Contribution of Taylor and Frayol to Management Theory
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Submitted By Nationalcakegee Words 3406 Pages 14
INTRODUCTION
Although significant progress has been made over several years in the evolution of management theories, the discipline has suffered from a deluge of theories that may be more confusing in practice than directional (Koontz, 1980). Though the earlier work from classical theorists like Taylor and Fayol contributed significantly to developments in management practice (some still applicable today), it has become clearer that confidence in the universal validity of management theories developed in countries like the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States of America (USA) is questionable. Frederick Taylor and Henri Fayol are historical figures, well known within the field of business for their challenging views on business and administration policies and principles. In this regard, the convergence of Fayol’s principle and Taylor’s theory has made contribution to the applicability of management philosophies across cultures and has lent some form of sanity to the body of knowledge by tackling the differences in relevance across regions as being attributable to cultural differences.
MANAGEMENT DEFINED
If you walked into a company, how could you tell who the managers are? Management expert Peter Drucker says that management “. . . is the responsibility for contribution.” In other words, it is the manager who is responsible for making sure that the company achieves its goals. A manager is someone who is responsible for accomplishing an organizational unit’s goals and who does so by planning, organizing, leading, and controlling the efforts of other people. That definition highlights three aspects of managerial work. First, a manager is always “responsible for contribution”—on his or her shoulders lies the responsibility for accomplishing the organization’s goals. Therefore managers may apply management theories, but management is never just theoretical.
Second,