Major Trends in Management Theory

Introduction

This paper is an attempt to identify and briefly outline the major trends in management theory since the beginning of the 20th century. However, it will start by defining the key concepts which in this case are management and theory.

Some have defined management as an art, while others have defined it as a science. Whether management is an art or a science isn't what is most important. Management is a process that is used to accomplish organizational goals; that is, a process that is used to achieve what an organization wants to achieve. An organization could be a business, a school, a city, a group of volunteers, or any governmental entity. Managers are the people to whom this management task is assigned, and it is generally thought that they achieve the desired goals through the key functions of (1) planning, (2) organizing, (3) directing, and (4) controlling. Some would include leading as a managing function, but for the purposes of this discussion, leading is included as a part of directing (Efere, 2005:67).

A theory is defined as a contemplative and rational type of abstract or generalizing thinking, or the results of such thinking. Depending on the context, the results might for example include generalized explanations of how nature works. The word has its roots in ancient Greek, but in modern use it has taken on several different related meanings. A theory is not the same as a hypothesis, as a theory is a 'proven' hypothesis, which, in other words, has never been disproved through experiment, and has a basis in fact (Thomas,2007:23).

There are many views of management, or schools of management thought, that have evolved over the years. Writers discussed under the classical school are the most talked about early contributors in modern management theory. The classical viewpoint emphasises managing work and the need to run organisations efficiently. The viewpoint is called ‘classical’ because it includes the first works and contributions that...