Topic 2
Business
Management
CHAPTER SIX
MANAGEMENT
APPROACHES
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Management approaches
2 different ideas:
1. Classical approach
2. Behavioural approach
More recently the Contingency approach has developed as a
result of the need to manage continuous changes in the
business environment creating new opportunities and threats.
A manager will use a combination of approaches although one
will dominate
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Classical approach to management
• Based on the research of
Henri Fayol and Fredrick W.
Taylor
• Employees are thought of as
an input into the business
much the same as machinery
and raw materials
• Aim of management is to
maximise efficiency and
productivity of labour in a
scientific manner
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Classical approach to management (cont.)
Planning
• Short term operational plans with specific targets, that are also
measurable and achievable
• Long term strategic plans with more general goals
Organising
• The decisions that turn plans into reality
Controlling
• Comparing actual business performance with what it had planned to
achieve
• Monitoring progress of the business towards achieving what it
specifically planned
• Making decisions to ensure the business stays on course to reach
what it planned
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Classical approach to
management (cont.)
• Organisational structure tends to be tall
hierarchy with a long chain of command with a
narrow span of control
• Emphasis on specialisation which requires
interdependence between the key business
functions
• Autocratic management style does not include
employees in decision making
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Behavioural approach to management
• Based on the work of Elton Mayo and Abraham
Maslow.
• Employees are considered as a key part of the
whole business.
• Employees have individual differences and
motivators.
• Using psychology to manage people to get the best
out of them.
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Behavioural approach to
management (cont.)
Leading
• A range of effective leadership skills are necessary.
Motivating
• Creating collegiality and including staff in decision making are
significant motivators.
• Understanding the different needs of different individuals and
using these as motivators.
Communicating
• 2 way communication back and forth between managers, team
leaders and staff.
• Sharing of information encouraged.
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