Management is the engine of any organization.
It plays most important part, no organization can
achieve its purpose or goals without good management ,Knowledge of Management theories is
essential for successful management and governance. According to Weijrich and Koontz (1993)
“Management is process of planning, leading, organizing and controlling people within a group
in order to achieve goals
Management theories are the different schools of thought used to attain, increase productivity
and appropriate quality of services
Management Theories
Scientific Management
Bureaucratic Management
Theories X And Y
Contingency Management
Systems Theory
Administrative Management.
The Hawthorne Experiment
Scientific Management theory is the solution of the problem of all industrialists’ conflicts (Shaik,
2008). According to Taylor, the scientific management is the solution of the industrial problems
faced. About the Scientific Management Theory, he says in his book “Principles of Scientific
Management” “A determinant effort in some way to change the system of management, so that
the interests of the workmen and the management should become the same” (Taylor, 1911, pp.
52).
Taylor`s Scientific Management Theory was greatly used in his years and is still put in practice
in most areas of the world today because of its relevance to work environment
As we observe, mostly workers are paid according to their productivity. Modern management
theorists such as Edward Deming and Juran also favor the principles and division of work given
by Taylor (Koontz, 1980, McNamara, 2011).
For every job today we need to gather enough information on the best way it can be done, and
worker need to be selected, trained and equipped to do their work very well , payment and
reward today is linked to productivity and activities and responsibilities are clearly dived among
employees today
The marketing departments of Many Telecom , banks and Insurance companies in Uganda
depend on the system of Scientific Management to get results from their employees, because
they are paid a bonus or commission based on the level of output or targets met at a given time
which pushes them to achieve productivity, that is to say the number of customers you enroll into
the organization determine the commission your paid , as confirmed by Cole (2004), the rational
approach to work by scientific management enables responsibilities and processes to be
measured, it allows workers to be paid by achievements and tasks accomplished, it makes sure
each employee earns equitably to work done and it ensures massive increase in productivity.
The main emphasis of Bureaucratic Management theory is put on the flow of hierarchy from the
top to the bottom (organizational structure). He focus on clearly portraying all the levels of
hierarchy from the top to the bottom through establishing strong lines of authority and
control ,He established the concept of bureaucracy as a formal system of organization and
administration designed to ensure efficiency and effectiveness
This is a Key theory in management because up to date organizations are controlled by well
defined rules , a believes on the flow of authority from top level management to bottom level
management and individual today are trained according to their assigned tasks
Most Big organization in Uganda operate on bureaucracy especially Government parastatals
such as Uganda National Roads Authority because there are several cabinet reshuffles were
ministers and leaders of government agencies are transferred and work remains running well
because of the bureaucratic structure that is put in place. Green (1997) argues that there is still a
place for bureaucracy in parts of most large organisations
Theories X and Y, it has been revealed that every single person gets extreme satisfaction or
pleasure from the work they do while others look at the work they do in different organizations
as a burden and only do it for the monetary purposes. Such assumptions influence how an
organization is run. The assumptions also form the basis of Theory X and Theory Y.
Douglas McGregor is the theorist credited with developing these two contrasting concepts. More
specifically, these theories refer to two management styles: the authoritarian (Theory X) and
participative (Theory Y).
For organization where members portray little concern or passion for work the manager may
need to use the authoritarian style of management to get people to do work because it is a burden
to them, but if the worker show love and willingness to work without being pushed the manager
is likely to use participative management where he even solicits ideas from the employees on
how to make the work place a better place to stay . The management style adopted by the
manager will determine the level of motivation. Some large organizations today that employee
hundreds and thousands of individuals for routine work have chosen to use this managerial
ideal.
The main ideal enveloped in Contingency Management theory is that there is no general
approach that is suitable or work for all organisations. There are many factors both external and
internal factors that will determine the management approach used in any single organization.
The contingency theory categorizes three variables that are likely to influence an organization’s
structure: How big the organization is, Level of technology used, and leadership approach used,
there is no specific way of managing the organization therefore the leader must be keen to know
what management style to use in every circumstance that arises in an organization.
Following the study by Woodward (1958) who found that different organisational structures
suited different types of production, some management theorists argued that wasting time trying
to come up with an all-round type of manager would fail because the multi-faceted nature of
people and situations meant that multi-faceted responses were needed. Rather than argue about
which theory of management would work, one should concentrate on developing managers who
were flexible enough to meet any situation
Contingency Approach The primary relevance the contingency approach adds to management is
that it affirms that there are no universal or simplistic principles for managers to adhere to and
that management is entirely situational (Robbins and Coulter, 2009). One of the importance of
this theory is that it gives managers a wide and broad approach to problems because all
managerial decisions are dependent on the internal and external elements. In Uganda Before
AIRTEL came into existence MTN Uganda was not giving minute bundles but when Airtel came
and due to the high demand MTN had to resort to that up to today
Systems management offers an alternative approach to the planning and management of
organizations. The systems management theory proposes that businesses, like the human body,
consists of multiple components that work harmoniously so that the larger system can function
optimally. According to the theory, the success of an organization depends on several key
elements: synergy, interdependence, and interrelations between various subsystems.
