The Evolution of Management: From Ancient Egypt to the 21st Century

This article explores the evolution of management from ancient Egypt to 21st century. It looks at how Frederick Taylor's principles of scientific management emerged in late 19th century and how Chinese developed bureaucracy during Han Dynasty. It also looks at how

The Evolution of Management: From Ancient Egypt to the 21st Century

The concept of management has been around for centuries, with the first modern school of thought emerging in the late 19th century. This was based on Frederick Taylor's principles of scientific management, which gained a lot of popularity due to its use of scientific techniques. In Asia, the Chinese began to develop the idea of bureaucracy during the Han Dynasty (206 BC — 220 AD). This system was not formal but depended on the discretion of the academics themselves, and it also introduced the idea of meritocracy.

In order to take advantage of new technologies, a different approach to organizational structure and management was required. This led to the emergence of strategic reasoning, as proposed by Porter, a professor at Harvard Business School. McGregor, Herzberg and many other management theorists then sought to achieve managerial effectiveness by using people more effectively. Human skills such as empathy, teaching and training employees, focusing on developing people, and free time for creative thinking will become increasingly important as AI continues to develop as a vitally important tool for today's managers.

The organizational changes suggested by management thinkers who saw a direct connection between improved work design, self-actualization and challenging work began to take root in a more enlightened management theory. The ancient Egyptians pioneered the concept of scope of control, that is, the number of workers that a manager directly controls. Managers continue to assume that stability is the normal state of affairs and that change is an unusual state. A number of different perspectives on management practice have been proposed by suggesting how managers should act to solve organizational problems.

The history of leadership sheds light on the personalities who are truly responsible for their progress. In the management process, the manager must get people to work together to achieve predefined organizational goals and objectives, using the resources provided in an efficient and effective manner. Writers such as Elton Mayo, Mary Parker Follett, Chester Barnard, Max Weber and Chris Argyris imported theories from other fields (sociology and psychology) to apply them to management.21st century managers would do well to pay attention to Isaac Newton's famous words: “If I have seen a little further, it is because I am standing on the shoulders of giants” (Harel, 2011). As AI continues to develop as an important tool for today's managers, human skills such as empathy, teaching and training employees will become increasingly important.

Doug Pelletiu
Doug Pelletiu

Total bacon ninja. Avid travel scholar. Evil bacon advocate. Freelance social media scholar. Devoted beer practitioner. Incurable bacon guru.

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