Question

The contributions of great theorists like Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, Max Weber, Fredrick Winslow Taylor, Mary Parker Follett, Henri Fayol, Chester Bernard, Immanuel Kant, Rene Descartes, and John Locke were presented in the text and discussed in class. Choose three of these theorists, explain why you chose them, and briefly explain their contribution to organization theory.

Answer 1

I ihave ichoosen ithree itheorists i(Frederick iTaylor, iHenri iFayol iand iMax iWeber) ibecause iof ieach iof ithese itheories ihas icontributed isubstantially ito ithe iunderstanding iof itoday’s iorganizations iand itheir istructures iwhich ihave iinfluenced imanagerial iperspectives iin iorganization itheory. iEach iserves ias ia iunique iblueprint ifor iindividuals ito ilearn iand iestablish ibasis ithat icould ihelp iin iunique ineeds iof ieach iorganization. iFurther, isome ipoints iof itheir icontribution ito iorganization itheory iare imentioned ibelow:

1). iThe iScientific iManagement itheory iwas iestablished iby iFrederick iTaylor iin ithe iearly i20th icentury. iThis iwas ithe ifirst itheory ithat istudied ithe iwork iprocess iscientifically. iThis itheory iimplies ithat itop imanagement ior imanagers icould ibe ioutperformed iby iregular iworkers iif ithey ifollowed ia iscientific imethod iand itherefore, ithe iconcept iof ia ibottom-up iapproach. iThis itheory ifocused ion isystematic itraining iof iworkers ithat irequired ilittle iinput ivia iscientific icalculations ifor ia iwider iscale ioutput iin iperformance. iThe iconsequence iof ithis igave itop imanagement imore itime ito ispend ion iplanning iand itraining ialongside iworkers iperformed itheir itasks iefficiently. iThis iwas iadopted iin ithe iindustrial itimes iin iorganizations ithat iinvolved imass iproduction isuch ias ithose iof ithe icar iindustries. iAs ian iexample ii.e., iHenry iFord’s ivehicle imachine ilike iprocedures ithat icould ibe istandardized iand itaught ito iemployees ito imass iproduce. iThis iled ito iincrease iproductivity iand iefficiency iin imany idifferent isectors iof iorganizations ibut iit idisregarded ithe ihuman iaspects iof iemployment iwith imachine ilike iprocedures ithat iultimately iyielded imaximum ioutput ias ithe ikey ibenefit ifor ian iorganization.

2). iThe iAdministrative iTheory iof iHenry iFayol iwas icontributed ito iunderstand ithe iadministration iprocesses iwhich iwere inow ithe ikey ifocus irather ithan iestablishing iscientific iprocesses ifor ithe icommon iworker. iThis itheory ifocused ion ithe iprocesses ithat icould ibe istandardized iat ithe itop iand ithen imoved ito ithe ioperational ilevel iwhere iindividual iworker’s iintake ithe iinformation iand iimplement iit iin itheir idaily itasks. iThis itheory iwas iused ion ithe ibasis iof itop-down iapproach. iFayol’s itheory iincludes ifourteen iprinciples iof imanagement ithat iinteracts iwith ipersonnel iin ifive idifferent iways isuch ias iplanning, iorganizing, icommanding, icoordinating, iand icontrolling. iManagement imake istrategy ifor ievery idetail iof ithe iprocesses, iorganizes iall iof ithe iorganization iresources ifor ithe itime iof iproduction, iestablishes ithe icommand ichain ithat icoordinates iand icontrols ihow ieverything imust ifollow ithe imanagement idecision. iMany iof ithese iprinciples iplay ia ivital irole iin iorganization's itoday.

3). iBureaucracy iand iOrganizational istructure iwas ithe itheory ideveloped iby iMax iWeber iwhich iincluded iclear irules iof ihierarchical istructure, isystem iof irules iand iauthority. iIn ithis itheory's isimplest iforms, ithere iis ia ichain iof icommand iwhere iauthority iis ilegitimately iexercised ito iits ilimits iand iaccepted iby ithose ibottom. iIt ifocused ion itraditional, icharismatic ior irational-legal iapproach ito iestablishe ia icontinuous iorganization ilimitation iby irules iwith iultimate igoals iand iobjectives. iThis itheory imake iformalization iin ithe iindividual’s ifunctions iand ispecialization iof iwork iand iallows iappointments ito imade ibased iby icompetence, iultimately irules, idecisions, iactions iand iseparation iof iposts ifrom iowners ithat iare iformulated iand iwritten idown isomewhere ialong ithe iway. iThis itheory ihas ihad imajor icontributions ito ithe idifferent itheories ieven ibefore iits iexistence, ilong ihave ihierarchical istructures iexisted iand ithey icontinue ito ido iso itoday. iIt ican ibe ialso isaid ithat ithis itheory ihas imore icontributed iin ithe ilarge iorganizations iwhere iclear irules iof iauthority iand icommunication iare icritical. i