Employees are one of the most important components of a company. Other elements crucial to
the success of a business are departments, workgroups, and business units. In practice, managers
are required to evaluate patterns and events in their companies so as to determine the best
management approach. This way, they are able to collaborate on different programs so that they
can work as a collective whole rather than as isolated units.
Systems Approach A good example of an establishment that relies on this approach is Makerere
University here in Uganda, This tertiary institution takes inputs from the environment which are
the students, who undergo training and learning to make them better people who are later
graduated and released in to the environment to help the community .This theory also provides
an outline to plan and foresee consequences within the environment as they develop (Stoner et
al., 2004)
Administrative Management Theory seeks to establish an organization, which leads to efficiency
and effectiveness. It respects the worker against the scientific management theory. Planning,
organizing, controlling and leading are major function of this theory. Unity of command, unity of
structure, division of work, authority equity and order are important principles among fourteen
principles of this theory. The functions and principles given by Fayol are still in practice in the
management of organization of the world (Horner, 1997; Grey, 2005; Shaik, 2008; Onkar, 2008).
As scientific management was trying to increase efficiency of workers, administrative
management was focusing on how to create an organisational structure with high efficiency and
guidelines for managing complex organisations. The main contributor to this school of thought is
Henri Fayol and others are Lyndall Urwick and E.L.F Brech (Cole, 2004; Lawal, 2012).
The Hawthorne Experiment The human relations approach, which is occasionally referred to as
neo-classical approach, is fabricated around the research work of Professor Elton Mayo and his
coworkers at the Western Electric Company's plant in U.S.A, between 1924 and 1932 and this
work has been known as the Hawthorne experiment (Robbins and Coulter, 2009; Mullins, 2011).
According to Roethlisberger and Dickson (1939), both of whom were part of the Hawthorne set
of experiments, the research centered on the effects of physical working conditions on worker
productivity and effectiveness. The researchers resolved that extra concern given to the
employees, and evident interest in them shown by management, were the core factors for the
higher productivity. This, according to Mullins (2011) has become known as the ‘Hawthorne
Effect’.
Even in organizations like Uganda breweries limited were management takes good care of
workers by giving them all them motivating incentives there production is way higher than any
brewery in Uganda
The different management theories have developed over the times and in so doing a number of
relationships have been noticed as indicated below
Taylor carried out a number of studies in an effort to improve workplace productivity. He
believed that employees could not manage themselves and productivity could only be achieved
if a more intellectual man or manager gave them a sense of direction in every step they take. He
changed the layout and planning of work from the people that do it to the managers that are
responsible of overseeing work to ensure that results are got. . Taylor executed a series of studies
scrutinizing workers to discover the most efficient techniques (Freedman, 1992). This ‘Science
of Shoveling’ allowed for a dramatic reduction in factory staff whilst maintaining productivity
([Link], 2000). Output may have been improved, but at the expense of the workers. In
contrast to the Human Relations Approach there was practically no regard for the employees
themselves. Taylor’s principles of Scientific Management had replaced skilled labour with
unskilled labour and workers were selected on strength, speed and not much else (Taylor, 1911).
Where the Human Relations approach promotes workers to be empowered, the scientific
approach reduces the employee to a series of repetitive tasks and strips them of any sense of
worth (Taylor, 1911).
In 1943, Abraham Maslow came up with a theory of motivation based on studies into human
behavior. His Hierarchy of Needs put emphasis on basic needs inherent to all individuals and
arranged them by importance in the order of physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem,
self-actualization. The theory suggests that each need must be satisfied before the following
need becomes a motivation. At the most basic level are the physiological needs required to up
hold life, such as the need to eat food. According to this, we all desire to be safe and secure
(Grimes 2006). The Scientific Management approach to employee job design only caters for
these two basic needs. In fact, it plays on them, for employees at the time had no any motivation
available to them and tolerated the limited and dull working conditions so they could provide
food and shelter to themselves and their families. The Human Relations Approach to employee
job design carries on to bring out Maslow’s theory of needs and takes on where the scientific
approach leaves off. The importance on social groups satisfies the love and belonging and
advances production through increased employee productivity. The esteem need is satisfied by a
more attentive management approach (or the Hawthorn Effect). In conclusion, self-actualization
is accomplished through the setting and achieving of personal goals that signify improvement
and progression for the worker and the business (Grimes 2006).
In conclusion, the management theories are very important in our contemporary work
environments, and most organizations today are operating and running on the basis of these
approaches which are used in problem solving and increasing productivity and out in work place.
The evolution of these theories has paved the way for other scholar who have built upon them to
increase efficiency and productivity.
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