Dr.

Olu Akintunde Lecture Note AMS 101

University of Lagos, Akoka
Faculty of Management Sciences
Department of Business Administration

History Module
Since the birth of modern management theory in the early 1900s, management experts
have developed theories to help organizations and their managers coordinate and
oversee work activities as effectively and efficiently as possible. In presenting the history
of modern management, this supplement explores the evolution of management thought
and practice during the twentieth century.

EARLY MANAGEMENT
3000-2500 B.C.E.Organizations and managers have existed for thousands of years. The
Egyptian pyramids and the Great Wall of China were projects of
tremendous scope and magnitude, requiring the efforts of tens of
thousands of people. How was it possible for these projects to be
completed successfully? The answer is management. Regardless of the
titles given to managers throughout history, someone has always had to
plan what needs to be accomplished, organize people and materials, lead
and direct workers, and impose controls to ensure that goals were
attained as planned.
1400s Examples of early management practices can also be seen by studying
the Arsenal of Venice. Assembly lines, accounting systems, and
personnel functions are only a few of the processes and activities used in
business in the fifteenth century that are common to today’s
organizations as well.
1776 Adam Smith, author of the classical economics doctrine The Wealth of
Nations, argued brilliantly for the economic advantages that he believed
division of labor (the breakdown of jobs into narrow, repetitive tasks)
would bring to organizations and society.
1700s The Industrial Revolution is possibly the most important pre-twentieth-
century influence on management. The introduction of machine powers
combined with the division of labor made large, efficient factories
possible. Planning, organizing, leading, and controlling became
necessary activities.

CLASSICAL APPROACH
1911 Scientific management is defined as the use of the scientific method to
determine the “one best way” for a job to be done. Frederick W. Taylor is
known as the “father” of scientific management. Taylor’s work at the
Midvale and Bethlehem Steel companies stimulated his interest in
improving efficiency. Taylor sought to create a mental revolution among
both workers and managers by defining clear guidelines for improving
production efficiency. Frank and Lillian Gilbreth were inspired by Taylor’s
work and proceeded to study and develop their own methods of scientific
management. Frank Gilbreth is probably best known for his experiments
in reducing the number of motions in bricklaying.
 Dr. Olu Akintunde Lecture Note AMS 101
University of Lagos, Akoka
Faculty of Management Sciences
Department of Business Administration

1916-1947 Henri Fayol, who was a contemporary of Frederick W. Taylor, was the
managing director of a large French coal-mining firm. Fayol focused on
activities common to all managers. He stated 14 principles of
management (fundamental or universal truths of management that can
be taught in schools; see Exhibit HM-1). Max Weber was a German
sociologist who wrote in the early twentieth century. Weber developed a
theory of authority structures and described organizational activity based
on authority relations. He described the ideal form of organization as a
bureaucracy marked by division of labor, a clearly defined hierarchy,
detailed rules and regulations, and impersonal relationships

BEHAVIORAL APPROACH
1700s-1900s Robert Owen, Hugo Munsterberg, Mary Parker Follett, and Chester
Barnard were early advocates of the OB approach. Their ideas served as
the foundation for employee selection procedures, motivation programs,
work teams, and organization environment management techniques.
1920-1930s The Hawthorne Studies were the most important contribution to the
development of organizational behavior. This series of experiments
conducted from 1924 to the early 1930s at the Western Electric Company
Works in Cicero, Illinois, were initially devised as a scientific management
experiment to assess the impact of changes in various physical
environment variables on employee productivity. After Harvard professor
Elton Mayo and his associates joined the study as consultants, other
experiments were included to look at redesigning jobs, make changes in
workday and workweek length, introduce rest periods, and introduce
individual versus group wage plans. The researchers concluded that
social norms or group standards were key determinants of individual work
behavior. Although not without criticism (concerning procedures,
analyses of findings, and the conclusions), the Hawthorne Studies
stimulated interest in human behavior in organizational settings.
1960s The field of study concerned with the actions (behaviors) of people at
work is organizational behavior. Organizational behavior (OB) research
has contributed much of what we know about human resources
management and contemporary views of motivation, leadership, trust,
teamwork, and conflict management.
1930s-1950a The human relations movement assisted managers in designing jobs that
motivate workers, in working with employee teams, and in facilitating the
flow of communication within organizations. Included in this movement
were Abraham Maslow, best known for his hierarchy of needs and
Douglas McGregory and this conceptualization of Theory X and Theory Y
managers.

QUANTITATIVE APPROACH TO MANAGEMENT

 Dr. Olu Akintunde Lecture Note AMS 101
University of Lagos, Akoka
Faculty of Management Sciences
Department of Business Administration

1940s The quantitative approach to management sometimes known as

operations research or management science, uses quantitative
techniques to improve decision making. This approach includes
applications of statistics, optimization models, information models, and
computer simulations. The quantitative approach originated during World
War II as mathematical and statistical solutions to military problems were
developed for wartime use. As often happens after wartime, methods that
were developed during World War II to conduct military affairs were
applied to private industry following the war. For instance, a group of
military officers—the Whiz Kids—used quantitative methods to improve
decision making at Ford Motor Company in the mid-1940s.
1950 Total Quality management is a philosophy of management that is
driven by continual improvement and response to customer needs and
expectations. TQM was inspired by a small group of quality experts,
including W. Edwards Deming, who was one of its chief proponents.
TQM represents a counterpoint to earlier management theorists who
believed that low costs were the only road to increased productivity.

CONTEMPOARY APPROACH
1960s Systems Theory. During the 1960s researchers began to analyze
organizations from a systems perspective based on the physical
sciences. A system is a set of interrelated and interdependent parts
arranged in a manner that produces a unified whole. The two basic types
of systems are closed and open. A closed system is not influenced by
and does not interact with its environment. An open system interacts
with its environment (see Exhibit MH-2).
1960s The Contingency Approach. The contingency approach recognizes that
different organizations require different ways of managing. The
contingency approach to management is a view that the organization
recognizes and responds to situational variables as they arise.
1980s - The next approach to management does not have a name (yet), but
technology and information are the obvious drivers for management
change today. From wired to wireless, the impact of computing
resources have changed how managers and employees relate to each
other and to the organization.