MGF1010 - Assessing the Relevance of Classical Management Theories

This essay examines the relevance of classical management theories in the 21st century, arguing that while they are losing importance due to the rapidly changing external environment, particularly the influence of globalization, technological advancements, and political shifts, certain aspects still hold value. The classical theories' focus on organizational structure without considering external factors and their neglect of employee priority contribute to their declining relevance. The bureaucratic system's inflexibility and resistance to innovation further diminish their applicability. However, the essay acknowledges that some principles, such as Frederick Taylor's scientific management and efficiency techniques used in industries like McDonald's and KFC, remain relevant in operational processes. The essay concludes that while classical management theories retain some value in specific operational areas, their overall importance is diminishing due to their resistance to change and the dynamic nature of the modern business environment. Desklib offers a platform to explore this essay further, alongside a wealth of study resources including past papers and solved assignments.

Running head: RELEVANCE OF THE CLASSICAL THEORIES OF MANAGEMENT
RELEVANCE OF THE CLASSICAL THEORIES OF MANAGEMENT
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1RELEVANCE OF THE CLASSICAL THEORIES OF MANAGEMENT
Introduction
The set of rules, which guides managers in managing tasks in an organization, is
referred to as Management theories (Ashkanasy, Humphrey & Huy, 2017, pp.175). The
purpose of the paper is to understand the use of classical management theories in the 21st
century. The essay tends to argue on the relevancy on classical theories of management in
today’s world.
Body
Classical management theories are slowly losing the relevance in the today’s
changing business environment. In 21st century, external environment majorly influences the
organizations. The impact of continuously changing external environment includes the
changing political structure, globalization and changing technological offerings, which marks
the need for a change in the management theories (Dahlgaard-Park, Reyes & Chen, 2018, pp.
1108). The classical theories are designed to portray organizational image without the
influence of external environment. The fading relevance can be due to the negligence of
priority for the employees in comparison with the organization (Baden & Higgs, 2015,
pp.539). For instance, Google encourages intrapreneurship practices for sustain in changing
business environment.
Another reason can be the negative beliefs developing with the practice of
bureaucratic system. The dependence of organizations in this system can result in an
inflexible and unmanageable working structure (Beach & Lipshitz, 2017, pp. 835). For
instance, Taxi service companies have shown resistance to change by not incorporating
innovation and by being in denial of the poor management structure, which resulted in the
fading importance of their business operation (Baltaci & Balcı, 2017, pp.30). Lack of
flexibility will lead to the resistance of change in the continual changing external

2RELEVANCE OF THE CLASSICAL THEORIES OF MANAGEMENT
environment. This theory also restricts the incorporation of innovative ideas by individual
team members.
However, the relevance of the classical management theories still reflects its mark on
the management scenarios and functions. The challenges faced by the managers in the 21st
century are similar to that of the old times (Tsoukas, 2017, pp.132). The scientific theories by
Frederick Taylor still functions as job design reflected in this theory is used widely in various
industries. The efficiency techniques and assembly line concept is still used in the companies
like McDonald and KFC. The operations at McDonald are divided into number of different
tasks like cooking, operating deep fryer and supervising (Nhema, 2015, pp.165).
Conclusion
Therefore, it can be concluded from the paper that Classical management theories still
have its relevance in few of the operational processes but is losing importance because of the
resistance from changes occurring from external environment.
.

3RELEVANCE OF THE CLASSICAL THEORIES OF MANAGEMENT
References:
Ashkanasy, N. M., Humphrey, R. H., & Huy, Q. N. (2017). Integrating emotions and affect in
theories of management. Academy of Management Review, 42(2), 175-189.
Baden, D., & Higgs, M. (2015). Challenging the perceived wisdom of management theories
and practice. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 14(4), 539-555.
Baltaci, A., & Balcı, A. (2017). Complexity leadership: A theorical perspective. International
Journal of Educational Leadership and Management, 5(1), 30-58.
Beach, L. R., & Lipshitz, R. (2017). Why classical decision theory is an inappropriate
standard for evaluating and aiding most human decision making. Decision making in
aviation, 85, 835-847.
Dahlgaard-Park, S. M., Reyes, L., & Chen, C. K. (2018). The evolution and convergence of
total quality management and management theories. Total Quality Management &
Business Excellence, 29(9-10), 1108-1128.
Nhema, A. G. (2015). Relevance of classical management theories to modern public
administration: A review. Journal of Public Administration and Governance, 5(3),
165-179.
Tsoukas, H. (2017). Don't simplify, complexify: From disjunctive to conjunctive theorizing
in organization and management studies. Journal of Management Studies, 54(2), 132-
153.