Management Theories and Psychology

Assignment 1 - Part A - Management Theories & Philosophies

"With reference to the appropriate literature on both the 'classical' and 'human relations' approaches to management theory, critically evaluate how these are applied to an organisation of your own choice."

Introduction

Management pervades every part of our modern day life as the word can be found in the arts, business, education, sport, and even in the home. But what does the word management mean and how does it affect the work that we undertake?

According to the Concise Oxford Dictionary (2011), the word management relates to the "administration of business concerns or public undertakings." In addition, management is also a synthesis or the combination of components or elements to form a connected whole. However, Texier (2013) argues that management does not necessary mean it has to relate to business and it should always be viewed within the context of the organisation it relates to.

Regarding the diverse nature of management, there is no one size fits all theory, but it could be described as "To manage is to forecast and plan, to organise, to command to coordinate and to control." Fayol (1916) cited in Cole & Kelly (2011, p.12 )

The purpose of this paper is to critically evaluate both the classical and human relations approach to management theory by analyzing the appropriate theories to an organisation well know by the author.

Overview of the Organisation

The King's Royal Hussars (KRH) is a main battle tank regiment currently stationed in Tidworth, Hampshire. The regiment operates the Challenger 2 main battle tank (MBT) and other Combat Reconnaissance Vehicles (CRV) considered essential for the duties of a front line fighting unit.

Regimental life centres on rotation duties in Afghanistan together with combat exercises on Salisbury plain and live firing battle group training in Canada, preparing the regiment to deploy at short notice to any war zone in the world. Sport and adventure training are considered essential elements of regimental life as they foster teamwork and Esprit de corps. Standardised training is delivered at The Royal Amoured Corps (RAC) Centre, Bovington Camp, Wareham, Dorset, where all RAC soldiers receive instruction as drivers, gunners, radio operators and commanders.

Review of Theory

Classical

Henri Fayol (1841-1925) was pioneer in management theory and laid the foundation for establishing management as a disciple (Prior & Taneja 2010 p. 489) Fayol trained as a mining engineer and worked for the same organisation until he retired. In 1916, his major work on management theory was published. Administration Industrielle et Generale outlined Fayol's five key management activities namely, to forecast and plan, organise, command, co-ordinate and control. In addition, his five elements were further supported by fourteen principles; division of work; authority; discipline; unity of command; unity of direction; subordination of individual interests to general interest; centralisation; scalar chain; order; equity; stability of tenure of personnel; initiative; and espirit de corps. (Fayol 1949)

This exceptionally structured approach to management must be taken in the context of the French industrial, the era when Fayol's five elements and fourteen principles were conceived and that they are not applicable to modern management thinking. (Wren 1995 p.5) This view is supported by (Reis & Pena 2001) who argues that classical approaches are inflexible and are totally unsuitable to adapt to modern flatter organisational structures that have to respond to a rapidly changing business environment. However, some writers (Archer, 1990; Fells, 2000; Hales, 1986) attest that Fayol's theories are relevant to modern organisations. Fayol himself stated that his views on management were generic and could be applied to any organisation irrespective of size or operation. (Fayol 1949 p.41)

Frederick Taylor (1856-1915) described as the 'father' of Scientific Management, was passionately interested in finding the best way to work (Khurana 2009 p.1). His studies centre on improving the performance of employees by eliminating the rule-of-thumb method of working and engaging supervisors to teach the workforce the most efficient method of working (Schermerhorn 2010 p.31). He achieved this increase in productivity by analysing the actions that workers took to do certain tasks and designed more efficient ways of working which we know as Work Study, a method that has been universally accepted by companies globally. (Cole & Kelly 2011 p.27)

Taylor observed that workers had a tendency to put in the minimum amount of effort necessary thought out their working day. He called this approach 'soldiering.' Talyor also discovered that 'soldiering' was divided into two groups, 'natural soldiering' a drive to take things easy and 'systematic soldiering,' a deliberate restriction of the pace of work mainly through peer group pressure. Taylor methods also raised concerns from Unions regarding the deskilling of workers and fearing new methods of working which would inevitably slim down the workforce creating mass redundancies. (Witzel & Warner 2013 p.11-29)

Max Weber (1864-1920) qualified as a lawyer, but his main interest was the study of organisations and the authority structures within them. Weber's studies centered on the difference between power, namely making workers obey commands even if they complained, and authority, a state where workers obeyed commands given to them and carried them out without complaining. (Pugh & Higson 2007 p.4)

Weber' studies indentified three types of authority namely, traditional - which can be likened to a divine right arising from such sections of society as royalty, tribes or clans. Charismatic - a loyalty to certain people who display natural charm which inspires the devotion and confidence of others and finally, rational-legal authority, which could be described as obedience given to the person in authority who occupies a certain position that is governed by the rules and regulations of the organisation (Cole & Kelly 2011 p.38).

Lyndall Urwick (1891-1983) was British management consultant. The served in both World War 1 and World War 2 earning himself the Military Medal and the Order of the British Empire