Evolution of Modern Management
The module on the evolution of modern management briefly
traces the development of Western commerce, capitalism, and
eventually, "management" from the ancients to the
20th century. While most textbooks begin management history
with Frederick Taylor, the professor believes that the
student needs a broader perspective and, at least, a casual
interpretation to the development of capitalism, especially
in America, to appreciate the unique evolution of
"management", professional managers, and the
business school in this country. The intent is to
demonstrate that "management" is defined in the
business context and to provide the student with the
rudiments of an historical perspective on
"business" and its creation,
"management". This module will span Week 2 and the
material will cover Teaching Note 1.
D. The
role of changing values in transforming the European
economy.
1.
Max Weber's The
Protestant Ethic
hypothesized that the Protestant Reformation created
new values that disdained old authority in favor of
individualism and linked personal salvation to a life
of "good works" demonstrated through worldly
activism and self-discipline.
2.
"Protestant ethic" defined: duty to work, use
wealth wisely, depend on one's own moral compass, and
live modestly
3.
Weber argued that these new values were the basis for
the emergence of modern capitalism with its focus on
individual wealth creation as opposed to the older
economy of state mercantilism.
IV.
Industrial Revolution: Why Great Britain?
A.
Industrial Revolution defined: a period from 1750 to
roughly 1870 in which much of Western Europe
experienced rapid economic development attributable to
technological innovations, principally in the use of
steam for manufacturing.
B.
Key events that created economic change:
1.
Institutional changes - issuance of currency and
laws favoring private business
2.
Inventions - steam engine (James Watt)
V. Adam
Smith: The Economics of Capitalism
A.
Characteristics of laissez faire economics:
1.
The means of production, land and capital, are
privately owned. "Capital", here, means
the plant and equipment used to produce goods and
services.
2. The economy is organized and coordinated
through the interaction of buyers and sellers (or
producers) in markets.
3. Suppliers, the owners of land and capital as
well as laborers, pursue their own self-interests
in seeking maximum gain and profits from the use
of their resources. Buyers of goods and services
similarly spend their money to yield the greatest
satisfaction.
4. With suppliers and buyers pursuing
self-interest the market is constructed in which
the value (or price) of goods and services is
determined through the "haggling" of
seller and buyer.
5. With a competitive market of buyers and sellers
following self-interest, the economy is
self-regulating and there is little role for
government. The sovereign is necessary mainly to
protect society from foreign attack, uphold the
rights of private property, guarantee contracts,
and assist, where necessary, in the building of
"infrastructure", to include roads,
canals, and similar "public" goods.
B.
Adam Smith's Wealth
of Nations
(1776) is an inquiry into the nature and causes of
economic development that concludes:
1.
Individuals are bound together by market exchanges
-- buying and selling
2.
Economic development is dependent upon
manufacturing with higher productivity
attributable to "division of labor", or
specialization of work performed by workers.
3.
Higher productivity is also dependent upon use of
technology by which one person can do the work of
many.
VI.
Capitalism in America
America
begins as incorporated colonies. Lassiez faire
capitalism fits with a nation without a strong
central government. The "interstate
commerce" clause, patent protection, and the
Fifth (and Fourteenth) amendment's protection of
property through "due process" lay the
foundation of American capitalism.
VII.
The Rise of the Professional Manager in America
A.
The Civil War created a stronger national
government and market, with increased
technological development through the Second
Industrial Revolution that lasted until the
20th century.
(1)
The rise of the railroads were key in
this development, nationalizing markets
by providing for movement of goods and
people and urbanizing America through
increased manufacturing which required
concentrated labor markets.
(2)
Unlike the experience in Europe, where
national markets are smaller and many
competitors operated short lines, in the
U.S. railroads become "big
business" to be able to provide
service to a much larger national
market.
B.
Railroads also created new problems for
business:
1.
Increased demand for capital led to use
of stock markets for raising capital.
(a)
The stock markets become a key
source of capital for building
"big business"
(b)
The use of "equity"
financing (selling stocks or
ownership) divorces
"ownership" and
"management" functions -
the demise of the single
"owner-manager", as stock
owners increase in numbers.
2.
The divorce of "ownership" and
"management" functions gives
rise to the need for the
"professional manager" who is
adept at running a specialized business
for the stock-holders.
3.
The national market expansion of
railroads required the use of
"middle managers", or train
superintendents, to supervise the
business in key markets, or at key rail
terminals.
C.
To coordinate and control the large scale
enterprise, railroad managers, such as Daniel
McCallum, developed a new organizational
form:
1.
The original organizational form used by
business is the "functional"
form which is departmentalized by
function, such as production, personnel,
and accounting. This form works well for
single product, single market firms
under the "owner-manager"
2.
To organize business operations in
multiple markets across great distances,
the multi-divisional form was evolved.
The MDF type of organization divides the
firm into its market or product
divisions, each headed by a manager
responsible for the division's success.
The divisional managers report to the
corporation's headquarters. The
"headquarters" is an
innovation in assume responsibility
under the Chief Executive Officer,
accountable to the stockholders, for the
overall policies and financial
performance of the business.
D.
The success of railroad management is copied
by other businesses:
1.
There is a demand for an increasing
number of professional managers.
2.
In 1881 Wharton School at the University
of Pennsylvania becomes the first
business school in history, in response
to the demand to create new managers.
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