Far more than a chronicle of the historical development of modern management’s many roots, the newly released ninth edition of The Evolution of Management Thought by Daniel A. Wren and Arthur G. Bedeian is a fascinating telling of how ideas about the nature of work, the nature of human beings, and the nature of organizations have changed throughout history.
Its methodology is analytic, synthetic, and interdisciplinary. It is analytic, in that it examines the backgrounds, experiences, and beliefs of people who made significant contributions to management thinking. It is synthetic, in that it weaves developmental trends, social movements, and environmental forces into a conceptual framework for understanding how management thinking has evolved within and across generations. It is interdisciplinary, in that it draws insights from economics, history, political science, psychology, and sociology to explain why management thinking has developed as it has.
The authors trace the intellectual history of modern management thought as an activity and as an academic discipline in a way that makes reading The Evolution of Management Thought a thoroughly enjoyable encounter.
Designed for upper-level and graduate courses, this new edition further cements The Evolution of Management Thought’s place as the standard text in the field of management history for more than half a century.
Table of Contents
About the Authors xv
Preface xvii
About the Instructor Companion Website xxi
Part I Early Management Thought
1 A Prologue to the Past 3
Our Goal 3
A Cultural Framework 4
The Economic Facet 4
The Social Facet 5
The Political Facet 5
The Technological Facet 6
People Management and Organizations 6
Human Activity 7
Organizations and Management 8
Summary 9
2 Management Before Industrialization 10
Management in Early Civilizations 10
The Middle East 10
The Far East and South Asia 11
Egypt 12
The Hebrews 13
Greece 14
Rome 16
The Roman Catholic Church 16
Feudalism 17
The Revival of Commerce 17
Cultural Rebirth 19
The Protestant Ethic 20
The Liberty Ethic 25
The Market Ethic 28
Summary 32
3 The Industrial Revolution in Great Britain 33
From a Preindustrial to an Industrial Society 33
The Steam Engine 34
Management: The Fourth Factor of Production 36
Management Challenges in Early Factories 37
The Labor Challenge 37
The Search for Managerial Talent 43
Planning Organizing and Controlling 44
Cultural Consequences of the Industrial Revolution 46
Working Conditions 46
Child and Female Labor 48
The Great Enrichment 50
Summary 52
4 Management Pioneers in Early Factories 53
Robert Owen: The Search for a New Harmony 53
Early Managerial Experiences 53
The Call for Reform 55
Charles Babbage: The “Irascible Genius” 57
The First Computer 58
Analyzing Industrial Operations 60
Andrew Ure: Pioneer in Management Education 61
Principles of Manufacturing 61
Charles Dupin: Industrial Education in France 63
The Pioneers: A Final Note 65
Summary 65
5 The Industrial Revolution in the United States 66
The American System of Manufacturing 66
National Independence and Economic Freedom 68
Early Industrial Development 69
Steamboats and Railroads: A Revolution in Transportation 71
The Communication Revolution 73
The Age of Rails 74
Daniel C. McCallum: System and Organization 74
Henry V. Poor: A Broader View of Management 77
Emerging Governance Issues 78
Summary 80
6 Industrial Growth and Systematic Management 81
The Growth of “Big Business” 81
Carnegie and the Rise of Big Business 82
The Emergence of Systematic Management 84
Engineers and Economists 84
The Labor Question 87
Big Business and Its Changing Environment 90
Business and Society: Barons or Benefactors? 90
Business and Labor: Uneasy Relations 96
Inventive and Innovative Impulses 97
Business and Government: Seeds of Reform 98
Summary of Part I 100
Part II The Scientific-Management Era
7 The Advent of Scientific Management 105
Frederick W. Taylor: The Early Years 105
Taylor at Midvale 106
The Search for Science in Management 108
The Quest for Improved Performance Incentives 110
Task Management 113
Taylor: The Manager and the Consultant 115
Taylor: The Peripatetic Philosopher 119
