Classical and Scientific Management Theory Key Terms

Learn some of the key themes in classical and scientific management theory

By Shannon Tani

While the ideas of classical and scientific management theory were formed during the Industrial Revolution, some of the principles still apply today. Managers should become well-informed about a number of different management theories so that they can choose which styles may work best with their particular group of employees. They may want to apply administrative theory or scientific management to their job. Or they may choose to use an informal organization to create work teams to complete projects.

Scientific management

Scientific management is an idea championed by Frederick Taylor that looks at the specific tasks that workers do and aims to find more efficient ways to do them. This could either result in higher productivity levels from employees, or a decrease in the number of needed employees, saving the company money.
Try: Learn about scientific management in its historical perspective at Accel-Team.

Administrative theory

The administrative theory focuses on the organization as a whole. It looks to separate tasks so that each employee and manager can specialize in a particular area. Rules and regulations are very important to administrative theory.
Try: You can read more about administrative theory in Theories of Organization by Henry L. Tosi.

Theory of bureaucracy

The Theory of Bureaucracy was developed by Max Weber and focuses on establishing an ideal bureaucracy for your organization. In particular, bureaucracies should have strict division of labor, many rules and an impersonal relationship between manager and employee.
Try: KernsAnalysis.com offers a look at classical management theory, including the Theory of Bureaucracy.

14 Principles of Management

The 14 Principles of Management were developed by Henri Fayol and are aspects that managers should adopt in order to effectively manage. They include such things as division of work and unity of command.
Try: Visit 12 Manage to see the full list of the 14 Principles of Management.

Gantt chart

Created by Henry Gantt, the Gantt chart is a method for measuring the progress of a project. It focuses on time and shows how long the various stages of a product are meant to take along a calendar.
Try: To see an example of a Gantt chart and to learn more, visit Gantt Charts.

Informal organization

Within any organization, members begin to naturally gravitate towards certain people, forming groups based on interests, skills or personality. This concept is called informal organization and was developed by Chester Barnard.
Try: BasicCollegeAccounting.com discusses informal organization and its benefits.