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Classical Organisational Theory

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Classical Organisational Theory
Classical organization theory
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Taylor's scientific management approach
Weber's bureaucratic approach
Administrative theory
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Classical organization theories (Taylor, 1947; Weber, 1947; Fayol, 1949) deal with the formal organization and concepts to increase management efficiency. Taylor presented scientific management concepts, Weber gave the bureaucratic approach, and Fayol developed the administrative theory of the organization. They all contributed significantly to the development of classical organization theory.
Taylor's scientific management approach
The scientific management approach developed by Taylor is based on the concept of planning of work to achieve efficiency, standardization, specialization and simplification. Acknowledging that the approach to increased productivity was through mutual trust between management and workers, Taylor suggested that, to increase this level of trust,
• the advantages of productivity improvement should go to workers,
• physical stress and anxiety should be eliminated as much as possible,
• capabilities of workers should be developed through training, and
• the traditional 'boss' concept should be eliminated.
Taylor developed the following four principles of scientific management for improving productivity:
• Science, not rule-of-thumb Old rules-of-thumb should be supplanted by a scientific approach to each element of a person's work.
• Scientific selection of the worker Organizational members should be selected based on some analysis, and then trained, taught and developed.
• Management and labour cooperation rather than conflict Management should collaborate with all organizational members so that all work can be done in conformity with the scientific principles developed.
• Scientific training of the worker Workers should be trained by experts, using scientific methods.
Weber's bureaucratic approach
Considering the organization as a segment of broader society, Weber (1947) based the concept of

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