Key Points at a Glance

Scientific Management (Frederick Winslow Taylor, 1911): Apply scientific methods to work — time-and-motion study, standardisation, differential piece-rate pay. Taylor's Principles of Scientific Management (1911) sought the "one best way" to perform each task and selection of workers based on fitness for the job.

Classical Organisation Theory extended Scientific Management to whole organisations: Henri Fayol's 14 Principles of Management (1916) — division of work, authority, discipline, unity of command, unity of direction, scalar chain, esprit de corps, etc. Lyndall Urwick added the Principles of Organisation (specialisation, authority, span of control, definition, coordination).

Human Relations Theory (Elton Mayo, 1927–32): Hawthorne Experiments at Western Electric Company showed that social and psychological factors — not only physical conditions — affect worker productivity. The Hawthorne Effect: workers perform better when they feel they are being observed and valued.

Behavioral Theory / Decision-Making Theory (Herbert Simon, 1947): Administrative Behavior — decision-making is the core of administration; administrators have bounded rationality (limited information, time, cognitive capacity); they "satisfice" (find good-enough solutions) rather than optimise. Simon won the Nobel Prize in Economics (1978).

Structural-Functional Theory (Talcott Parsons, Robert K. Merton): Organisations are social systems that must fulfil four functions — AGIL: Adaptation, Goal Attainment, Integration, Latency (pattern maintenance). Robert Merton highlighted dysfunctions of bureaucracy — goal displacement, trained incapacity, over-conformity.

Ecological Approach (Fred W. Riggs, 1961): PA cannot be studied in isolation from its social, cultural, political, and economic environment (ecology). Riggs developed three models: Agraria (traditional), Industria (modern Western), and the Prismatic model (intermediate — typical of developing countries like India).

Prismatic (Sala) Model (Riggs, Administration in Developing Countries, 1964): In prismatic societies, modern institutions exist alongside traditional practices — formalism (gap between formal rules and actual practice), heterogeneity (coexistence of different systems), poly-normativism (multiple value systems). The administrative unit is called the Sala (a Spanish word, office).

Douglas McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y (1960): Theory X — workers are lazy, dislike work, need control and coercion; Theory Y — workers are self-motivated, creative, seek responsibility. Theory Y underpins participatory and democratic management. Relevant to personnel administration.

Abraham Maslow's Need Hierarchy Theory (1943): Five-level pyramid — Physiological → Safety → Social (belonging) → Esteem → Self-actualisation. Administrators/workers are motivated by whichever level of need is currently unmet. Maslow's theory bridges Human Relations and Behavioural phases.

Systems Theory in PA (Ludwig von Bertalanffy, applied by Katz & Kahn to organisations, 1966): Organisations as open systems — inputs → transformation process → outputs → feedback. Every sub-system is interdependent; environmental change affects the whole. Provided a holistic framework that overcame the limitations of POSDCORB.