History of The Evolution of Management Thought

I. Origins and Pre‑Formal Management (Pre‑1900 / Antiquity–1870s)

1. Ancient Management Practices:

o Egyptian Pyramids: Required coordination of thousands of laborers;

sophisticated planning and control systems despite lacking formal written
theory.
o Roman Empire: Used "entertainment management" of gladiatorial
spectacles to pacify populations and prevent unrest.
o Military Organizations: Early hierarchical structures and chain-of-
command principles influencing later organizational design.
2. Early Economic Influences:

o Adam Smith (1776): In The Wealth of Nations, demonstrated how

division of labor and task specialization dramatically increased
productivity (e.g., 8 workers producing 48,000 units vs. 800)
o Industrial Revolution: Creation of large-scale production enterprises
demanded systematic management methods.
o Early Commercial Organizations: East India Companies (1600–1800s)
managed global supply chains, quasi-governmental power, vast revenues,
foreshadowing modern multinationals.
3. Transition to Formal Theory:

o Henry R. Towne (1886): In "The Engineer as an Economist," argued

management is a modern art grounded in economics—efficiency and cost
control—marking a shift from craft oversight to systematic management
practice .
o Early industrial trial-and-error experiments catalyzed search for systematic
management methods.

II. Classical School of Management (1880s–1945 / Stage 1: Birth of Classical

Management 1910–1919)
A. Scientific Management (1880s–1920s / Taylor, Gilbreths, Gantt)
• Frederick W. Taylor (1911): The Principles of Scientific Management
introduced time-and-motion studies to identify the "one best way," separation of
planning from execution, scientific worker selection and training, and
performance-based pay.
• Frank & Lillian Gilbreth: Pioneered motion studies and process charts to
optimize tasks.
 • Henry L. Gantt (1913–1914): Developed the Gantt Chart—a visual scheduling
tool mapping tasks against time bars for planning, monitoring, and coordination,
foundational to modern project management.
• Henry Ford (1914): Doubled wages, instituted eight-hour workday; reduced
turnover, boosted productivity, and created a consumer class through mass
production strategies.
B. Administrative Theory (1916–1930s / Fayol, Barnard)
• Henri Fayol (1916): Administration Industrielle et Générale outlined five
management functions (Plan, Organize, Command, Coordinate, Control) and 14
principles (Division of work; Authority and responsibility; Unity of command;
Scalar chain; Equity; Esprit de corps; etc.)
• Chester Barnard (1938): The Functions of the Executive defined organizations
as cooperative systems and described the executive’s role in communication,
fostering cooperation, balancing incentives and moral obligation.
C. Bureaucratic Management (Weber, 1920s–1940s)
• Max Weber: Identified characteristics of bureaucracy—hierarchical authority,
formal rules and procedures, impersonality, division of labor based on
specialization, merit-based advancement, and written record-keeping—
establishing a rational-legal organizational model .
Contextual Backdrop (1910s):
• Breakup of Standard Oil & American Tobacco trusts (1911)
• Federal Reserve Act (1913)
• Panama Canal opens (1914)
• World War I (1914–1918)
• U.S. Prohibition via 18th Amendment (1919)

III. Rise of Managerial Thought (Stage 2: 1920–1929)

1. Case Teaching Method (1920): Harvard Business School introduced immersive
case-study pedagogy for critical decision-making practice.
2. Multidivisional (M‑Form) Structure (1921): DuPont pioneered decentralized,
profit-center divisions with P&L accountability.
3. Harvard Business Review Founded (1922): Dean Wallace B. Donham launched
HBR to bridge scholarly research and practice, emphasizing socially minded
leadership.
4. Participatory Management (Follett, 1925): Mary Parker Follett advanced
"power with" over "power over," advocating integrative conflict resolution and
collaborative problem-solving.
 5. Professionalization Debate (Lowell, 1926): Abbott Lawrence Lowell’s HBR
essay questioned whether management met criteria of a profession (knowledge
base, ethics, training, social responsibility).
1. Hawthorne Studies (Mayo, 1927–1929): At Western Electric, illumination and
relay-assembly experiments revealed social dynamics and supervisory attention
impacted productivity (Hawthorne Effect) .
Contextual Backdrop (1920s):
• German hyperinflation (1921–24)
• 19th Amendment: Women’s suffrage (1920)
• Stock Market Crash & onset of Great Depression (1929)