The Eastern Rate Case 121
Watertown and the Congressional Investigation 124
The Mental Revolution 129
Taylor and the Human Factor 132
A Final Note 134
Summary 135
8 Spreading the Gospel of Efficiency 137
The Most Orthodox: Carl G. Barth 137
Charting Other Paths: Henry L. Gantt 139
The Task and Bonus System 140
The Habits of Industry 141
Graphic Aids to Management 141
The Later Years 143
Partners for Life: The Gilbreths 146
Nothing Succeeds Like . . . 148
And So into Scientific Management 149
Support for the Scientific-Management Movement 151
The First Lady of Management 153
Efficiency Through Organization: Harrington Emerson 157
Line and Staff Organization 158
Twelve Principles of Efficiency 159
The “High Priest of Efficiency” 160
The Gospel in Public-Sector Organizations: Morris L. Cooke 161
The Boxly Talks 163
Public Administration 164
Summary 166
9 The Human Factor: Preparing the Way 167
Personnel Management: A Dual Heritage 167
Personnel Administration as Welfare Work 168
Scientific Management and Personnel Administration 170
Psychology and the Individual 174
Toward Scientific Psychology 176
The Birth of Industrial Psychology 176
The Social-Person Era: Theory Research and Practice 178
Antecedents of Industrial Sociology 179
Sociological Foundations 181
Early Empirical Investigations 182
“Democratization of the Workplace” 182
The Trade-Union Movement 183
The Changing Nature of Union-Management Cooperation 184
Employee Representation Plans 186
Summary 188
10 The Emergence of the Management Process and Organization Theory 189
Henri Fayol: The Man and His Career 189
The Need for Management Theory 192
The Principles of Management 193
The Elements of Management 196
A Final Note 201
Max Weber: Bureaucracy 201
Bureaucracy as the Ideal 202
Advantages of Bureaucracy 204
Disadvantages of Bureaucracy 204
Summary 207
11 Scientific Management in Theory and Practice 208
The Study and Practice of Scientific Management 208
Education for Industrial Management 210
The International Scientific-Management Movement 213
Scientific Management in Industrial Practice 225
The Hoxie Report 227
The Thompson and Nelson Studies 229
Emerging General Management 231
The Impact of Scientific Management on Other Disciplines 232
Early Organization Theory 233
Scientific Management at Dupont and General Motors 234
Business Policy 235
Summary 237
12 Scientific Management in Retrospect 238
The Economic Environment: From the Farm to the Factory 239
The Technological Environment: Opening New Horizons 241
The Social Environment: From Achievement to Affiliation 243
The Collision Effect 244
The Social Gospel Movement 245
The Political Environment: The Advent of Progressivism 247
Scientific Management and the Progressives 247
Business and the Progressives 248
Summary of Part II 249
Part III The Social-Person Era
13 The Hawthorne Studies 253
Human Relations in Industry: An Inaugural Step 254
Illumination Study (1924-1927) 254
Relay-Assembly Test-Room Study (1927-1932) 255
Interviewing Program (1925-1932) 260
Bank-Wiring Observation Room Study (1931-1932) 263
Organizations as Social Systems 265
Collaboration Leadership and Motivation 266
Collaboration in Work 267
Anomie and Social Disorganization 269
The New Leadership: Distinguishing Fact from Sentiment 269
Human Relations and Motivation 270
Summary 272
14 The Search for Organizational Integration 273
Mary P. Follett: The Political Philosopher 273
The Group Principle 274
Conflict Resolution 276
A Business Philosopher 277
Authority Responsibility and Power 278
The Task of Leadership 279
A Final Note 281
Chester I. Barnard: The Erudite Executive 282
The Nature of Cooperative Systems 283
Formal Organizations: Theory and Structure 284
The Acceptance Theory of Authority 285
The Functions of the Executive 286
Moral Leadership 288
A Final Note 288
Summary 288
15 People and Organizations 289
People at Work: The Micro View 289
Developing Constructs for Group Analysis 290
The Growth of Human-Relations Research and Training 293
Changing Assumptions About People at Work 294
People and Motivation 294
Job Enlargement and Job Enrichment 296
Participation in Decision-Making 297
