14 Jul ASK A MANAGEMENT FUTURIST: WHAT’S THE HISTORY OF BUSINESS MANAGERS?
According to leading management futurists and keynote speakers, as a formal discipline, the practice has a rich and complex history. Its evolution is influenced by various fields including economics, psychology, sociology, and even the military. For fun, being management futurists ourselves, we wanted to walk you through a brief overview of the evolution of business managers and their peers.
Pre-Industrial Revolution (before the late 18th Century): Most businesses were family-run or small-scale, and management was informal. Artisan shops, farms, and merchants typically had a master-apprentice system where skills and knowledge were transferred directly.
Industrial Revolution (late 18th to 19th Century): The advent of machinery and factories led to an increase in the scale of businesses, necessitating more formalized management structures. The era saw the birth of concepts like division of labor and economies of scale.
Scientific Management Era (late 19th to early 20th Century): Frederick Winslow Taylor’s principles of scientific management advocated for efficiency and productivity through standardization, time studies, and breaking tasks into smaller parts. It was one of the earliest attempts to apply science to the engineering of processes and management.
Administrative Management Era (early to mid-20th Century): Henry Fayol, a French engineer and director of mines, proposed five primary functions of management: planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating, and controlling. Per management futurists and keynote speakers, his theories emphasized hierarchy, division of labor, and top-down control in organizations.
Human Relations Movement (1930s-1950s): An age that recognized the importance of human behavior in the workplace. The famous Hawthorne Studies conducted by Elton Mayo found that employee productivity was influenced not only by the way the work was organized, but also by social and psychological factors.
Management Science Approach (1950s onwards): A time wherein experts used mathematical and statistical approaches to solve management problems. It was heavily influenced by the development of the computer, or so management futurists and keynote speakers tell us.
Systems Approach (1960s onwards): This approach viewed an organization as an interconnected and interdependent system, consisting of various subsystems. It emphasized a holistic view, where changes in one part of the system affect the other parts.
Contingency Theory (Late 1960s onwards): A theory that posits that there is no one-size-fits-all approach in management. The optimal organizational structure and managerial practices depend largely on the organization’s environment and specific circumstances.
Modern Era (late 20th Century onwards): During current times, we’ve seen a number of trends, including the emphasis on strategic management, total quality management, lean management, and more recently, sustainable and ethical management practices. The rise of digital technology has also given birth to new management concepts and methods.
In effect, as management futurists and keynote speakers explain, the field of business management continues to adapt and shift. The future of business management is likely to see even more changes as we deal with challenges like remote work, artificial intelligence, and the need for more inclusive and diverse workplaces.
