Some Management Theories, their principles, and Implications for

Educational Management and Administration

At the end of this unit you should be able to:

a) Explain the principles of classical management movement and their application to educational
management

b) Relate the contribution of human relations movement to organizational management.

c) Relate the various approaches/theories to the management to education.

INTRODUCTION
Towards the end of the 19th Century, the industrial revolution took place in Western Europe and
Northern America which resulted into the establishment of large-scale industries that employed
huge numbers of workers. Organizational problems sprung up in the industries and as a result, a
lot of research was carried out by scholars in social sciences resulting into new ideas in the field
of management. Worth to note, these ideas were meant to improve management of the industries
for efficiency. Such ideas intended for industries were eventually adopted by educationists
especially in the United States of America. These ideas were categorized as follows;

 Classical management movement (Classical organisational thought). This included the

theory of Scientific Management by Fredrick W. Taylor, theory of Bureaucracy by
Max Weber, and Administrative theory by Henri Fayol.
 Human relations approach (1930 – 50).
 Behavioral science movement approaches to management

A. Classical Management Movement

i) ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGEMENT THEORY BY HENRI FAYOL (1841- 1925)
He was a French Engineer who concluded that certain fundamental truths can be expressed
inform of general principles and can contribute to the understanding of management. He
attributed managerial success to a set of principles. In his book “General and Industrial
Management” he formulated Organizational principles which have been generally applied in
organizations. These include;
1. Division of work; he states that work must be divided into convenient units to improve
efficiency and increase output.
2. Discipline; it’s the code of conduct which regulates the behavior and conduct of people
working in an organization. It’s worth remembering that without discipline, there cannot be
order and thus the organization does not run smoothly. The amount of discipline of any group
depends on the quality of leadership.
3. Authority; this is the right to give orders and influence the activities of others. In every
organized group, the supreme authority must lie somewhere.
4. Unity of command; In an organization, the source of authority must be well defined so that
all members know whom he is responsible in order to avoid confusion which would
otherwise be caused by contradicting sources of authority. An employee should receive
orders from only one supervisor. Adherence to this principle avoids break-down in authority
and discipline.
5. Unity of direction; This is a situation where all members working in the organization must
be well versed with the aims and objectives of the organization so that their efforts are
directed towards the achievement of the organizational goals. This requires a sense of unity
among the employees.
6. Subordination of individual to general interests; Concerns of the organization must be
placed ahead of the individual concerns. When personal interests override those of the
organization, the employee behaves in a way which undermines authority. Individual and
group interests should not take precedence over the interests of the organization. Where the
reverse happens, staff are said to be insubordinate.
7. Remuneration; the pay should be fair, not exploitative and should be linked to performance
of staff. Pay should be commensurate to the amount of work done. Competence should be
rewarded but not over rewarded.
8. Centralization; It stipulates that ultimate authority in the organization should be centralized
to one point. Managers must retain final responsibility. However, there should be a certain
amount of decentralization or delegation of authority depending on the size of the
organization.
9. Scalar chain of command; There must be an unbroken chain of command, authority and
communication in the organization ranging from the top to the lowest level.
10. Order; The principle stipulates that people and materials should be well coordinated and
should be the right place at the right time.
11. Equity; There is need to take into account while dealing with employee the desire for equity
and equality of treatment by managers. All workers must be subjected to fair and just
treatment. There shouldn’t special treatment accorded to some workers at the expense of the
others.
12. Stability of personnel/tenure; Successful organizations need a stable workforce. High
employee turnover causes a number of negative effects to the organization among which is
inefficient and poor performance. Management should encourage long term commitment of
employees to the organization.
13. Unanimity; Decisions made democratically in an organization must be respected by all. The
spirit of consensus should prevail. Anytime a decision is taken whether during a formal
meeting or otherwise must be accepted by all employees including those who may not love it.
14. Confidentiality; all employees should remember that they need not divulge official matters
of the organization to any unauthorized people.
15 Unity and spirit of cooperation among workers; In all organizations, it is recommended to
have a spirit of unity amongst workers. There is always need for collective responsibility
towards the property of the organization, thus employees should work as a team.

