On the Evolution of Management Thought

Kohelet ben-David, King of Jerusalem, says in Ecclesiastes 1:9, “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.” If management theories indeed do evolve, they must evolve from something. It is quite evident that modern management thought builds on the foundations laid by pioneers such as Taylor (Scientific Management), Fayol (Administrative Management), and Mayo (Behavioral Management). But to what extent is management thought shaped by current business events?

Daniel Wren, in his seminal book, The Evolution of Management Thought (1994), does not approach this question with haste, posing a very similar question himself early on in his quest to synthesize and analyze the history of managerial thought; Wren asks, “How have our concepts of managing organizations evolved throughout history?” (2005, p. 5) – yet in doing so Wren has already assumed the conclusion so aptly captured by the title of his treatise. Nevertheless management theories have not evolved solely as derivatives of historical foundational thought; nor are they unique outgrowths of the contemporaneous environment – rather, they are a combination of the above. New theories evolve from the historical foundations of managerial thought but are shaped by the current business environment and the challenges the current environment poses. As Wren writes, “Our ideas about people, management and organizations have evolved within the context of various cultural values and institutions throughout history” (p. 12). Neither one nor the other then – but rather a combination of both approaches, evolutionary and current as well.

References

Kohelet (n.d.). Ecclesiastes 1:9

Wren, D.A. (1994). The evolution of management thought (4th Ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Wren, D.A. (2005). The history of management thought (5th Ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons.