5.

“Classical Management theory has little relevance for managers in the dynamic
environment of the 21st century”. How far do you agree with this statement?

1) Explain and describe classical management theory

a) List out the different classical management theories.

Fayol's Administrative Theory

Weber's Theory of Bureaucracy
Taylor's Theory of Scientific Management and Fordism.

b) Go into detail for each of the classical management theories, firstly, defining what each
of them is, then pointing out each of their main principles/ elements.

Fayol's Administrative Theory

Fayol invented Management as a discipline and refer it to a series of activities.

These activities include forcasting, planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating, and
controlling.
Fayol’s principles of management are division of work, unity of command, unity of
direction, authority and responsibility and span of control.

The activities are performed sequentially and manager has identifiable tasks.

Weber's Theory of Bureaucracy

Max Webber (1970)’s study of bureaucracy has had an influence on the theory of
organizations. He denoted bureaucracy as red tape, officialdom and a means of
organization. Bureaucracy can thus be seen as perhaps solely concerned with the task of
administration, since it carries out the task of maintaining a system of records upon which
the direction and control of work of others. A classic example of bureaucracy is the civil
service.

The basic elements of Weber’s “ideal type” of bureaucratic model are:

1. A staff consisting of a body of employees whose full-time work was to administer
the activities of the institution.
2. A division of labour which assigns specific tasks to sub-units and individuals.
3. The hierarchy, or division of power, involves the ranking of offices to provide
clear lines of command.
4. Competence refers to the basis upon which office is held.
5. Objectivity suggests that all dealings within bureaucracy and with clients should
be conducted on the basis of equal treatment according to a procedure routine.

Taylorism
F.W. Taylor (1911) searched for a “true science” of management and aimed for efficiency,
standardisation and discipline.

Taylorism and scientific management – introduction of administrative means to control

labour force and achieve efficiency

Key elements of Taylorism:

1. Job fragmentation
- Break jobs down as far as possible to their component tasks.
- Carefully measure standard times for each task
2. Job specialization
- Break jobs down as far as possible to their component tasks.
- Simplification of tasks mean

3. Separation of mental and manual labour

- Allow workers to concentrate on optimizing their skills
- Delicate planning department to formalizing workers technique

Fordism

Hery Ford (1913)’s added 3 key elements to Taylorism namely standardized products,
single purpose machine tools and the assembly line. Fordism is a production technique to
achieve efficiency inspired by Taylor’s ideas adjusted for the mass production era.

2) Explain how far do I agree with this statement?

a) State your stand. Agree or don’t agree?

In our answer, we do not agree that there is little relevance.

b) Explain the present situation

We all know that employees nowadays no longer behave predictably, as they or WE, have
our own way of thinking. Furthermore, many companies now encourage their employees
to be innovative and to think of ways to cut costs, or to come out with new products/new
invention/improvements to existing products. Employees are also required to sit in
meetings to discuss and raise opinions/comments on “decisions” made. There is thus
more freedom of speech in such adopted work culture.

As mentioned, in classical management theory, bureaucracy often exists as a “red tape”

or officialdom. In this century, even the Singapore government has introduced a one-stop
web site (www.cutredtape.gov.sg) allowing the public and businesses to provide feedback
on government red tape, as well as seek help on resolving issues.
c) Argue why classical management theory is still in place (with examples)

Despite all these, many organizations are still using classical management theory in one
way or another, whether they like it or not. This is in order for them to have a clear
direction of where they and their subordinates should follow and aim towards to. In this
way, there is a sense of direction and goals and the unity of command gives employees
the opportunity to be promoted to the next level or to be transferred to another
department.

By referring to Fayol, we can see that the activities that a manager performs still fall
under his responsibilities. For example, after a staff has come up with a new solution, he
will still need the approval from the manager in order to implement the idea. There is still
a high degree of control that managers hold over their employees. There are many
companies where the manager still has to forecast, plan, organize, command, co-ordinate,
and control. One very relevant example is in the government sector where the
department’s annual plans are set by the management, work processes monitored by
supervisors and any ideas are to be approved by managers before being implemented.

Referring to Weber, bureaucracy has not been totally eliminated even in modern day
management. Companies still require a certain procedure for certain activities, for
example a credit card application. Documents are still required for recording purposes,
information are still needed before a loan can be approved and etc. In the government
sector, staff are still employed to administer the activities of the instituition. There is also
a set of hierarchy with clear lines of command defined. All staff are also being informed
about the serious consequences of bribery or showing favoritism to friends and family
over clients.

Lastly, looking at taylorism and fordism. It is obvious that Taylorism still remains the
basis of all factory work in terms of job fragmentation and job specialization. It also
provides the foundation for TQM (Total Quality Management), BPR (Business Process
Re-Engineer) in areas of surveillance and direct control. Other than this, Taylorism and
Fordism are also easily adapted for the service industry, for eg. Call centre, where
constant surveillance are used to obtain total management control. We can also look at the
auditing process that so many companies are focusing on now. While chasing for the
Total Quality Management reputation to be tagged to their image, companies did not
realize that Taylorism is already in place. Work processes are fragmented, timed and
constantly supervised just so to be able to adhere to the Total Quality Management
standards, and be conceived as a company which has the quality that the consumers want.

3. Give a conclusion

In conclusion, the theories of classical management have failed. These can be seen from
examples like “Deep resistance from US unions” and “Strikes and riots at Watertown
Arsenal”. Fordism also resulted in high rate of absenteeism and turnover rates. However,
in the 21st century, Taylorism and Fordism are being remodelled to suit the dynamic
environment. There is up-skilling for workers, high-trust employment relations and full-
functional flexibility. Management is encouraged to mingle and build rapport with their
subordinates. Subordinates are given more opportunities to upgrade and participate in
decision-making. From all these, we can truly see that Classical management theories still
hold a very relevant role in the management style of today.