During the second wave of the industrial revolution, countries were beginning to understand the various ways they could maximize their yields. Countries were moving from an agrarian life to an industrial life. This meant that the economy was growing at a faster rate as industries continued to flourish. Management was a still foreign but soon scholars realized the need for management. They conducted research and came up with unique theories to inform the industrial owners how best to realize the high yield they needed. Some of the key milestones in management theories are the scientific management theory, bureaucratic management theory, human relations theory, motivation theory and theory X and theory Y. These five theories were important because they not only influenced each other but also lay a foundation of the management concepts used today.
Scientific Management Theory
In the early 20 th century, management was still a foreign concept that was getting established in the world. Other than management other studies such as sociology, economics, history and psychology were becoming more formalized and scientific. The United States was still in the second phase of the industrial revolution when the scientific management theory was established (Principles of management, 2019). The development of this theory was essential to the time and country. This was because US had just entered a phase where they had the potential of lifting its middle class. The theory helped to increase productivity in the industries while lowering prices thus increasing workers’ wages (Principles of management, 2019). Consequently, this also held off radicalism from developing in the US. The principles of scientific management were published by Fredrick Taylor in 1913 (Zink & Zink, n.d).
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Fredrik is considered to be the father of scientific management as his principles were aimed at increasing industrial efficiency. The signs of the time that led to the establishment of the theory were mainly surrounding the development of industrial work. He had noted that there were many acts that aimed at limiting productivity (Principles of management, 2019). The theory was beneficial in the time as it fostered the use of cost-control systems, division of labor based on function, and the use of planning and standardized equipment at the workplace. Moreover, it formed the basis of modern management which allowed workers to be more productive (Zink & Zink, n.d). However, some of its limitations were the theory insisted on using a demotivating approach, it was overly bureaucratic, led to work division and was not suitable for teams. It was also formed on the wrong assumption, caused stress to the workers and was also time consuming.
Bureaucratic Management Theory
The bureaucratic management theory was established in an effort to manage a group of individuals. The theory was developed to counter the existing unjust administrative systems that existed in European countries (Zink & Zink, n.d). The theory was a significant milestone in its time since it insisted on the leadership of qualified and regular staff at the workplace and not the aristocrats who had been dominating in the area before. The leader was expected to be career-driven committed and motivated to their position thus promoting the work and acting as an example to their employees. What motivated the rise of the theory was the unethical behavior of leaders of that time (Zink & Zink, n.d). Moreover, the need to have rational, and logical systems controlling different organizations also fueled its development.
Marx Webber, a German sociologist is considered to be the father of bureaucracy. He worked on this theory with the aim of supplementing Henri Fayol's management systems, and the disciplines of sociology and economics (Principles of management, 2019). Weber was keen on insisting that understanding the actions of individuals would lead to understanding the collective group. The signs of the time that led the theorist to develop the management concept were the rise of industrialization, communication and transportation and bureaucracies that forced managers to cover larger amounts of territory in the expanding market economy ( Principles of management, 2019 ). Some of the highlights of the management theory were ensuring leaders were competent, assigning smaller jobs to employees to allow them to cover more work overtime thus increasing their efficiency and promotions based on technical qualifications (Zink & Zink, n.d). Some of the limitations of the theory were that employees were not able to be creative; the theory depends on leadership to be successful and that it was rule-oriented.
Human Relations Theory
Human relations theory was a response to the already existing management theories. The theory is a significant milestone as it looked into the ignored aspect of management which dealt with the worker (Zink & Zink, n.d). The theory focused on rationality as it explained the catalyst in the workplace that motivated human beings. The theory was postulated in the early 1930's where it helped mangers understand their work environment better (Principles of management, 2019). During this time, the workers in the industries were never considered to have attitudes and perceptions or even desires to take part in the workplace performance. By not considering the employees, the management was diminishing their social pressures which made the environment ready for the rise of the human relations theory. Elton Mayo is considered to be the father of the Mayo's human relation theory as he contributed significantly to its development
. Mayo played a significant role in highlighting the need for considering human attitudes towards the work they did and the effect of their attitudes towards their work while also showing how group attitudes affected behavior (Principles of management, 2019). The signs that made Mayo develop the management concept were how employees were misunderstood by their management and supervisors. Mayo believed that social issues and attention paid to the group of workers and individuals in the team can lead to understanding employee behaviors and result in increased productivity (Zink & Zink, n.d). The highlights of this theory are that employees desire to be part of supportive team that fosters growth and development, allowed labor to gain economic and political power while also impacted how mangers think to incorporate the team in the management process. The limitations pf this theory was that it was too simplistic by viewing human beings as social being who are motivated by social rewards while also misled firms to create far-flung benefits to motivate employees which did not always work.