The above principles represent most of the classical school of Management thinking. However,
some of these ideas are now seen as being mechanistic and rigid yet schools, Colleges and
Universities as social institutions demand a more flexible approach to management and
organization. For example, the straight-line structure of the proposed hierarchy of authority
makes sense in terms of clarity and avoidance of conflicting orders. However, in schools, the
straight-line structure turns out to be too rigid and bureaucratic resulting into unnecessary delays.
Nonetheless, many of these principles are generally accepted but managers should apply them
situationally in light of the current thinking that is emphatic on motivation and situational needs.

N.B In addition to the fourteen principles, Fayol recognized five processes which he referred to
as “the basic elements of administration”. These were planning, organising, controlling,
commanding and coordinating.
ii) THEORY OF BUREAUCRACY BY MAX WEBER (1864-1920)
Max Weber, a German sociologist produced one of the most durable and brilliant works on
administrative systems which has since then been very useful in management of organizations
throughout the world. Bureaucracy is the system of administration where individual
responsibility and power are strictly defined and where processes are followed. It involves the
right of people in authority to give commands and make decisions. Bureaucracy requires that
rules and regulations governing people are defined so that there can be rational behavior.

Max Weber believed that bureaucracy is capable of maintaining maximum efficiency which is
one of the most important rational ways in controlling human behavior. He advanced several
principles which, if properly applied in management, would enable organizations achieve
maximum efficiency. These principles are discussed below.

a) Division of Labour. In a bureaucratic system of organization, jobs are broken down into
simple, routine and well-defined tasks. Organisational leaders are selected and appointed
on the basis of demonstrated competence to perform the tasks. Complicated tasks are split
into relatively simple and manageable parts and an individual person assigned to manage
such a task. Specialization is emphasized to increase efficiency and achieve
organizational goals.
b) Hierarchical Structure. Refers to office arrangement in vertical order in which each lower
hierarchy is supervised by higher order. This hierarchy of authority is represented in form
of a chart.
c) Prescribed competence. It is also referred to as formal selection. All members of the
organization are selected on the basis of technical qualifications such as training and level
of education.
d) Formal rules and regulation. Rules and regulations are used to ensure uniformity and to
regulate the actions of workers. Rules in bureaucratic system are used to promote
efficiency and ensure continuity of organisational functions. As a result, order, rational
and equal treatment of all employees is practiced
 e) Principle of impersonal relationships. It’s concerned with discipline in the organization.
Max Weber believed that if personnel are subjected to systematic and strict discipline,
productivity will be high. However, to ensure discipline, administrators should be
impersonal without hatred or passion in their contact with organizational members. In
dealing with the official matters, an administrator should exercise emotional detachment
so that their personal feelings do not distort their rational judgment.
f) Principle of career orientation. It is concerned with terms and conditions of services of
members. Max Weber states that if these terms and conditions were made clear and
friendly, employees would work harder towards greater efficiency and productivity.
When there is career orientation, Weber maintains that there is a system of promotion
according to seniority, achievement or both. To foster loyalty in the organization,
individuals with special skills must be protected from arbitrary dismissal and denial of
promotion. To him, employment should constitute a career for officials and their tenure
should be clearly spelled out.
g) Principle of documentation. According to this principle, official dealings, and decisions
should be recorded in writing with a proper filing system.
Advantages of Bureaucracy.
The development of bureaucratic system has contributed a lot in managing huge organizations.

1) Efficiency. Bureaucracy serves a large number of people in systematic manner. Besides this,
individuals who have been involved in bureaucracy are trained and knowledgeable. All tasks that
are performed at every echelon are supervise. Therefore, bureaucracy is efficient in utilizing
resources and effective in task performance.

