Chapter 2: Management Learning Past to Present

Vocabulary flashcards covering key classical, behavioural, and modern management terms and concepts from Chapter 2.

Scientific Management

A system of management that emphasizes careful alignment of worker training, incentives, and supervisory support with job requirements.

Motion Study

The science of reducing a job or a task to its most basic physical components.

Scalar Chain Principle

The principle stating that there should be a clear and unbroken line of communication from the top to the bottom of the organization.

Unity of Command Principle

The principle stating that each person in an organization should receive orders from only one boss.

Unity of Direction Principle

The principle stating that one person should be in charge of all activities that have the same performance objective.

Bureaucracy

An intentionally rational and efficient form of organization founded on logic, order, and legitimate authority.

Organizational Behaviour

The study of individuals and groups in organizations.

Hawthorne Effect

The tendency of workers singled out for special attention to perform better than expected because of expectations created by the situation.

Need

A physiological or psychological deficiency that a person feels compelled to satisfy.

Deficit Principle

The notion that a satisfied need does not motivate behaviour.

Progression Principle

The notion that a need at any level becomes active only when the next-lower-level need is satisfied.

Theory X

The assumption that employees dislike work, lack ambition, act irresponsibly, resist change, and prefer to be led rather than to lead.

Theory Y

The assumption that employees are willing to work, accept responsibility, are capable of self-control and self-direction, and are imaginative and creative.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

The phenomenon where an expectation leads to its own fulfillment, such as managers encouraging employees to act in ways that confirm original expectations.

Analytics

The systematic analysis of large databases to solve problems and make informed decisions.

System

A collection of interrelated parts working together for a common purpose.

Subsystem

A smaller component of a larger system that performs specific tasks to support the overall system.

Open System

A system that interacts with its environment in a continual process of transforming resource inputs into outputs.

Contingency Thinking

Management thinking that tries to match managerial practices with the unique demands and problems specific to different situations.

Learning Style

The manner in which an individual prefers to learn through receiving, processing, and recalling new information.

Total Quality Management (TQM)

An organization-wide commitment to continuous improvement, product quality, and meeting customer needs.

Continuous Improvement

The constant search for new ways to improve work quality and performance.

ISO Certification

Conformance with a rigorous set of international quality standards set by the International Organization for Standardization in Geneva, Switzerland.

Evidence-Based Management

Making management decisions through the conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of hard facts about what really works rather than dangerous half-truths.