Motivation theory
The motivation theory is also known as the hierarchy of needs. These are human needs that were considered by a theorist who proposed a theory on motivating workers to gain their commitment (Gitman et al., 2018). The theory is a significant milestone as it evolved during a time when managers were beginning to realize that individual attitudes could influence one's productivity and thus influence the work proceeds while also influencing their behaviors. At that time supervisors and management had begun to find new ways of motivating their workforce. This was being done in a bid to realize employee motivation and thus encourage them to work and realize high yields ( Gitman et al., 2018 ). The father of the motivation theory is known as Abraham Maslow.
At the time he postulated his theory, there was significant signs that fueled the him. Maslow had realized that supervisors and management had begun looking for ways to motivate their workers (Gitman et al., 2018). His theory was therefore meant to shed light on the best way to motivate their employees while also allowing them a chance to realize their needs. The highlights of this theory include the believe in a hierarchy of needs. It also explains that whenever one level is attained, people would strive to attain the next level of needs until they reach the self-actualization level (Gitman et al., 2018). Maslow helped the managers realize that they cannot appeal to their employees with needs that have already been satisfied (Gitman et al., 2018). The limitations of the theory are the lack of evidence that the needs are arranged as presented by Maslow or that the satisfied enable people to a new level.
Theory X and Theory Y
Theory X and Theory Y are theories that explain the motivations behind employee engagement. These theories work on contrasting assumptions; one is optimistic while the other is pessimistic (Gitman et al., 2018). The theories are a significant milestone for the period they were created as it was during the time that managers had realized the importance of motivation their workforce. During that time, there were various motivation strategies and theories. The theorist offered his assumptions to help managers in motivating their subordinates (Gitman et al., 2018). They theorist believed that theory Y should be used by managers in motivating employees thus assuming that people are generally optimistic towards work.
The theorist who fathered the theory is known as Douglas McGregor. At the time the theory was coined, there were significant signs that led the theorist to develop the theory. The idea of motivating employees to attain workforce productivity was prevalent (Gitman et al., 2018). This had caused managers to try various means of motivation to realize the success. The highlights of the theory are based on two contrasting assumptions (Gitman et al., 2018). Theory X assumes workers are lazy and will avoid work at all costs thus need to be directed and threatened with punishment. Theory Y assumes that work is natural, employees can be motivated with positive incentives and that people seek out and accept responsibility under proper conditions (Gitman et al., 2018). The limitations of the theory are that not only do the theories work on assumptions but also theory X fosters a distrustful and hostile environment to work in while theory Y requires proper conditions for everyone which might not be feasible since everyone is unique.
Conclusion
The five theories discussed in above form some of the key management theory milestones. These theories influenced each other to ensure managers and supervisors knew how best to motivate and manage their workforce to attain the desired outcomes in their industries. The current management theories and strategies used today still borrow from the outcomes of these theories. These theories enabled scholars developed better theories and models that motivate and engage employees while also increasing their firm's productivity.
References
Gitman,L., J., McDaniel, C. Shah, A., Reece, M., Koffel, L., Talsma, B., & Hyatt, J., C. (2018). Introduction to business. https://opentextbc.ca/businessopenstax/
Principles of management. (2019). OpenStax. https://opentextbc.ca/principlesofmanagementopenstax/
Zink, J.& Zink J. (n.d). Organizational communication. Granite State College. https://granite.pressbooks.pub/organizationalcommunication/