2) Predictability. Bureaucracy operates on the basis of rules and regulations. Decisions are made
on the basis of the set policies. Decisions are free from prejudice and arbitrariness. As a result,
activities are predictable and can be forecasted in advance.

3) Impersonality. Since bureaucracy functions on the basis of rules and policies, it sets clear
boundaries for each position to minimize personal bias and duplication of efforts.

Disadvantages
1) Over conformity. Bureaucracy encourages conformity and continuity of established rules. It
does not encourage the promotion of change. Bureaucracy is too be rigid and overemphasize
adherence to rules and regulations.

2) Bureaucracy does not encourage two-way communication. Orders are from top and sometimes
it is difficult for subordinates to communicate to the top management.

3) Bureaucratic organizations are slow in decision making. The search for rationality may create
communication block which contribute to the delay in decision-making activities.

Application of Bureaucracy in Educational Organizations

The characteristics listed by Weber can be applied to individual schools and educational
institutions. Schools are categorized as formal organizations with many similarities and
characteristics of bureaucratic organizations. Some of the characteristics of schools found in
bureaucratic organizations include hierarchical structure; appointments and promotions; staff
specialization; rules and regulations; responsibilities and authorities as well as division of labour.

Conclusion
In spite of the shortcomings above, many schools or organizations today may be referred to as
highly bureaucratic because they reflect a good number of characteristics of pure bureaucracy.

iii) SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT BY FREDRICK W. TAYLOR (1856-1915)

He was an industrial engineer based at Midvale steel company in USA. After interacting with
workers, he formulated the following principles which he believed would bring about efficiency
and effectiveness. To him efficient administrators and employees are those that are Task/Result
oriented.

-The Time-motion study principle. In order for productivity to be boosted, emphasis should be
put on timing. The work to be done must be accurately timed. This principle implies that time is
set for certain piece of work to be accomplished and if not, effort is made to ensure that this is
the case. To him there should be a starting point and an end time and anything out of the
continuum is irrelevant. The implication this has to a school system is that every activity must be
time bound.
-Piece rate principle. In this principle, Taylor proposed that wage should be proportional to
output. Therefore, the more work a worker performs, the higher should the pay be.
-Separation of Planning from Performance principle. The principle contends that it’s the duty of
the managers to plan work and make decisions for workers. Workers are simply obliged to work
as planned and as decided by managers. Managers should therefore ensure that there should be a
line between management and implementation. In a school system the principle applies to the
head teacher’s roles of the planning and the decision making on behalf of all those who work
under him or her. This in effect contributes to the authority and power of the head teacher. It also
implies that the tasks to be performed must be clearly defined and specified where by staff are
given job restrictions and descriptions. In a school system therefore, teachers are supposed to be
given copies of the syllabi.

-Scientific method of work principle. It is assumed in this principle that management knows how
to make the best decisions and evolve the best methods of work. Hence management should train
workers in the methods of work and decide which methods the workers should use to produce
better results. The implication in a school system is that the head teacher should be a trainer of
methods of work that should benefit the school. It also implies that there is scientific method of
doing work e.g. school syllabi are arranged in a systematic way from lower to higher levels. The
other implication is that there is a scientific method of evaluation for measuring the work done.
In a school situation, tests and exams are ways of evaluating and measuring performance.

-Principle of Functional foremanship. This principle is based on specialization. Taylor believed

that the source of authority should be based on experts. Specialization requires that supervisors
should have the necessary knowledge and skills on the work they supervise.
- Definition of rules of behavior. This is about how people should behave. A code of conduct
outlining rules and regulations should be established to ensure organizational efficiency.
SHORTCOMINGS/CRITICISMS OF SCIENTIFIC MOVEMENT
1. The scientific movement did not consider the importance of psychological and sociological
factors in production. It assumed that man can be programmed to work like a machine and yet
unlike machines, man’s output is affected by psychological and sociological factors.
2. Standardization of work conditions across educational institutions may not be possible.
Libraries, laboratories and social conditions between rural and urban schools can never be the
same especially in developing countries where educational resources are limited.

