Organizational management has evolved over a lengthy period. It is possible to travel back over a century to trace the origins of management. In order to guide a company ahead, it is critical for each manager to have a firm grasp of management history.
Managers need to know where management came from and how it’s evolved to get to where it is now. The term “a nation of insane people” is more appropriate if a country had a memory, which it does not. Management that lacks memory might be referred to as “management for insane people” when applied to the business world (Smith, 2007).
History is not a popular subject among academics. Students are more interested in learning how to manage than the origins of management and its development. As a result, managers with little or no management experience are created (Daft & Marcic, 2013).
The past of management is also not given much attention by most training schools nowadays. Though the word “management” has been around for a while, it’s still crucial to know where it came from. Why should managers and management students learn about management’s history? This article explains. A thorough understanding of management’s past is essential for today’s managers and future management trainees.
The significance of researching management’s history
Trainees confront several difficulties while taking them on tour through the history of management methods. Modern pupils seem to have a limited perspective on the world. To make matters much more complex, managers have to explain anything that goes against what pupils have learned about reality in the classroom (Waddell, Jones & George, 2011).
Consequently, management students are missing out on a lot of the background they need to grasp the art of managing. Students cannot see the relevance of previous theories and practices in today’s world. In order to be clear, the present hypothesis is a development of previous ones.
If people don’t know how ideas develop, they may not appreciate the context they are being used. For managers to compare current practices in the company with historical theories, they must first understand previous ideas.
A better understanding of where and why managers and management students go awry will help them improve their performance. Even though the economic climate has changed, previous ideas have been continually refined to keep them current. Therefore, if managers are aware of these notions, they may avoid inconsistent activities. Consequently, managers are better equipped to carry out their responsibilities in a way that advances the business (Wren, 1987).
As per Smith (2007), the background of management is a valuable addition to the management education curriculum. There are several advantages to management training and education if more time is spent examining and studying the history of management.
Studies have shown that most undergraduates have a limited appreciation for historical developments in management theory and practice. If learners were asked to describe their profession’s history, instructors should ask themselves how well they would do. There are many of these young people and even some of their teachers who cannot interpret that history.
Disregarding management theory misses an essential aspect. An important issue that was overlooked is that “the growth of any idea must be seen in its time” (Smith, 2007: 12). Consequently, students of management are at risk of missing out on important information because they lack historical context.
In other words, if students aren’t taught management correctly, they won’t be prepared to do their jobs properly once they are in management positions. Managers tend to take the company on the wrong path when in charge. Managers who cannot establish the proper plans for their organizations may find it challenging to make sound decisions. In the absence of success, their management will be of little use.
Learning about management’s past is like gaining knowledge. Having wisdom is the only way to increase your knowledge. The achievement of learning is linked to the expansion of knowledge. As a result, the only way to develop one’s managerial skills is to study the field’s history.
Having a solid foundation of historical knowledge is essential for furthering one’s education. A person’s decision-making abilities increase significantly as a result of this process. Frederick Winslow Taylor’s ideas to “The Principles of Scientific Management” have gained relevance today. Today, Taylor is known as the father of contemporary management. Although he made significant contributions in the early twentieth century, his work is still relevant today.
If you don’t comprehend Taylor’s contribution to management concepts, you may not have a good grasp of modern management methods. Taylor’s theories remain dominant in management literature today, as per Giannantonio & Hurley-Hanson (2011). Taylor’s 1911 book, “The Principles of Scientific Management,” is still relevant today because of the points he presented in it.
Debating a subject about which you have no background knowledge is pointless. In order to participate in a discussion, one must know the origin of the topic at hand. You can’t just jump into the midst of a debate and start contributing.
Managers must know how these concepts have evolved since they were initially proposed in 1911 to make a meaningful addition to Taylor’s discussion. That managers and students of management should know and comprehend the history of management is much more critical (Giannantonio & Hurley- Hanson, 2011).
Researchers believe that managers who spend far more time learning about previous generations of economists and managers may have a favorable impact on how business is conducted now (Waddell, Jones & George, 2011). Students may learn a lot about history in this course, and that information can be quite helpful in today’s corporate world. In this regard, Fordism serves as a useful illustration.
