Classical approaches to management
There are three main branches within the classical management approach:
- scientific management
- administrative principles
- bureaucratic organisation.
Each of these approaches shares a common assumption that employees in the workplace act in a rational manner, and are primarily driven by economic concerns. That is, employees rationally consider opportunities made available to them and then do whatever is necessary to achieve the greatest personal and financial gain.
Prominent classical management theorists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries included Frederick Taylor, Frank and Lillian Gilbreth, Henry Fayol, Mary Parker Follett and Max Weber.
