Classical Organizational Theory

Discuss why classical organizational theories are often referred to as the machine theories 25marks.

The classical writers thought of the organization in terms of its purpose and formal structure. They placed emphasis on the planning of work, the technical requirements of the organization, principles of management, and the assumption of rational and logical behavior. The main idea of the classical perspectives of an organization is that organizations are similar to machines. Hence, if you have a well built and well managed machine, then you will have a very productive and effective organization. The assumption is that each employee is part of a large machine, which is the organization. If one part fails then the entire machine fails.

There

He reflects that all processes could be examined into distinct tasks and that by scientific method it was possible to discover the one best way to perform each task. Each job was broken down into component parts, each part timed, and the parts rearranged into the most efficient method of working. After years of numerous experiments to determine best work methods, Taylor suggested the following four principles of scientific management. These principles are usually summarized as follows that is the development of a true science for each person’s work, the scientific selection, training and development of the workers, cooperation with the workers to ensure work is carried out in the prescribed way and lastly the division of work and responsibility between management and the

According to Taylor, workers are not allowed to give suggestion but simply do what they are assigned to do. This is directly related to how machines work for instance a machine is commanded anything without agreement whether to perform the task or not.

The second classical theory that is often referred to as the machine theory is the bureaucracy theory by Max Weber. He believed that organizational management should focus on task proficiency and impersonal relationships. According to Weber, bureaucracy should be synonymous with order, consistency, reason, and reliability. In order to aspire to these traits, organizations need to have specific rules and emphasize impersonality. He noted that bureaucratic organization much have the following characteristics: