About Management Theories
In the world of business, reaching maximum efficiency is something that companies all over the world strive to achieve in order to get the most bang for their buck. Management theories evolve from certain business gurus' perspectives on run the most efficient business. And although some of them are arcane and hard to implement, many feature plenty of good concepts that are practiced in thousands of businesses.
History of
Ever since employers have been putting people to work, ideas have existed about maximize productivity in order to maximize profits. The first management theory was developed in the 1890s by Frederick Taylor. This scientific management theory was geared toward mechanical and assembly line work, as most major companies at the time were industrialized. In these companies, tasks were generally standardized. Taylor's theory assigned measurements for success pertaining to these tasks. If workers reach their goals, they were rewarded. If not, they were punished or fired. This theory did not suggest compassion or include a human element in management; it was strictly task-based. Most companies in the United States used this theory until the 1930s. Around this time, Max Weber took the scientific management theory of Taylor and tweaked it a bit. His focus was on separating organizations into hierarchies, for example, assembly line workers, shift leaders and plant managers. Weber thought each organization should develop standardized operating procedures for the daily tasks that were to be performed at each level. Tasks weren't assigned to the individual but rather to the hierarchical level.
Evolution
Elton Mayo's Hawthorne Works Experiments in the mid-1920's set out to show that human considerations were necessary to get the most out of your workers. He experimented with a group of female workers, giving them several "perks" - rest breaks, free meals, shorter workdays. With each change, the group showed an increase in productivity. These were the beginnings for the Human Relations Movement. Labor unions of the 1930s and 1940s were also concerned with how employees were being treated in the workplace. While Taylor's theories were necessary in terms of developing quality control at organizations, Mayo also significantly impacted management theories with this human-factored movement. From Mayo's experiments, government regulations and labor unions, eventually human resources departments were developed and employees were treated more fairly and given benefits. Both employees and employers reaped the rewards. Management understood that is the employees prospered, the company would prosper as well. Much effort was put into understand the needs of workers and how management could satisfy those needs and create a more productive workplace.
Type
Many different types of specific management theories are currently practiced, but the basic ideas behind each of them can be separated into different categories. Contingency theories take into account the fact that managers must be flexible and take the approach that best fits the situation. Systems theories look at each employee as part of a system, giving them crucial tasks that create such an environment where taking out part out of the equation would render it unworkable. Chaos theories focus on the inevitability of change and complexity in the business model.
Features
Business management theories all attempt to answer the same question: what is the best approach to managing a business in order to maximize profits? Sometimes, management theories go through real-world testing in order to weed out the concepts that are only popular in the present time. That is done in order to introduce stable concepts into the world of academic business management thought. An important part of assessing management theories is the ability not to buy blindly into popular management theories that may or may not work.
Benefits
A proper business model means that each employee is happy and working at her maximum productivity level. That ensures that the employer gets what she is paying for in an employee and eventually results in more wealth for everyone involved. Good management theories help this happen by providing a suitable business model in which a company can operate in order to become most successful. Business management theories either last forever, making their way into business programs in colleges and other realms of academic thought, or they last a couple of years before they fizzle out of the public consciousness. If used correctly, management theories can drastically improve many qualities of a business, but selecting the right one for your situation and implementing it correctly is just as important.
