Organization and Management: Nature and Concept of Management

A set of vocabulary flashcards defining key concepts, historical events, theoretical frameworks, prominent contributors, and quantitative models in management.

Management (Etymological Origin)

Derived from the Italian word maneggiare, which comes from Latin manus ('hand') and agere ('to act' or 'to set in motion'), and is cognate with Ancient Greek ágō ('to lead').

Management (Mary Parker Follett's Definition)

Defined as getting things done through people.

Management (General Definition)

The science and the art of effectively and efficiently coordinating the work activities of people working together with common direction.

Management as a Science

Refers to management possessing a systematic body of knowledge in the form of principles and tenets developed through scientific research and studies.

Management as an Art

Refers to management responding to developments occurring globally, progressing from earliest applications to the age of advanced information technology.

Effectiveness

Primarily concerned with the attainment of business goals and objectives; simply means 'doing the right things.'

Efficiency

Refers to achieving goals with minimal or optimal use of resources, producing more output from the same level of input; essentially 'doing things right.'

Coordinated Work Activities

The concept emphasizing that different activities undertaken by a business must be properly coordinated because organizational departments are interdependent.

Common Direction of People

The requirement that every individual in a business firm must work collaboratively toward the same direction to attain organizational goals and objectives.

Early Management Approach

Management practices spanning from Before Common Era (BCE) until the end of the 19th century, evidenced by ancient structures like the Pyramids of Giza and Great Wall of China.

Adam Smith

Author of The Wealth of Nations (1776) and strong advocate of laissez-faire who promoted division of labor or job specialization.

Division of Labor

A managerial concept promoted by Adam Smith asserting that business firms benefit more when workers specialize in specific tasks.

Industrial Revolution

A period beginning in Great Britain in the latter half of the 18th century where technological innovations enabled machines to take over manual labor in manufacturing.

James Watt

Scottish inventor and engineer who developed the steam engine in 1769.

Eli Whitney

American inventor who popularized the concept of interchangeable parts.

Classical Approach

The first formal study of management starting in the early 20th century, emphasizing rationality and efficiency; includes Scientific Management Theory and General Administrative Theory.

Scientific Management Theory

A classical management theory focusing on workers' efficiency to improve organizational productivity through scientific principles.

General Administrative Theory

A classical management theory that considers good management practices, organizational functions, and structure as primary factors influencing productivity.

Frederick W. Taylor

American mechanical engineer known as the 'Father of Scientific Management' who published Principles of Scientific Management in 1911 and advocated the 'one best way' to do a job.

Frank and Lillian Gilbreth

Scientific management contributors who focused on eliminating wasteful movements by studying hand/body motions and devising a classification of 17 basic hand motions.

Henry Gantt

Management consultant who introduced worker incentives and developed the Gantt chart scheduling system for production activities.

Henri Fayol

French mining engineer and major contributor to General Administrative Theory who developed 14 management principles.

Unity of Command

One of Fayol's 14 principles stating that every employee should receive orders from only one superior.

Scalar Chain

One of Fayol's 14 principles defining the line of authority from top management to the lowest ranks.

Esprit de Corps

One of Fayol's 14 principles stating that promoting team spirit builds harmony and unity within the organization.

Behavioral Approach

Management approach founded on the assumption that people are the most important factor in an organization and their reactions to workplace conditions drive productivity.

Hugo Munsterberg

Early behavioral approach advocate who contributed to industrial psychology and suggested using psychological tests to select employees.

Chester Barnard

Behavioral approach advocate who viewed the organization as a social system requiring cooperation, communication, and motivation, and as an open system.

Quantitative Approach

Management approach (also known as operations science or management science) using quantitative tools, statistics, and mathematical models to solve planning and control problems.

George Dantzig

Known as the 'Father of Simplex Method of Linear Programming' who developed linear programming in 1947 to improve resource allocation.

Program Evaluation Review Technique (PERT)

A quantitative management tool introduced in 1950 by Booz, Allen and Hamilton during the construction of the Polaris submarine.

Critical Path Method (CPM)

A quantitative project scheduling method developed in 1957 by Morgan R. Walker and James E. Kelley Jr. for completing projects with deterministic time.

Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) Model

An inventory model originally developed by Ford W. Harris in 1913 and analyzed by H. Andler to determine the optimal level of inventory.

Agner Krarup Erlang

Developer of the queuing model in 1909 to determine efficiency in providing services to customers in queues.

System Theory

A contemporary management approach suggesting that a business organization is a system of interdependent parts working toward a common organizational goal.

Open System

A system that interacts with and is influenced by its external environment.

Closed System

A system that does not interact with the outside environment.

Contingency Approach

A contemporary management approach asserting that the applicability of management principles depends on the prevalent situation, meaning no single principle applies to all scenarios.