Evolution Of Management Essay

2647 Words6 Pages

The Evolution of Management Beginning with the Industrial Revolution

Management as we know it into being in the late nineteenth century, during the industrial revolution. Before the advent of this period, most societies were mostly agrarian with the majority of the people living in rural areas. Some families carried out production as an occupation, although with time some people became more specialized in one job or another. The main basis of management was based upon two main assumptions. One was that labor was untrustworthy and would only perform under a tight leash. Secondly, they considered labor to the main factor of production that could be easily controlled. This therefore meant that the cost of production could be reduced by making them put more effort into work, work for longer periods and for the same amount of pay, or even less.( Ukessays, n.d. Industrial Revolution & Management Theory. Retrieved from http://www.ukessays.com/essays/business-theory/industrial-revolution-management-theory.php). There was a need to change the management theories in order to increase efficiency. This just means utilizing an organization’s resources more profitably. ( slideshare, n.d. Chapter 2 The Evolution Of Management Theory. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/bsetm/chapter-2-the-evolution-of-management-theory).

During the revolution, both small-scale and large scale production factories were managed by engineers who had technical knowhow and little else. There were therefore challenges when it take to handling people. Problems also arose as is the norm when a large number of people are working together. The main concern was which worker-task arrangement would bring about the best results. Research done by Adam Smith showed...

... middle of paper ...

...ioning) ( slideshare, n.d. Chapter 2 The Evolution Of Management Theory. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/bsetm/chapter-2-the-evolution-of-management-theory)

The Hawthorne Studies
The Hawthorne effect refers to the discovery that a leader’s behavior as well as the leadership style has the ability to influence a worker’s performance) ( slideshare, n.d. Chapter 2 The Evolution Of Management Theory. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/bsetm/chapter-2-the-evolution-of-management-theory).

These are some of the various aspects which have undergone changes and some of the people tat influenced such. The evolution is not over yet. Various people are still coming up with new ideas of how to improve on these theories. In this way, the evolution is a continuous process that does not end with the present, but rather gets more refined as we much into the future.

Open Document