The Classical School

Henri Fayol Functions of management Principles of management

Henri Fayol-14 Principles of Management

What are the key points in the Classical School?

Provide a critique of the Classical School

[The writings of the classical school] ‘have served to label our areas of ignorance, and may have fulfilled the need of telling managers what they should be doing (even if it did not tell them what they did). But the classical school has for too long served to block our search for a deeper understanding of the work of the manager.’ Mintzberg (1973)

The Human Relations School

Douglas McGregor

The Human Relations School Key Points

Human Relation School

The Human Relations School Critique

A Critique of The Human Relations School

The Systems School

Systems School

‘If the structure [of an organisation] is its skeleton, the jobs, perhaps, its muscles, the people its blood and guts and its physical perspectives its flesh, then there still remains the nervous system, the respiratory system, the circulation system, the digestive system, etc. As with the body, the systems of an organisation overlap and interlink the parts, the structure and its members. They are of a different logical order from the structure or the components pieces, for they are defined by their purpose, and are concerned with flows or processes through the structure. They are in fact ‘systems’ - it remains the best, if the vaguest, word meaning at its broadest only an interdependent set of elements.’ Handy (1985)

Critique

A Critique of The Systems School

The Contingency School

‘Contingency theory suggests that “organisational variables are in a complex inter-relationship with one another and with conditions in the environment”, and that environmental contingencies act as constraints and opportunities and influence the organisation’s internal structures and processes.’ Lawrence and Lorsch (1967)

The Four Schools Key points