IV. Consolidation of Human & Organizational Perspectives (Stage 3: 1930–1939)

1. "Merchandising of Ideas" (Bower, 1930): First HBR article framing
management concepts as marketable intellectual assets.
2. Human Relations Movement (Mayo et al., c.1933): Social factors (group
norms, recognition) had greater effect than physical conditions on productivity.
3. Keynesian Economics (Keynes, 1936): The General Theory introduced active
fiscal policies influencing strategic planning and macro-level organizational
decision-making.
4. Interpersonal Skills (Carnegie, 1937): How to Win Friends and Influence
People taught communication, empathy, and persuasion as core leadership
competencies.
5. Cooperative Systems (Barnard, 1938): Reinforced organizations as cooperative
systems dependent on executive communication and moral leadership.
Contextual Backdrop (1930s):
• The Great Depression (1929–1941)
• Hitler’s appointment as German Chancellor (1933)
• U.S. New Deal reforms (FDIC, SEC, Social Security)
• Spanish Civil War (1936–1939)

V. Foundations of Behavioral Science & Executive Practice (Stage 4: 1940–1949)

1. Executive Compensation (Baker, 1940): HBR article on stock options aligned
managerial incentives with shareholder interests.
2. Hierarchy of Needs (Maslow, 1943): Five-level model (Physiological → Safety
→ Social → Esteem → Self-Actualization) for designing motivational programs
cite turn0file0 .
3. Business Education Reform (Calkins, 1946): Advocated integrating liberal arts
and ethics into MBA curricula.
 4. Bounded Rationality (Simon, 1947): Introduced satisficing and cognitive limits
in executive decision-making.
5. HR as Strategic Function (Johnson, 1948): Elevated human relations to a
strategic imperative.
Contextual Backdrop (1940s):
• World War II (1939–1945)
• GI Bill for veterans (1944)
• Marshall Plan for European recovery (1948)

VI. Emergence of Strategic Purpose & Communication (Stage 5: 1950–1959)

1. Long‑Term Impact Evaluation (Jaques, 1950): Introduced strategic time
horizons in leadership assessment.
2. Psychotherapeutic Communication (Rogers & Roethlisberger, 1952): Applied
active listening and empathy from psychotherapy to managerial interactions.
3. Resistance to Change (Lawrence, 1954): Characterized change as an "uphill
battle" against psychological and cultural inertia.
4. Customer‑Centric Purpose (Drucker, 1954 & 1957): Defined business purpose
as "to create a customer," embedding market orientation at strategy’s heart
cite turn0file0 .
5. Systems Thinking Emergence: Ludwig von Bertalanffy’s General Systems
Theory applied to organizations, emphasizing open-system dynamics.
Contextual Backdrop (1950s):
• Korean War (1950–1953)
• Brown v. Board of Education ruling (1954)
• Vietnam War begins (1954)
• Sputnik launch & NASA formation (1957)

VII. Behavioral Economics, Strategic Portfolio Analysis & Motivation (Stage 6:

1960–1969)
1. Marketing Myopia (Levitt, 1960): Warned against product-focused management
over customer needs.
2. Theory X & Theory Y (McGregor, 1960): Contrasted authoritarian (X) vs. self-
directed (Y) views of workers cite turn0file2 .
3. Behavioral Theory of the Firm (Cyert & March, 1963): Firms operate via
routines, coalition bargaining, and adaptive satisficing.
4. Growth–Share Matrix (BCG, 1963–64): Categorized business units into Stars,
Cash Cows, Question Marks, Dogs.
 5. Two‑Factor Theory (Herzberg, 1968): Distinguished hygiene factors preventing
dissatisfaction from motivators driving satisfaction.
6. Contingency Approach Emergence: Effective management depends on
situational variables (Woodward; Lawrence & Lorsch; Fiedler).
Contextual Backdrop (1960s):
• Equal Pay Act (1963)
• Civil Rights Act (1964)
• Vietnam War escalation
• Global GDP 6.855 𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑜𝑛; 𝑂𝑖𝑙 14.42/barrel

VIII. Maturation of Strategic & Organizational Theory (Stage 7: 1970–1979)

1. Corporate Strategy (Andrews, 1970): Defined strategy (scope, resource
allocation, environment positioning) as chief executives’ primary function.
2. Manager’s Roles (Mintzberg, 1971): Identified ten managerial roles challenging
purely analytical models.
3. Organizational Growth Cycles (Greiner, 1972): Evolution–Revolution model
of growth punctuated by crises.
4. Agency Theory (Jensen & Meckling, 1974): Addressed principal–agent
conflicts via contractual governance mechanisms.
5. Gender & Power (Kanter, 1975): Explored corporate power structures’ effects
on women’s advancement.
6. Five Forces Framework (Porter, 1979): Analyzed competitive forces shaping
industry structure.
Contextual Backdrop (1970s):
• OPEC Oil Embargo & stagflation (1973)
• China permits FDI (1979)
• Global GDP 12.138 𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑜𝑛; 𝑂𝑖𝑙 10.42/barrel

