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Classical management thinkers believe that it is better to use scientific principles to maximise the performance of organisations, and humanistic management thinkers believe that it is better to concentrate on the people to optimise the performance of an organisation. My essay today will be based on explaining what these two types of managements are, secondly what the approaches and theories are for these two managements, and thirdly my argument of the strengths and weaknesses of the two approaches. Classical Management Theory was developed in the early 1900s, with an importance on rising worker productivity.
One of the first schools of management thought that the classical management theory was developed during the Industrial Revolution when problems related to factory system occurred. The classical theory of management developed by Frederick Taylor advocated a scientific study of tasks and the workers responsible for them. Although its goal was providing workers the tools necessary for maximising their effectiveness and productivity, it is also criticized for creating an assembly- line atmosphere where employees do only basic or unskilled jobs.
Classical and scientific management theory is based on four main principles which are that company leadership should develop a standard method for doing each job using scientific management, workers should be selected for a job based on their skills and abilities, work should be planned to eliminate interruptions and wage incentives should be offered to encourage increased output. According to the origin of the word “humanism” and the concept of humanistic, management could be called humanistic when its viewpoint emphasizes common needs and is oriented to the development of human asset.
A first approach to humanistic management was developed in the middle of the 20th century. This approach was centred on human motivations. A second approach which was developed in the 80s centred on organizational culture. This implied a wider approach to the human condition while taking into consideration the influence of culture on behaviours and decision making. A third approach to humanistic management is still merging, which considers a business enterprise as a real community of persons.
That means promoting unity and favouring the acquisition of human virtues. The classical approach attempted to find the best form of ways to performing and managing tasks. It consisted of classical scientific school and the classical managerial school. This approach suggested the development of standard methods for doing jobs and the people were trained and they worked more like machines. Every person has his or her own specialized work which had to be done. This approach emphasized on the work element and did not see the workers as human beings but machines.