Leadership: Combining People and Production 298
People at Work: The Macro View 300
Organizations as Sociotechnical Systems 300
New Tools for Macro Analysis 301
Summary 303
16 Organizations and People 304
Organizations: Structure and Design 304
James D. Mooney: Organization Theory and Practice 305
Texts Teachers and Trends 307
Building Blocks for Administrative Theory 310
Span of Control 312
Toward a Top-Management Viewpoint 314
Ralph C. Davis: Pater Familiae et Magister 314
Harry A. Hopf: Toward the Optimum 316
Analyzing Top Management 317
Ownership and Control 318
Transaction Cost Economics 319
Summary 320
17 Human Relations in Theory and Practice 322
The Impact of Human Relations on Theory and Practice 322
Applying and Extending Human Relations 323
Hawthorne Revisited 323
Premises About an Industrial Society 323
Research Methods and Data Interpretation 325
Summary 330
18 The Social-Person Era in Retrospect 331
The Economic Environment: From Depression to Prosperity 331
Attempts at Economic Recovery 332
“Big Business” as Culprit 333
“Creative Destruction”: New Innovations 335
The Social Environment: Reshaping the Nation’s Values 337
Shifting Social Values 337
“Organization Men” 340
The Political Environment: FDR’s Pledge 341
The New Deal 342
Augmenting the Position of Labor 343
Summary of Part III 345
Part IV Moving Onward: The Near Present
19 Management Theory and Practice 349
The Emergence of General Management 349
Principles of Management and the Functions of Management 350
Peter F. Drucker and the Practice of Management 351
Management Education: Challenges and Consequences 352
The “Management Theory Jungle” 353
Management Education: The Porter-Mckibbin Report 354
The Management Theory-Practice Divide 355
Post-Fayol: Studies of Managerial Work 357
Global Studies of Managerial Work 358
Managing Across Borders 359
The Changing Scene 360
New Institutional Economics 361
The Resource- and Knowledge-Based Theories of the Firm 361
Governance and Agency Issues 362
From Business Policy to Strategic Management to Global Strategy 363
Multinational Enterprise and Global Strategy 364
Strategic Leadership and “Dynamic Capabilities” 365
Summary 367
20 Organizational Behavior and Organization Theory 368
The Human Side of Management 368
The Transition from Human Relations to Organizational Behavior 369
Theories X and Y 370
Human-Resource Management and Industrial Relations: The Changing Scene 371
Job Design 373
Work Motivation 375
Effective Leadership 377
The Trait Approach 377
The Behavioral Approach 378
The Situational Approach 378
Further Theoretical Developments 379
Project Globe 381
Organization Theory: A Continuing Venture 382
Aston Studies: Workflow Integration and Production Continuity 383
Technological Interdependence 383
Contingency Theory and Its Corollaries 384
Organizations and Their Environments 384
Strategic Choice 385
Population Ecology 385
Institutional Theory 386
When Ends Become Means 387
Different Countries Different Cultures 387
Summary 388
21 Science and Systems in an Information Age 389
The Quest for Science in Management 389
Operations Research (OR) 390
Production Management in Transition 391
“If Japan Can Why Can’t We?” 392
Quality and Quality Circles 392
The Toyota Production System and Lean Manufacturing 395
Globalization and the International Organization for Standardization 395
Systems and Information 396
General Systems Theory and Cybernetics 396
From the “Invisible Hand” to the “Digital Hand” 398
It Is a Small Smaller World 399
Enabling Global Trade Through Information and Communication 401
Summary 402
22 Obligations and Opportunities 403
Managing in a Global Arena 403
The Globalization of Business 403
Individuals and Organizations: Evolving Expectations 405
Business Ethics 405
Acting Ethically and Globally 408
Business and Society 409
The Stewardship of Wealth 409
Corporate Social Responsibility and Performance 410
Stakeholders: Economic and Noneconomic Responsibilities 411
Can You Have Your Cake and Eat It Too? 412
Social Entrepreneurship 413
Business and Its Environment 413
Summary of Part IV 414
Epilogue: A Commerce Across the Ages E-1
Name Index I-1
Subject Index I-0
