The Management Theory Jungle Revisited

Author(s): Harold Koontz

Source: The Academy of Management Review, Vol. 5, No. 2 (Apr., 1980), pp. 175-187
Published by: Academy of Management
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Academy of Management Review 1980, Vol. 5, No. 2, 175-187

The Management
Theory Jungle Revisited
HAROLD KOONTZ
University of California- Los Angeles
The variousschools of or approaches to management theorythat I iden-
tified nearly two decades ago, and called "the management theory
jungle," are reconsidered. Whatis found now are eleven distinct ap-
proaches, compared to the originalsix, implyingthatthe "jungle"may be
getting more dense and impenetrable.However, certain developments
are occurring which indicate that we may be moving more than people
thinktowarda unifiedand practicaltheoryof management.

Nearly two decades ago, I became impressed by The Original

the confusion among intelligent managers arising
Management Theory Jungle
from the wide differences in findings and opinions
among academic experts writing and doing re-
search in the field of management. The summary of What I found nearly two decades ago was that
these findings I identified as "the management well-meaningresearchers and writers,mostlyfrom
academic halls, were attemptingto explain the
theory jungle" [Koontz, 1961]. Originally written to
nature and knowledgeof managingfromsix differ-
clarify for myself why obviously intelligent academic
ent points of view then referredto as "schools."
colleagues were coming up with such widely di-
verse conclusions and advice concerning manage- These were: (1) the managementprocess school,
ment, my summary was published and widely re- (2) the empiricalor "case" approach,(3) the hu-
ferred to under this title.What I found was that the man behaviorschool, (4) the social system school,
thinking of these scholars fell into six schools or (5) the decision theory school, and (6) the
mathematicsschool.
approaches in their analysis of management. In
some cases, it appeared that, like the proverbial These varyingschools, or approaches (as they
blind men from Hindustan, some specialists were are better called), led to a jungle of confusing
describing management only through the percep- thought,theory,and advice to practicingmanagers.
tions of their specialties. The major sources of entanglement in the jungle
Judging by its reception over the years, the article were often due to varyingmeaningsgiven common
and the concept of the "jungle" must have filled a words like "organization," to differencesin defining
need. In fact, so many inquiries have been made management as a body of knowledge, to wide-
over the intervening years as to whether we still spread casting aside of the findingsof early practi-
have a "management theory jungle" that I now cing managers as being "armchair"rather than
believe the "jungle" should be revisited and re- what they were - the distilled experience and
examined. What I now find is that, in place of the six thought of perceptive men and women, to misun-
specific schools identified in 1961, there are at least derstanding the nature and role of principlesand
eleven approaches. Thus, the jungle appears to theory, and to an inabilityor unwillingnessof many
have become even more dense and impenetrable. "experts"to understandeach other.
But various developments are occurring that might
in the future bring a coalescence of the various Although managing has been an importanthu-
man task since the dawn of group effort,withfew
approaches and result in a more unified and useful
exceptions the serious attemptto develop a bodyof
theory of management.
organized knowledge - science - underpinning
? 1980 by the Academy of Management 0363-7425 practice has been a productof the present century.
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Moreover, untilthe past quarter century almost all of American colleges and universities, authored and
the meaningful writing was the product of alert and researched by scholars who were not trained in
perceptive practitioners - for example, French management, indicted the quality of business edu-
industrialist Henry Fayol, General Motors executive cation in the United States and urged schools, in-
James Mooney, Johns-Manville vice-president cluding those that were already doing everything
Alvin Brown, British chocolate executive Oliver the researchers recommended, to adopt a broader
Sheldon, New Jersey Bell Telephone president and more social science approach to their curricula
Chester Barnard, and British management consul- and faculty. As a result, many deans and other
tant Lyndall Urwick. administrators went with great speed and vigor to
But the early absence of the academics from the recruit specialists in such fields as economics,
field of management has been more than atoned for mathematics, psychology, sociology, social psy-
by the deluge of writing on management from our chology, and anthropology.
colleges and universities in the past 25 years. For A second reason for the large number of faculty
example, there are now more than 100 (Ican find 97 members trained in special fields, rather than in
in my own library)different textbooks purportingto basic management theory and policy, is the fact that
tell the reader - student or manager - what the rapid expansion of business and management
management is all about. And in related fields like schools occurred since 1960, during a period when
psychology, sociology, system sciences, and math- there was an acute shortage of faculty candidates
ematical modelling, the number of textbooks that trained in management and with some managerial
can be used to teach some aspect - usually nar- experience. This shortage was consequently filled
row - of management is at least as large. by an increasing number of PhD's in the specialized
The jungle has perhaps been made more im- fields noted above.
penetrable by the infiltration in our colleges and The ContinuingJungle
universities of many highly, but narrowly, trained
instructors who are intelligent but know too little That the theory and science of management are
about the actual task of managing and the realities far from being mature is apparent in the continua-
practicing managers face. In looking around the tion of the management theory jungle. What has
faculties of our business, management, and public happened in the intervening years since 1961 ? The
administration schools, both undergraduate and jungle still exists, and, in fact, there are nearly
graduate, practicing executives are impressed with double the approaches to management that were
the number of bright but inexperienced faculty identified nearly two decades ago. At the present
members who are teaching management or some time, a total of eleven approaches to the study of
aspect of it. Itseems to some like having professors management science and theory may be identified.
in medical schools teaching surgery without ever These are: (1) the empirical or case approach, (2)
having operated on a patient. As a result, many the interpersonal behavior approach, (3) the group
practicing managers are losing confidence in our behavior approach, (4) the cooperative social sys-
colleges and universities and the kind of manage- tem approach, (5) the sociotechnical systems ap-
ment taught. proach, (6) the decision theory approach, (7) the
It is certainly true that those who teach and write systems approach, (8) the mathematical or "man-
about basic operational management theory can agement science" approach,(9) the contingencyor
use the findings and assistance of colleagues who situational approach, (10) the managerial roles ap-
are especially trained in psychology, sociology, proach, and (11) the operational theory approach.
mathematics, and operations research. But what
Differences Between the Original and
dismays many is that some professors believe they
are teaching management when they are only Present Jungle
teaching these specialties. What has caused this almost doubling of ap-
What caused this? Basically two things. In the proaches to management theory and science? In
first place, the famous Ford Foundation (Gordon the first place, one of the approaches found nearly
and Howell) and Carnegie Foundation (Pearson) two decades ago has been split into two. The ori-
reports in 1959 on our business school programs in ginal "human behavior school" has, in my judg-
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ment, divided itself into the interpersonal behavior laying and not managing. Fayol recognized this
approach (psychology) and the group behavior ap- clearly when he said "principlesare flexible and
proach (sociology and cultural anthropology). The capable of adaptationto every need; itis a matterof
original social systems approach is essentially the knowing how to make use of them, whichis a diffi-
same, but because its proponents seem to rest cult art requiringintelligence,experience, decision,
more heavily on the theories of Chester Barnard, it and proportion"[1949, p. 19].
now seems more accurate to referto it as the co-
operative social systems approach. The CurrentApproachesto
Remainingessentially the same since myoriginal ManagementTheoryand Science
article are (1) the empirical or case approach, I hope the readerwillrealizethat, in outliningthe
(2) the decision theory approach, and (3) the eleven approaches, I must necessarily be terse.
mathematicalor "managementscience" approach. Such conciseness may upset some adherents to
Likewise,what was originallytermedthe "manage- the various approaches and some may even con-
ment process school" is now referredto more ac- sider the treatmentsuperficial,butspace limitations
curatelyas the operationaltheoryapproach. make it necessary that most approaches be identi-
New approaches that have become popularin fied and commented on briefly.
the past two decades include the sociotechnical
The empirical or case approach The mem-
systems approach.This was firstgiven birthby the
research and writingsof EricTristand his associ- bers of this school study management by analyzing
ates in the Tavistock Institutein 1951, but did not experience, usually through cases. It is based on
the premise that students and practitioners will
get many followers to form a clear-cut approach
untilthe late 1960s. Also, even thoughthe systems understand the field of management and somehow
come to know how to manage effectivelyby study-
approach to any science or practice is not new (it
was recognized in the originaljungle as the "social ing managerial successes and failures in various
individual cases.
systems" approach), its scholarlyand widespread
approach to managementtheoryreallyoccurredin However, unless a study of experience is aimed
the 1960s, particularlywith the work of Johnson, at determining fundamentally why something hap-
Kast, and Rosenzweig [1963]. pened or did not happen, itis likelyto be a question-
The managerial roles approach has gained its able and even dangerous approach to understand-
identificationand adherents as the result of the ing management, because what happened or did
research and writingof Henry Mintzberg[1973, not happen in the past is not likely to help in solving
1975], who prefers to call this approachthe "work problems in a most certainly different future. Ifdistil-
lation of experience takes place with a view to find-
activityschool."
The contingency or situational approach to ing basic generalizations, this approach can be a
useful one to develop or support some principles
management theory and science is reallyan out-
and theory of management.
growth of early classical, or operational,theory.
Believing that most theory before the 1970s too The interpersonal behavior approach This
often advocated the "one best way", and often approach is apparently based on the thesis that
overlookingthe fact that intelligentpracticingman- managing involves getting things done through
agers have always tailored their practice to the people, and that therefore the study of manage-
actual situation,a fairlysignificantnumberof man- ment should be centered on interpersonal relations.
agement scholars have begun buildingmanage- The writers and scholars in this school are heavily
ment theory and research aroundwhat should be oriented to individual psychology and, indeed, most
done in varioussituations,or contingencies. are trained as psychologists. Their focus is on the
Many writerswho have apparentlynot read the individual, and his or her motivations as a socio-
so-called classicists in managementcarefullyhave psychological being. In this school are those who
come up withthe inaccurateshibboleththat classi- appear to emphasize human relations as an art that
cal writerswere prescribingthe "onebest way."Itis managers, even when foolishly tryingto be amateur
true that Gilbrethin his study of bricklayingwas psychiatrists, can understand and practice. There
searching for the one best way, butthat was brick- are those who see the manager as a leader and
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 - tudes, desires, and prejudices, some of which come
may even equate managership and leadership
