What Would You Do? As the day shift supervisor at the steel plan, you summon six college student workers to give them a job hauling scrap metal into railroad cars. It is obvious, from the math, that the task is labor intensive. Furthermore, it will require the students to do a six week in two weeks to meet the sales deadlines. So, without more workers and without forklifts, all the metal has to be loaded by hand in two weeks. What would motivate the students to work harder than they have all summer? What can you change about the way work is done to deal with the physical fatigue? If you were the supervisor in charge, what would you do?
Only 125 years ago, business ideas and practices were very different from today’s widely accepted management ideas. Management wasn’t even a field of study, and there were no management jobs or management careers. This chapter presents origins of management ideas and practice throughout history and the historical changes that produced the need for managers. On this slide are some of the management examples that can be found throughout history, and how they are related to the management functions in the textbook.
Before scientific management, organizational decision making could best be described as ‘seat-of-the-pants.” Decisions were made haphazardly with no standardization of procedures, systematic study, or collection of information. In contrast, scientific management thoroughly studied and tested different work methods to identify the best, most efficient ways to complete a job.
Frederick W. Taylor, the “father of scientific management,” spent three years to improve output of workers who were deliberately restricting output. His principles are described on this slide. Taylor’s key ideas have stood the test of time. These include: using systematic analysis to identify the best methods scientifically selecting, training, and developing workers promoting cooperation between management and labor developing standardized approaches and tools setting specific tasks or goals and then rewarding workers with financial incentives giving workers shorter work hours and frequent breaks
In addition to their use of motion studies to simplify work, Frank and Lillian Gilbreth also made significant contributions to the employment of handicapped workers and industrial psychology. Lillian Gilbreth, the first woman to receive a Ph.D. in Management, also convinced the government to enact laws regarding workplace safety, ergonomics, and child labor.
In addition to their use of motion studies to simplify work, Frank and Lillian Gilbreth also made significant contributions to the employment of handicapped workers and industrial psychology. Lillian Gilbreth, the first woman to receive a Ph.D. in Management, also convinced the government to enact laws regarding workplace safety, ergonomics, and child labor.
Henry Gant, in addition to creating the Gantt chart, made significant contributions to management with pay-for-performance plans and the training and development of workers. A Gantt chart shows time in various units on the x-axis and tasks on the y-axis, visually indicating what tasks must be completed at which times in order to complete a project.
When we hear the term bureaucracy, we think of inefficiency and “red tape”, incompetence and ineffectiveness. However, when German sociologist Max Weber proposed the idea of bureaucratic organizations, monarchies were associated with these problems. Bureaucracy literally means to rule from a desk or office. In a bureaucracy, people would lead by virtue of rational-legal authority—from knowledge, expertise, and experience.
The aim of bureaucracy is to achieve an organization’s goals in the most efficient way possible.
Henri Fayol is best known for developing five functions of managers and 14 principles of management, as well as his belief that management could and should be taught to others. The five functions of successful management are: planning, organizing, coordinating, commanding, and controlling. His principles of effective management are shown on this slide.
Scientific management focuses on improving the efficiency of manufacturing facilities and their workers. Bureaucratic management focuses on using knowledge, fairness, and logical rules to increase the organization’s efficiency. Administrative management focuses on how and what managers should do in their jobs. In contrast, the human relations approach to management focuses on the psychological and social aspects of work. People are valuable organizational resources whose needs are important.
Follett is known for developing ideas regarding constructive conflict and coordination. She said that conflict is the appearance of difference, difference of opinions, of interests. Follett believed that managers could deal with conflict in three ways, as shown on this slide. Domination is a victory of one side over the other. Compromise involves both parties giving up some of what they want in order to reach agreement. Integrative conflict resolution involves both parties indicating their preferences and then working together to find an alternative that meets the needs of both.
Elton May’s ideas became popular during the twentieth century when labor unrest and protests were widespread in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Mayo's work proved relevant as managers looked for ways to increase productivity and to improve worker satisfaction and working conditions.
Chester Barnard is best known for his ideas about cooperation, the executive functions that promote it, and the acceptance of authority.
The key elements of operations management had origins in guns, geometry, and fire. Firearms manufacturers needed standardized, interchangeable parts. Following the theories of Eli Whitney, machine tools were designed which allowed unskilled workers to make each gun part the same as the next. Geometry techniques were used for drawing three-dimensional objects on paper, based on a book by Gaspard Monge. These precise drawings permitted manufacturers to make standardized, interchangeable parts without examining a prototype. Finally, a problem with too much inventory was plaguing manufacturers. A solution to this problem occurred in 1905 when the Oldsmobile Motor Works burned down. Management rented a new production facility to begin production again, and there was no room to store inventory. Since all its suppliers were close by, Oldsmobile could place orders in the morning and receive them by afternoon—creating the first just-in-time inventory system.
A system is a set of interrelated elements or parts that function as a whole. A systems approach encourages managers to look for connections between the different parts of the organization.
A system is a set of interrelated elements or parts that function as a whole. A systems approach encourages managers to look for connections between the different parts of the organization.
