Management Theories

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the management theory of Frederick Taylor, the father of scientific management. The paper contends that two of Taylor's successors, however, perhaps softened his effect on the American workplace during subsequent decades of humanistic theorizing; these two, Mary Parker Follett and Douglas McGregor, have more in common with each other than either has with Taylor. Moreover, the paper claims that, while Taylor's thinking seems to offer more weaknesses than strengths in the modern, post-industrial world, Follett's and McGregor's theories seem to offer some weaknesses and some strengths. Between them, but perhaps particularly in the work of McGregor, it seems possible to construct workable theories for a global business environment that is primarily post-industrial.

From the Paper:

"Douglas McGregor's work suffered from his relatively short lifespan, 1906-1964. Nevertheless, perhaps it is just as well; while his theories worked wondrously well during his lifetime, currently they are almost completely unworkable. There are reasons for that. First, McGregor's research was conducted mainly from the mid-1930s until the mid-1950s, a period spanning the Great Depression, World War II and the early part of the Cold War. The entire era and all its parts are regarded as exceptional in U.S., and arguably world, history. When the soldiers returned from the war to seek jobs and houses and start families, there was a huge growth in the workforce, as well as expansion of the entire U.S. infrastructure-highways systems, neighborhood services for new subdivisions and so on. "With a strong economy and such new benefits as Social Security, the GI Bill, and other entitlement programs, most Americans settled into regular work patterns that they anticipated would persist well into the future...By the late 1950s, it was commonly believed that a worker would work for the same firm for many years following a relatively stable and clear career path until retirement" (Davis, 2003). It was in this atmosphere, with employers needing employees more than employees needed the employer, that McGregor conducted his research."

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