Administrative Principles Essay

Administrative Principles

The fourth major theory of management thought is called administrative principles. This is the third and final subset of the classical perspective. Henri Fayol, a French mining engineer was a major contributor to this theory of being “focused on the total organization” (Daft & Marcic, 2015). In a scholarly article, called Henri Fayol's Centre for Administrative Studies, it talks about Fayol’s belief in management being a part of every aspect in your life, from the home to work and even a part of government (Breeze, 1995). Some of the principles of management introduced by Fayol include the unity of command, division of work, unity of direction, and the scalar chain (Daft & Marcic, 2015). These principles have been

According to the book, Understanding Management, “the humanistic perspective on management emphasized the importance of understanding human behaviors, needs, and attitudes in the workplace, as well as social interactions and group processes” (Daft & Marcic, 2015). This theory conflicts with some of the ideas brought forth in the scientific management theory, but continues to build upon each theory of management. Instead of focusing on the engineering techniques, the humanistic perspective “stresses the importance of people” (Daft & Marcic, 2015). One important term created from the humanistic perspective is known as empowerment. Empowerment is the idea of “facilitating rather than controlling an employee” (Daft & Marcic, 2015). Also introduced was the idea of an informal organization and the acceptance theory of authority. These ideas have allowed informal relationships within the organization and have given employees the choice to follow managements order or not. Another important contributor to the humanistic perspective theory is known as the Hawthorne studies. From these studies, they learned that employees performed better when they were valued and when human relations were formed (Daft & Marcic, 2015). The humanistic perspective has become an important management theory in modern day society has employees want to feel valued and

On FedEx’s website, they list people, service, innovation, integrity, responsibility, loyalty, and safety as the primary values of the company (FedEx, 2017). One thing FedEx makes clear on their website is that the employees are the foundation of their success and the key to their future. This statement lines up with a scholarly article that came out in the year 2000 called “A Company with a Mission,” from the Urology Times. In the article, the senior manager of employee benefits talks about FedEx and their commitment to their employees. He says, “Every manager, from the CEO on down, believes that taking care of the employees is the key to having completely satisfied customers. And if the customers are happy, the profits will take care of themselves” (FedEx: A Company with a Mission, 2000). FedEx also strives to maintain a good company culture, which also points to the humanistic perspective being the most important to them. Company culture is the way in which a company’s employees and managers interact with each other and handle transactions. On FedEx’s website, they state they have an open-door process, which means employees have direct access to share their comments with management (FedEx,