FMS 106- Financial Management

Modern Approaches to Management After a scholarly review of management concept over the years, Harold Koontz in his article “The Management Theory Jungle” has classified the major “schools” of management into six broad areas: (1) The Management Process (2) Empirical School (3) Human Relations School (4) Decision Theory School (5) Mathematical School.The Management Process This school of thought perceives management as a process of getting things done through and with people operating in organized groups. The management process school attempts to establish a conceptual frame work, identify the principles and formulate a theory of management based on it. This group believes in the universality of management. He grouped Henri Fayol, and Frederick Taylor as belong to the same school. This school, he believes, looks to the function of managers. Empirical School This is Koontz’s second classification. He groups in this section those who studied management through the analysis of the experience of successful manages. An attempt was made by examining the successful operation to form generalization concerning the nature of management and be able to apply the best management techniques. Ernest Dale, the Great Organizers typify this group. The criticism for this school is the danger of using the past to judge the present or believing that what appeared to be right in the past may fit a situation in the present or future. It could be argued that the empirical school is identical to the management process school. Taylor and Fayol were men with many years of practical experience on the job and what they postulated were based on their own experiences. Dale’s Comparative Approach is based on structure less experience. Both aim at deriving concepts or principles to be used as a guide for the practice of management.