, factors of production rather than human beings. On the contrary behavioral approach was more concerned about human behavior and stated performance itself was not a product of working conditions but a bundle of feelings, attitudes and sentiments. Special attention and opportunity to express their feelings causes them to work in a more effective manner.

Scientific management is based on the assumption that humans are rational and are mainly motivated by money. They strongly believed that people were motivated by physical and economic needs and disregarded social needs. On the other hand behavioral school stood at people are motivated only by social needs and not by money.

Behavioral school considers one as a manager if he has human skills. It overlooks the other factor that builds the managerial qualification in a person. Whereas, scientific school strongly believes that a manager should have the following qualities. They are physical health, mental ability, moral, general education, special knowledge and experience.

Behavioral school opts for social environment in the workplace particularly informal work group, interpersonal and in-group relations between employees and managers influences the workers behavior and performance in a positive way. Scientific management suggested a superior-subordinate relationship i.e. a formal organization Taylor’s motive was to increase productivity; his perspective was egronomical but not psychological, however being in contrast with Taylor, Mayo did not exterminate the informal organization, instead he tried to create stability amid the official and informal organization.

After studying the scientific school and behavioral school of thoughts, the theories contributed by Henri Fayol stands to be my favorite theories and principles. He analyzed managerial jobs in a series of functions which were to be performed by all managers in all organizations. The functions that constitute the managerial functions are: Planning, Organizing, Directing, Staffing and Controlling. In addition to the managerial functions, he introduced 14 general principles of management that helped the managers to effectively manage the work environment. All his principles are universally accepted. All organizations face the problem of making optimum utilization of scarce resources. Therefore, these functions and principles are applicable to all sorts of organizations. Fayol believed that on the job experience method of learning is not adequate. Therefore, he suggested formal management training.

Though both the schools of thoughts had two different approaches their aim was to maximize production in a more efficient way. Both the schools undertook very different ways to accomplish their goals. Thus, it can be concluded that an organization can apply the theories that belong to one school or both in order to excel production through increased efficiency. Scientific management and human relations go hand in hand and one is not less superior to the other.

dd u do yu online a/c test?

http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile-ak-snc4/hs455.snc4/49919_1661875195_6869938_q.jpg

6:44pm

nope !

we all doin it in uni tomm !

http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile-ak-snc4/hs223.ash2/48905_1196147190_1324038_q.jpg

6:44pm

umm..ok

http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile-ak-snc4/hs455.snc4/49919_1661875195_6869938_q.jpg

6:45pm

u ?

http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile-ak-snc4/hs223.ash2/48905_1196147190_1324038_q.jpg

6:45pm

evn b4 i opned it stated dat d paoer cn b atempted onli once :(:(

http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile-ak-snc4/hs455.snc4/49919_1661875195_6869938_q.jpg

6:46pm

wat ?

dummy only u r for takn it serious :p:p

so i ws rite :P:P

http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile-ak-snc4/hs223.ash2/48905_1196147190_1324038_q.jpg

6:50pm

:(:(

http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile-ak-snc4/hs455.snc4/49919_1661875195_6869938_q.jpg

6:51pm

awwwwhhh ..

dont be sad :P:P

dummy :P:P

ur a cute dummy ;);) :D:D

hwz dat :P:P ?

http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile-ak-snc4/hs223.ash2/48905_1196147190_1324038_q.jpg

6:51pm

shaap!

dummy only u r for takn it serious :p:p

so i ws rite :P:P

http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile-ak-snc4/hs223.ash2/48905_1196147190_1324038_q.jpg

6:50pm

:(:(

http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile-ak-snc4/hs455.snc4/49919_1661875195_6869938_q.jpg

6:51pm

awwwwhhh ..

dont be sad :P:P

dummy :P:P

ur a cute dummy ;);) :D:D

hwz dat :P:P ?

http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile-ak-snc4/hs223.ash2/48905_1196147190_1324038_q.jpg

6:51pm

shaap!