The Management Theory Jungle Revisited

HAROLD KOONTZ UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA

About author
Harold Koontz
Born: 1909 Birthplace: USA Death: February 11,1984 He was a business management professor at University of California, Los Angeles, and consultant for the largest business organizations in US.

History of management theory

During the past 50 years, major social, political, economic, and technical changes have had a tremendous impact on the practice of management. Simultaneously, this time period produced a growing interest in the study of management.

 Frederick W. Taylor (1856-1917). Taylor and his associates searched for better ways to cut cost, improve productivity, measure performance, and select and train workers. Through his experimentation and writing, Taylor became known as the father of the movement called scientific management.

 In the 1920s and 1930s, the focus of management, study shifted to a more detailed examination of the human element in organizations. The study of interrelationships between people and work environments resulted in a new field of management called human relations. Pioneers, such as Elthon Mayo and F.J Roethlisberger, were among the first to be involved in extensive research directed toward providing a better understanding of human behavior in work situations

 Since the 1930s, contributions from the areas of psychology, sociology, and anthropology have added significantly to the behavioral knowledge available to modern managers.

The jungle theory

During the 1950s, other approaches to the study of management started to develop. The proliferation of these approaches was quite rapid and continues even today. in 1961, Harold Koontz discussed six schools of management thought and referred to them as the " management theory jungle." Almost 20 years later, Koontz revisited the jungle, and identified 11 approaches to management theory and science:

Jungle-the original management theory

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. The management process school The empirical or case approach The human behavior school The social system school The decision theory school The mathematics school

Approaches
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. Empirical or case approach Interpersonal behavior approach Group behavior approach Cooperative social system approach Sociotechnical system approach Decision theory approach Systems approach Mathematical or "management science approach Contingency or situational approach Managerial roles approach Operational approach

Empirical or case
Seeks to advance the understanding of management through a study of past experience, usually through cases, and a transfer of the lessons of such experience to practitioners and students.

Interpersonal behavior

Studies management by concentrating on interpersonal relations in organizations, with a focus on individuals and their motivations.

Group behavior
Concentrates on the study of group behavior patterns in organizations rather than on interpersonal relations.

Cooperative social system

Modifies the interpersonal and group behavior approaches by studying human relations as cooperative social system that link two or more persons together in the pursuit of common purposes.

Sociotechnical system
Emphasizes the need for considering social and technical systems simultaneously in the practice of management since technical system have a great influence on the social system(s) of organizations.

Decision theory
Stresses decision making as a major responsibility of all managers and focuses on the development of management thought around the decision-making process.

Systems
Studies the interdependent parts of organizations as they interact with, and are influenced by, their environments.

Mathematical or "management science

Considers management as a process that can be studied through mathematical models that express the basic elements of a problem, while providing a means for identifying and evaluating alternative solutions to the problem.

Contingency or situational
Examines managerial behavior as a response to a given set of circumstances in order to suggest management practices that appear most suitable for dealing with a particular situation.

Managerial roles
Observes what managers do in an attempt to identify ad classify those roles common to all managers.

Operational
Attempts to tie together the concepts, principles, theory, and techniques that underpin the practice of management by relating them to the functions of managers.

Industrial engineering

Political science

General systems theory Applied s/ms

Socio technical

Cooperative social

sociology

Decision theory

Rational choice

Basic magmt science and theory

Group behavior interpersonal

Economic theory

Manage ment science

Managing experience

psychology

mathematics

Clinical experience

Conclusion
Management theory does not include approaches that represent the "one best way" for dealing with all situations. Instead, it is a body of interrelated concepts, principles, and techniques that provides useful guides to managerial thought and action.