Management Theory

Evolution of Management Theory

Management theory developed in five recognisable schools over the twentieth century. Each was a reaction to what the previous one had missed. This chapter walks through Classical, Neoclassical, Behavioural, Modern, and Contingency schools, and shows how each one still has something useful for a school head today.

The Classical School

Weber’s bureaucracy, Taylor’s scientific management, Gantt’s charts, Fayol’s principles: the bones of modern management

Neoclassical and Hawthorne

The Hawthorne Studies and Mayo’s Human Relations Theory; workers respond to attention and relationships, not just pay

Behavioural and Maslow

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and the broader behavioural view of workers as people with diverse motivations

Modern: Quantitative and Systems

MIS, operations management, and the systems view of organisations as open systems with inputs, transformation, outputs, and feedback

The Contingency School

Woodward, Lawrence and Lorsch, and Fiedler: the right management approach depends on the situation

Evolution in Summary

A side-by-side comparison of the five schools and how each one still applies to a working school today