Changes in Management Theory

During the Twentieth Century

Presented by Team 4

For Management 303

5 February 2000

The Origins of the Anglo-American Industrial Age Class System

Invasion of the Normans in 1066 Anglo-Saxons made serfs to the Norman nobility During industrialization, the nobility were the only

ones who could fund a factory Farmers and craftsmen moved to the factory floor Wages purposely kept low to promote continued work Many American mills and factories started by cadet

lines of English noble families. Attitude re: division of management/owner and labour

descends from the English class system.

Drill, ye tarriers, drill! Drill, ye tarriers, drill! For it's work all day for the sugar in your tay,

down beyond the railway.

TaylorMan as a Mechanism in the Factory

Developed theory called “Scientific Management” Measured precisely the rate at which certain tasks

were performed, or the precise shovel blade size to shove most effectively.

Instituted “rest periods” to maximize endurance Worked to maximize efficiency. Changed piece-work rates so workers got more per

piece if they were more productive.

Give me a job, give me security. Give me a chance to surviveI'm just a poor soul in the unemployment line

My God, I'm hardly alive

Complaints Against Taylorism

His most famous studies (shoveling) were not groundbreaking

Much of his data was not coherent, suggesting it had been falsified

His “rest periods” were when the men walked back empty

Taylorism is only useful for managing “children,” “morons,” and the “mentally retarded.” (Argyris)

Called “the main cause of the main causes of our ills and troubles in industry and management today”(Pollard)

“The copper bosses shot you, Joe. They shot you, Joe,” says I.“Takes more than guns to kill a man,” says Joe, “I didn’t die.”

Gantt and WilliamsTowards a More Sensitive Workplace

Gantt was originally a protégé of Taylor at Bethlehem Steel

Modified Scientific Management to make it less rigid Insisted on a minimum day wage Demanded management buy-in Developed the Gantt chart to help schedule subtasks

and processes required for project completion Promoted “backcasting,” a forerunner to MBO

Come all you workers and hear what I say, They're trying to plunder the eight-hour day,

Won by our forbears in a bloody campaign, So rise up and be in the struggle again.

Gantt and Williams, cont.Towards a More Sensitive Workplace

Williams was a proponent of Social Gospel Left management position to work in mines, mills,

refineries, ship yards, etc. Discovered that all people measured their value to

society by their job As a consultant, would work on his clients’ shop

floors to learn what the workers wanted

I've got a mule, and her name is Sal,

Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal.She's a good ol' worker an' a good ol' pal,

Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal.We've hauled some barges in our day,

Filled with lumber, coal, and hay,And we know every inch of the way

From Albany to Buffalo.

McGregor & Theories X & Y – Bridging the Gap Between Management and Labour

Taught psychology and industrial management at MIT

The Human Side of Management (1960) introduced Theory X and Theory Y

Theory X (classical) – workers are lazy and want to be told what to do and have decisions made for them

Theory Y (based on developments in social sciences) – employees want autonomy, job satisfaction, responsibility, and will work hard when they are appreciated

“From San Diego up to Maine, In every mine and mill,”“Where workers strike and organize,” Says he, “You'll find Joe Hill.”

McGregor & Theories X & Y, cont.

Theory Y required a change in management, not a change in the worker or the workplace

Formalised ideas many good managers already practiced but could define

Also credited with inadvertently fathering the Human Potential Movement

Step by step the longest march

Can be won, can be won.Many stones can form an arch,

Singly none, singly none.And by union what we will

Can be accomplished still…Drops of water turn a mill,Singly none, singly none.

MBO, TQM, & ISO Abbreviations That Take a While

New management styles of the 80’s Developed in response to international competition,

mergers that resulted in huge conglomerates Many involve increased documentation of processes

Difficult to implement (may require 3-5 years) Require both employee and management buy-in Less than 10% of Fortune 500 companies call them

“highly successful”

They say in Harlan County There are no neutrals there.You'll either be a union man, Or a thug for J.H. Blair

MBO, TQM, & ISO , cont.The Flip Side

Lots of quick-to-implement management theories Books, tapes, seminars full of untested ideas Implemented primarily by middle management or in

small companies Management pseudoscience

Still, productivity improveswhy?

There's lumberjacks and teamsters and sailors from the sea,There's farmin' boys from Texas and the hills of Tennessee,

There's miners from Kentucky, there's fishermen from Maine; Every worker in the country rides that Farmer-Labor train.

The Hawthorne Effect

Experiments conducted from 1927-32 in Western Electric’s Hawthorne Plant, Chicago

Scientific Management-style output studies, based on changing conditions

Increasing and decreasing light levels improved productivity in both experimental and control group

Adding and taking away breaks improved productivity

Conclusion: It is the attention, not the conditions, that improve performance

Shall we still be slaves and work for wages?It is outrageous--has been for ages.

General Food’s Topeka Plant

Managers believed in Maslowian Hierarchy of Needs New pet food plant designed with worker input No assigned parking place for management Management and workers share common break

room and rest room Pay increases decided by team based on skills, not

superiority Initial response excellent, workers internalized

company goals

Oh, you can't scare me, I'm sticking to the unionI'm sticking to the union, I'm sticking to the unionOh, you can't scare me, I'm sticking to the union

I'm sticking to the union till the day I die.

General Food’s Topeka Plant, cont.

Researcher returned one year later Feelings of newness had worn off New wet food plant was going in, workers concerned

about who would be team leaders there

“Don’t get me wrong. My job here is the best I could find anywhere in Kansas—maybe anywhere at all.

But it’s still just a job.”

What choice leads a man to a life filled with danger,High on seas or a mile underground?

It’s when need is his master, and poverty’s no stranger,And there’s no other work to be found.

The Lessons from Hawthorne and Topeka

It is difficult to implement really innovative management theories

Real change is time consuming Effective management theories will fail without top-

down buy-in However, a new management theory does not have

to be effective to work

I've polished bits in Texas from the ocean to the plain.Worked every field in the 48 states, and half way back again.

And now we're fighting in a war, the oil has got to flow,And the best way to beat Hitler is to join the C.I.O.

The Lessons from Hawthorne and Topeka, cont.

The illusion of management interest alone can improve productivity

Middle managers trying to implement change alone can use any method

It is important to change styles frequently to offset ennui

When the union's inspiration through the workers' blood shall run There can be no power greater anywhere beneath the sun

Yet what force on earth is weaker than the feeble strength of one For the Union makes us strong.