Since Henry Ford originally proposed Fordism in 1914, the automotive industry has relied on it (Shioni, 1995). It is more difficult for students to gain these abilities without studying the history of management. Studying management history enables students to learn from previous errors to avoid them in the present and the future. In addition, these students and managers can develop recommendations for improving on those faults.
For students to grasp the present management techniques, they must first learn how the art of management has evolved through time. For example, Max Weber’s work on bureaucracy in companies was a flop, as most workers were uninspired by it.
A student who appreciates Max Weber’s ideas may correct bureaucratic processes in the business, allowing them to attain the achievement that bureaucratic managers have failed to reach. Additionally, the student can come up with new and creative approaches to running the business. Not only is there a shortage of qualified instructors to present the history of management, but there is a paucity of excellent teaching resources that can assist them (Cummings & Bridgman, 2011).
Management history is also worth studying since management is rooted in the past. It wasn’t until the early 20th century that “management” was coined. In the beginning, no one had any notion of what managing was. According to a recent study, it is noteworthy to highlight those managerial practices predate the 20th century.
The word “management” was not coined until an engineer from France named Henri Fayol, who lived from 1841 to 1925. Today’s definition substantially borrows from Fayol’s original, which has stood the test of time.
Studying Fayol’s contribution helps students better comprehend the concept of management and how it is applied (Crainer, 2003). Organization, planning, and coordination are tasks that a manager must do. Fayol came up with this idea. “Planning, controlling, coordinating, organizing, and staffing” are all included in the concept of management.
Everything we have now has its roots in the things here before. As a result, organizations and the world as a whole cannot exist today if there was no prior history. Bedeian (2004) asserts that a scarcity of educational institutions dedicated to teaching the background of management has resulted in a crop of managers with doctorates who are uneducated in the field.
According to Bedeian (2004), all of today’s management ideas, models, and approaches have roots in the past. Because they don’t understand Isaac Newton’s adage from 1676, which states that “each successive generation stands on the shoulders of the giants that have gone before it,” today’s management students are failing miserably (Bedeian, 2004: 21). This suggests that it is impossible to start from scratch and succeed in any endeavor.
One must study the achievements of those who came before and then construct their success from it. Students and managers today are being urged to have a better understanding of management’s past via this initiative. Only those familiar with how management has worked in the past will be able to succeed in their current role. As a result, management will learn from their failures and use the strengths of their predecessors’ ideas.
The present position may be determined by a manager who has a thorough knowledge of its history. As a result, they can identify whether current company events are connected to those from its historical management history.
Managers will be more equipped to identify and fix problems inside their organizations if they can do so. As a general rule, learning about management history may assist future managers and business leaders make more successful decisions by fusing their prior knowledge with the most recent research (Wren, 1987).
Conclusion
Management is both an art and a science that has developed throughout human history. The present management has a lot to do with the previous management’s legacy. Consequently, to have a thorough grasp of management, one must first examine its history. This will provide them with a solid basis to grow and learn.
Indirectly/directly, some of the ideas and beliefs put forward decades ago still hold today. Contemporary management ideas were also built on previous theories. The history of management should be studied from a critical viewpoint by managers and students of management.
References
Bedeian, AG 2004 ‘The gift of professional maturity, Academy of Management Learning & Education, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 92-98
Crainer, C 2003 ‘One hundred years of management,’ Business Strategy Review, vol. 14, issue 2, pp. 41-49
Cummings, S & Bridgman, T 2011 ‘The relevant past: Why the history of management should be critical for our future,’ Academy of Management Learning & Education, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 77-93.
Daft, RL & Marcic, D 2013 Understanding management, Australia: South-Western Cengage Learning.
Giannantonio, CM & Hurley-Hanson, AE 2011 ‘Frederick Winslow Taylor: Reflections on the relevance of the principles of scientific management 100 years later’, Journal of Business and Management, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 7-10.
Shioni, H 1995, Fordism transformed: The development of production: Methods in the automobile industry, New York: Oxford Univ. Press.
Smith, GE 2007 ‘Management history and historical context: Potential benefits of its inclusion in the management curriculum,’ Academy of Management Learning & Education, vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 522-533.
Waddell, D, Jones, GR, George, JM 2011 Contemporary management, 2ndedn, McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Limited, Sydney
Wren, DA 1987 ‘Management history: Issues and ideas for teaching and research, Journal of Management, vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 339-350.
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