IX. Strategic Choices, Excellence & Innovation (Stage 8: 1980–1989)

1. Competitive Strategy & Advantage (Porter, 1980 & 1985): Introduced value-
chain analysis and generic strategies (cost leadership, differentiation, focus).
2. Economic Decline Critique (Hayes & Abernathy, 1981): Criticized short-term
U.S. management focus eroding manufacturing excellence.
3. In Search of Excellence (Peters & Waterman, 1982–83): Identified eight
cultural attributes of exemplary companies (bias for action, customer focus,
autonomy, productivity through people).
4. Quality Management (Garvin, 1985): Compared U.S. vs. Japanese quality
dimensions; promoted Total Quality Management.
 5. Discipline of Innovation (Drucker, 1988): Systematic sources of innovation
(unexpected events, demographics, new knowledge).
6. Gender Equity Dialogue (Schwartz, 1989): Addressed dual-career family
policies and flexible career tracks.
Contextual Backdrop (1980s):
• Reaganomics tax reform (1986)
• Black Monday stock crash (1987)
• Fall of Berlin Wall (1989)
• Global GDP 18.818 𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑜𝑛; 𝑂𝑖𝑙 100.54/barrel

X. Knowledge Age, Reengineering & Leadership (Stage 9: 1990–1999)

1. Learning Organization (Senge, 1990): Systems thinking to foster continuous
adaptation (shared vision, team learning, mental models).
2. Business Process Reengineering (Hammer & Champy, 1991): Radical
redesign of core processes (“obliterate, don’t automate”).
3. Core Competence (Prahalad & Hamel, 1992): Sustainable advantage from
unique, hard-to-imitate skill bundles.
4. Balanced Scorecard (Kaplan & Norton, 1994): Multidimensional performance
metrics (financial, customer, internal process, learning/growth).
5. Leading Change (Kotter, 1996): Eight-step change model emphasizing urgency,
vision, and culture.
6. Emotional Intelligence (Goleman, 1998): EI (self-awareness, self-regulation,
empathy) as stronger predictor of leadership success than IQ.
7. Protecting Creativity (Amabile, 1999): How controls and incentives can stifle
intrinsic motivation.
Contextual Backdrop (1990s):
• Collapse of USSR (1991)
• Maastricht Treaty & EU formation (1992)
• Amazon founds internet retailing (1995)

XI. Inclusive Markets & Data-Driven Strategy (Stage 10: 2000–2011)

1. Bottom‑of‑Pyramid (Prahalad & Lieberthal, 2000–02): Opportunities in low-
income markets with affordable models.
2. Creative Destruction (Foster & Kaplan, 2004): Firms as competitors to their
own legacy offerings to sustain renewal.
3. Disruptive Innovation (Christensen, 2006): Entrants with simpler, cheaper tech
upend incumbents.
 4. Analytics Revolution (Davenport, 2007–08): Big data analytics as strategic
capability.
5. Reverse Innovation (Govindarajan & Immelt, 2010–11): Develop low-cost
solutions for emerging markets, then adapt for developed markets.
Contextual Backdrop (2000–2011):
• Dot-com crash (2000)
• China joins WTO (2001)
• Great Recession (2007–09)
• China surpasses Japan economy (2010)

XII. Digital, Agile, AI, ESG, Purpose & Future of Work (Stage 11: 2011–2025+)
1. Digital Transformation & Big Data (2012–15): Enterprise-wide digitization;
real-time data for continuous refinement.
2. Agile & Adaptive Organizations (2014–23): Cross-functional teams, iterative
planning, fast feedback, MVPs beyond IT.
3. AI & Advanced Analytics (2015–22): Embedded ML optimizing supply chains,
personalized marketing, predictive insights.
4. Platform & Ecosystem Strategies (2019–23): Shift from pipeline to multi-sided
platforms and network effects.
5. Remote & Hybrid Work (2020–25): COVID-19 validated distributed knowledge
work; permanent hybrid talent models.
6. Sustainability, ESG & Stakeholder Capitalism (2018–24): ESG integrated into
strategy, risk, capital allocation, incentives.
7. Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (2015–23): Maturing DEI as strategic imperative
driving innovation and market access.
8. VUCA & Resilience (2014–23): Emphasis on resilience and antifragility in
volatile environments; scenario planning.
9. Purpose-Driven & Values-Based Leadership (2022–23): Authentic corporate
purpose embedded in culture and metrics.
10. Future of Work & Continuous Upskilling (2019–25): Internal talent
marketplaces, micro-credentials, digital academies to reskill workforce.

