The Classical Perspective of Management
The classical perspective of management, which emerged from the Industrial Revolution, focuses on improving the efficiency, productivity, and output of employees, as well as the business as a whole. However, it generally does not focus on human or behavioral attributes or variances among employees, such as how job satisfaction improves employee efficiency.
Frederick Winslow Taylor
Scientific management theory, which was first introduced by Frederick Winslow Taylor, focused on production efficiency and productivity of employees. By managing production efficiency as a science, Taylor thought that worker productivity could be completely controlled. He used the scientific method of measurement to create guidelines for the training and management of employees. This quantitative, efficiency-based approach is representative of the classical perspective.
Max Weber
Classical Perspective of Management
The classical perspective of management focused on improving worker productivity.
Another leader in the classical perspective of management, Max Weber, created the bureaucracy theory of management, which focuses on the theme of rationalization, rules, and expertise for an organization as a whole. Weber's theory also focuses on efficiency and clear roles in an organization, meaning that management in organizations should run as effectively as possible with as little bureaucracy as possible. One example of Weber's management theory is the modern "flat" organization, which promotes as few managerial levels as possible between management and employees.
Henri Fayol
Henri Fayol, another leader in classical management theory, also focused on the efficiency of workers, but he looked at it from a managerial perspective—i.e., he focused on improving management efficiency rather than on improving each individual employee's efficiency. Fayol created six functions of management, which are now taught as the following four essential functions of management: planning, organizing, leading, and controlling.
The classical perspective of management theory pulls largely from these three theorists (Taylor, Weber, and Fayol) and focuses on the efficiency of employees and on improving an organization's productivity through quantitative (i.e., measurable, data-driven) methods. The classical perspective is often criticized for ignoring human desires and needs in the workplace and typically does not take into consideration human error in work performance. The classical perspective has strong influences on modern operations and process improvement, which uses quantitative metrics to determine how effectively a process is running.
The Behavioral Perspective of Management
The behavioral perspective of management (sometimes called the "human relations perspective") takes a much different approach from the classical perspective. It began in the 1920s with theorists such as Elton Mayo, Abraham Maslow, and Mary Parker Follett.
The Hawthorne Studies
The Hawthorne studies were an important start to the behavioral perspective of management. These were a series of research studies conducted with the workers at the Hawthorne plant of the Western Electric Company. The Hawthorne studies found that workers were more strongly motivated by psychosocial factors than by economic or financial incentives.
Abraham Maslow
Around this same time, Abraham Maslow created his hierarchy-of-needs theory, which showed that workers were motivated through a series of lower-level to higher-level needs. This theory has been applied in the workplace to better understand "soft" factors of employee motivation, such as goal setting and team involvement, in order to better manage employees.
Douglas McGregor
Additional theories in the behavioral perspective include Douglas McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y, which have to do with the perceptions managers have about their employees and how employees react to those perceptions. In Theory X, managers assume employees are inherently lazy and, therefore, micromanage. In Theory Y, managers are more laissez-faire and allow employees more freedom in their work. McGregor's theory of management is an example of how behavior-management theory looks more into the "human" factors of management and encourages managers to understand how psychological characteristics can improve or hinder employee performance.
Generally, the behavioral perspective is much more concerned with employee well-being and encourages management approaches that consider the employee as a motivated worker who wants to work and wants to produce quality work. This theory therefore encourages a management approach that is less focused on micromanaging and is more focused on building relationships with employees in order to help them achieve their workplace goals and work as effectively and efficiently as possible.