Mgt 521 - the Classical Viewpoint and Its Importance

The Classical Viewpoint and Its Importance

MGT 521

April 4th, 2016

Linda Kulka

The Classical Viewpoint and Its Importance

Throughout the history of business management, key individuals have become successful using different management viewpoints. The classical viewpoint was the first stepping stone in the development of management theory. By examining the development of the classical viewpoint and explaining Frederick W. Taylor’s four principles of scientific management, it becomes clear that the classical viewpoint helped to develop future managers’ ability to achieve set objectives efficiently.

The classical viewpoint, one of three major historical management perspectives, can be defined as the manager's ability to work more efficiently (Kinki & Williams, 2016). This management style was developed in the early 1900s and was utilized significantly from 1911-1947 (Kinki & Williams, 2016). The classical viewpoint consisted of two branches, scientific and administrative management (Kinki & Williams, 2016). The individuals who had the most significant contributions to the scientific branch were Frederick W. Taylor, and Frank and Lillian Gilbreth. Key contributors to the administrative branch were Henri Faylor, and Max Weber (Kinki & Williams 2016).

Frederick W. Taylor believed that incorporating the four principles of scientific management was the most efficient way to get employees to achieve their full potential. The four principles that Taylor developed are summarized as follows: (1) The task needs to be scientifically studied. (2) The employee needs to be selected based upon whether they possess the correct abilities for that particular job. (3) Once the employee has been selected for the job, they need to be given the appropriate training and benefits to complete the tasks using the correct working tools. (4) Utilize the established scientific principles to plan future objectives and make it easier for the employees to achieve those goals (Kinki & Williams 2016). Taylor also believed that the work being done by the employees was dependent on the workers themselves, and their knowledge and training (Dent & Bozeman 2014). Taylor's personal experiences taught him "to make a determined effort in some way to change the system of management so that the interest of the workman and the management should become the same instead of antagonistic” (Dent & Bozeman 2014, Frederick W. Taylor and Scientific Management 158). Taylor concluded that by using this method, both the employer and employee could be most successful.