XIII. Lecture Notes & Extra Insights

• Continuity vs. Change: Fundamental challenges—organizing, motivating,
controlling—endure; technology alters methods but not human motivations.
• Enduring Structures: Bureaucracy and hierarchy remain default due to lack of
widely accepted alternatives.
• Practical Challenges: Managing diverse teams, conflict resolution, balancing
authority/flexibility, addressing underperformance.
 • Scale & Complexity: East India Companies as proto-multinationals illustrating
early global supply-chain and governance complexities.

XIV. Key Theorists Quick Reference

Theorist Key Idea(s) Era

Frederick W. Taylor Scientific Management, time-motion, piece-rate 1880s–1910s
Henri Fayol Five functions, 14 principles 1900s–1910s
Max Weber Bureaucracy model 1920s–1940s
Elton Mayo Hawthorne Studies, Human Relations 1920s–1930s
Mary Parker Follett Participatory management, “power with” 1920s
Abraham Maslow Hierarchy of Needs 1943
Douglas McGregor Theory X & Theory Y 1960
W. Edwards Deming Statistical quality control, PDCA 1950s–1980s
Michael Porter Five Forces, value chain, generic strategies 1970s–1980s
Peter Drucker Management by Objectives, create a customer 1950s–1960s
Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation 1990s–2000s
Peter Senge Learning Organization, systems thinking 1990s
Thomas Davenport Analytics as strategic capability 2007–2008
Vijay Govindarajan Reverse Innovation 2010–2011
Daniel Goleman Emotional Intelligence in leadership 1998

XV. Study Strategy Suggestions

• Chronological Pass: Review timeline stages to understand evolution.
• Concept Clusters: Group theories by themes (efficiency, motivation,
information, adaptation).
• Figure Flashcards: Memorize key ideas and contributions of theorists.
• Practice Essays: Outline essays in timed settings, weaving milestones and
contextual events.
• Day‑of Review: Scan quick-reference table and stage chronology for last-minute
refresh.
XVI. Detailed Stage Chronology (Appendix)
A stage-by-stage supplement capturing granular milestones and contextual events, useful
for essay depth:

Stage Decade(s) Highlights Why It Matters

1 1910– Breakup of trusts (1911), Fed Reserve Act Spread of efficiency
1919 (1913), Panama Canal (1914), Ford’s $5 doctrines amid mega-
day & 8‑hr shift (1914), WWI, Prohibition projects and reform.
(1919)
2 1920– HBS Case Method (1920), M‑Form (1921), Added pedagogy,
1929 HBR founding (1922), Follett “power with” structure, and social
(1925), Lowell debate (1926), Hawthorne dimensions.
(1927)
3 1930– Bower on “Merchandising of Ideas” (1930), Shift from mechanics
1939 Carnegie (1937), Keynes (1936), Barnard to psychology,
(1938), New Deal reforms communication.
4 1940– Stock options HBR (1940), Maslow (1943), Motivation and
1949 Calkins ethics (1946), Simon’s bounded educational reform
rationality (1947), HR strategy (1948) during wartime.
5 1950– Jaques time horizons (1950), Rogers Introduced long-term
1959 psychotherapy in management (1952), evaluation and
Lawrence resistance (1954), Drucker communication skills.
“customer” (1957)
6 1960– Levitt marketing myopia (1960), McGregor Customer focus,
1969 X/Y (1960), Behavioral Theory of the Firm satisficing, portfolio
(1963), BCG matrix (1963–64), Herzberg analysis.
(1968)
7 1970– Andrews strategy (1970), Mintzberg roles Executive strategy and
1979 (1971), Greiner growth crises (1972), stakeholder alignment.
Jensen-Meckling agency (1974), Kanter
gender (1975), Porter Five Forces (1979)
8 1980– Hayes & Abernathy critique (1981), In Culture, quality,
1989 Search of Excellence (1982–83), Garvin innovation critiques
quality dimensions (1985), Drucker matured.
innovation (1988), Schwartz gender equity
(1989)
9 1990– Senge learning org (1990), Hammer Systems learning,
1999 reengineering (1991), Prahalad core radical redesign, soft-
competence (1992), Kaplan/Norton skills emphasis.
Balanced Scorecard (1994), Kotter change
(1996), Goleman EI (1998), Amabile
creativity (1999)
10 2000– Bottom-of-Pyramid (2000–02), Foster & Globalization and
Stage Decade(s) Highlights Why It Matters
2011 Kaplan self-disruption (2004), Christensen data-driven advantage.
disruptive (2006), Davenport analytics
(2007–08), Reverse innovation (2010–11)
11 2011– Digital transformation, Agile at scale, AI Post‑2010 forces
2025 embedded, platform strategies, reshaping work, talent,
remote/hybrid work, ESG mainstreaming, and society.
DEI, resilience, purpose-driven leadership,
upskilling