Administrative Theories in Public Administration

I have never thought that administrative theories in Public Administration has been established back in 1800 with theorist who have discovered or developed and now has been part of the system of the Philippine government. The earliest contributors to our understanding of management theory included practicing managers as well as social scientist. More recent theorist has tended to be academic or management consultants. The early theorist can be divided into 2 main groups – the practicing managers such, as Taylors and Fayol and the social scientists, such as Mayo and Mc Gregor.

Meet the Mr. Taylor, the theorist of Scientific Management. Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856-1915), one of the early practical manager-theorist, born in Boston, Massachusetts, spent the greater part of his life working on the problems of achieving greater efficiency on the shop-floor where he manages. The solution he came up with was based directly on his own experience at work, initially as a shop floor worker and later as a manager. He pioneers scientific management which includes: The systematic study of the relationships between and tasks to redesign the work for higher efficiency.

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Taylor sought to reduce the time a worker spent on each task by optimizing the way the task was done. Scientific Management Theory Organizations were seeking ways to better satisfy customer needs Machinery was changing the way goods were produced Managers had to increase the efficiency of the worker-task mix According to him, there are 4 Principles to increase efficiency that are: a. Study the way the job is performed now and determine new ways to do it.

Gather detailed, time and motion information; try different methods to see which is best b.

Codify the method into rules – Teach to all workers c. Select workers whose skills match the rules set in step2 d. Establish a fair level of performance and pay for higher performance – Workers should benefit from higher output But, Taylor recognizes that the measures he was proposing would appear to be more than just a new method – they would be revolutionary. He stated that the outset that “scientific management” would require a complete mental revolution on the part of management and workers.

Henry Fayol (1841-1924) – father of modern management theory He divided industrial into 6 groups: technical, commercial, financial, security, accounting & managerial And formulated the 14 Principles of management which we are using it every day in our daily activities, allow me to enumerate them and somehow expand a little. Division of Labor – allows for job specialization, Authority and responsibility – Fayol noted firms can have too much specialization leading to poor quality and worker involvement. Unity of command – employees should have one boss.

Line of authority – a clear chain from top to bottom of the firm. Centralization – the degree to which authority rests at the very top. Unity of direction – one plan of action to guide the organization. Equity – treat all employees fairly in justice and respect. Order – each employee is put where they have the most value. Initiative – encourages innovation. Discipline – obedient, applied, respectful employees needed. Remuneration of Personnel – The payment system contributes to the success. Stability of nature – long term employment is important.

General interest over personal interest – the organization takes precedence over the individual. Esprit de corps – share enthusiasm or devotion to the organization. I have added here some of the theorist I researched which I consider to be worth sharing. Mary Parker – an influential leader in early managerial theory. a. Suggested workers help in analyzing their jobs for improvements b. The worker knows the best way to improve the job c. If workers have the knowledge of the task, then they should control the task. The Hawthorne Studies

It appears that the workers enjoyed the attention they received as part of the study and were more productive. Contingency Theory – Assumes there is no one best way to manage The environment impact the organization and managers must be flexible to react to environmental changes The way the organization is designed, control systems selected, depend on the environment Conclusion As management theories evolved in centuries, the principles and ideas were never changed yet it has been a guiding value to those who are in public nor private service and to those who are employed and business people.

It’s amazing how they have passed on to many generations of people who wanted to learn and use the theories. The theories have been explicit in explanations and user-friendly, though there are theorists who have presented different thoughts on the earlier theorist but if we examine deeply, it’s all the same, only presented in different design. Before I end, I would just like to emphasize the last part of the theories because it speaks about our relationship with the environment and how we will relate environmental, Technological environments change rapidly so must managers.