3. Scientific measurement in output of educational institutions is quite elusive. This is because

using exams as a measure of output leaves out important aspects which the school system
influences and are not catered for in exams e.g. there are certain social values which the student
acquires through the school system and this happens to be quite important yet they cannot be
measured through examinations.

4. Insisting on more pay for more work has limitations in the education system in that after
sometime, teachers and students get tired. Hence even if teachers are given more money for more
work, their output may not increase because of the law of Diminishing Returns.

5. Under scientific management, authority tends to be more centralized. This comes with
associated anomalies that go with over centralization such as lack of delegation, absence of
employee participation, bureaucracy, etc. School systems operate on the principle of delegation
and head teachers who do not develop/evolve power to the lowest unit tend to be poor managers.

6. Scientific management ideas were hatched in an industrialized capitalistic setting. So its

principles cannot apply fully in less developed countries which are not well industrialized.
Relating these ideas to less capitalist and less industrialized countries is hard. In our typical
schools it is difficult to a quire all the equipment such as computers that are needed to enhance
efficiency. If they are there, restrictions of use exist due to the expenses involved.
 B. HUMAN RELATIONS SCHOOL
This movement was initiated by a social psychologist known as Mary Park Follet (1863-
1933). She was against the scientific movement approach with its principles on high
productivity, efficiency and other physical factors and wages as means of motivating
workers. She strived to work hard to bring about a better-ordered society in which people
might live a more satisfying life. To do this, she proposed the following four major
principles.
1. Employers and employees should solve their differences through conferences and
cooperation. This democratic way of solving problems should be done by the two parties:
(i) involved listening to each other’s different views/ situation. (ii) accepting each other’s
view points and understanding each other better. (iii) integrating their view points and
becoming united in the pursuit of the common goal.
2. Coordination must be achieved in the early stages. In order to run any organization well
its duties must be coordinated from the very beginning.
3. Coordination is the result of reciprocal understanding of all factors in the situation. This
means that both employers and employees should share in the organizational tasks; this
will result in better relationship. 4. Coordination is a continuing process. The sharing of
ideas and working together between the administrators and workers should continue for
the betterment of the administration and the workers.

Elton Mayo (1880) disseminated Follet’s principles and became the strongest contributor
of the human relations movement. Between 1923 and 1926, he carried out experiments to
test the physical conditioning on workers’ productivity. Results from his study indicated
that the determinant factor which affected job productivity was what went on inside the
worker. The study further found out that sociological and physiological factors were the
strongest elements influencing worker’s productivity. From the experiments of Elton
Mayo, the following key insights emerged.
-The informal organization is always active within the formal organisation. This
“informal organization” determines, to a large extent determines how worker view the
formal structure of authority. It is the group norms which tend to set standards of
performance, such as time keeping, output, quality, attitudes towards customers and
clients, dress codes etc. and management cannot impose standards which are not
acceptable in this alternative culture.
This is a major problem for management since managers themselves are party to the
informal organization and culture as well. And the patterns of relationships among
managers can be particularly complex as they cross the divide between identification with
their management peers and their subordinates (and especially so in cases of internal
promotion).

Activity

Suggest reasons why you may belong to an informal organization. Do you feel the
informal organization can be dangerous to a school system?

- Complexity of workers’ needs. The second element identified by the human relations
school is that people come to work to gain satisfaction of needs other than that of simply
earning money. Thus, although there is need to make a certain amount of money, where
this has been secured there is a need for social interaction, self-esteem and being valued,
achievement, and many others.

Revision Questions

1. Explain the principles of classical management theories and show how these are
applicable to school management
2. Assess the applicability of the scientific management movement principles to
educational institutions in your country
3. To what extent can school organisations in your country be described as
bureaucratic entities.