thus, in effect, treating all "led" activities as "man- from the groups within an enterprise, but many
aged." Others have concentrated on motivation or come from the cultural environment of people out-
leadership and have cast important light on these side of a given company, department, or agency.
subjects, which has been useful to managers. What is perhaps most disturbing about this school
That the study of human interactions, whether in of thought is the tendency of its members to draw an
the context of managing or elsewhere, is useful and artificial and inaccurate line between "organization
importantcannot be denied. But it can hardlybe behavior" and "managing." Group behavior is an
said that the field of interpersonal behavior encom- importantaspect of management. But it is not all
passes all there is to management. It is entirely there is to management.
possible for all the managers of a company to un- The cooperative social system approach A
derstand psychology and its nuances and yet not be modification of the interpersonal and group behav-
effective in managing. One major division of a large ior approaches has been the focus of some be-
American company put their managers from top to havioral scientists on the study of human relation-
bottom through sensitivity training (called by its
ships as cooperative social systems. The idea of
critics "psychological striptease") only to find that human relationships as social systems was early
the managers had learned much about feelings but
perceived by the Italiansociologist Vilfredo Pareto.
littleabout how to manage. Bothresearchand prac- His work apparently affected modern adherents to
tice are finding that we must go far beyond inter- this school through his influence on Chester Bar-
personal relations to develop a useful science of nard. In seeking to explain the work of executives,
management. Barnard saw them operating in, and maintaining,
The group behavior approach This approach cooperative social systems, which he referred to as
is closely related to the interpersonal behavior ap- "organizations" [1938, pp. 72-73]. He perceived
social systems as the cooperative interaction of
proach and may be confused with it. But it is con-
cerned primarilywith behaviorof people in groups ideas, forces, desires, and thinking of two or more
rather than with interpersonal behavior. It thus persons. An increasing number of writers have ex-
tends to relyon sociology, anthropology,and social panded this concept to apply to any system of co-
psychology ratherthanon individualpsychology.Its operative and purposeful group interrelationships
or behavior and have given it the rather general title
emphasis is on group behaviorpatterns.This ap-
of "organization theory."
proach varies all the way from the study of small
The cooperative social systems approach does
groups, with theirculturaland behavioralpatterns,
to the behavioralcharacteristicsof large groups. It have pertinence to the study and analysis of man-
is often called a study of "organizationbehavior" agement. All managers do operate in a cooperative
and the term "organization"may be taken to mean social system. But we do not find what is generally
the system, or pattern,of any set of grouprelation- referred to as managers in all kinds of cooperative
social systems. We would hardlythinkof a coopera-
ships in a company, a governmentagency, a hos-
tive group of shoppers in a department store or an
pital, or any other kindof undertaking.Sometimes
the term is used as Chester Barnardemployed it, unorganized mob as being managed. Nor would we
think of a family group gathering to celebrate a
meaning "thecooperationof two or morepersons,"
and "formalorganization"as an organizationwith birthday as being managed. Therefore, we can
conscious, deliberate,joint purpose [1938, p. 65]. conclude that this approach is broader than man-
Chris Argyris has even used the term "organiza- agement while still overlooking many concepts,
tion" to include "allthe behaviorof all the partici- principles, and techniques that are important to
pants" in a groupundertaking[1957, p. 239]. managers.
It is not difficultto see that a practicingmanager The sociotechnical systems approach One
would not likely recognize that "organizations" of the newer schools of management identifies itself
cover such a broadarea of groupbehaviorpatterns. as the sociotechnical systems approach. This de-
At the same time, many of the problems of man- velopment is generallycreditedto E. L.Tristand his
agers do arise from group behaviorpatterns,atti- associates at the Tavistock Institute of England. In
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studies made of production problems in long-wall cipated, if adequate information is available, if the
coal mining,this groupfoundthatitwas notenough organization structure provides a clear understand-
merely to analyze social problems. Instead, in deal- ing of responsibility for decisions, if competent
ing with problems of mining productivity,they found people are available to make decisions, and if many
that the technical system (machines and methods) of the other prerequisites of effective managing are
had a strong influence on the social system. Inother present.
words, they discovered that personal attitudes and The systems approach During recent years,
group behavior are strongly influenced by the tech- many scholars and writers in management have
nical system in which people work. Itis therefore the
emphasized the systems approach to the study and
position of this school of thought that social and analysis of management thought. They feel that this
technical systems must be considered together and is the most effective means by which such thought
that a major task of a manager is to make sure that can be organized, presented, and understood.
these two systems are made harmonious. A system is essentially a set or assemblage of
Most of the work of this school has consequently
things interconnected, or interdependent, so as to
concentrated on production, office operations, and form a complex unity. These things may be physi-
other areas where the technical systems have a
cal, as with the parts of an automobile engine; or
very close connection to people and their work. It they may be biological, as with components of the
therefore tends to be heavily oriented to industrial human body; or they may be theoretical, as with a
engineering. As an approach to management, this well-integrated assemblage of concepts, principles,
school has made some interesting contributions to
theory, and techniques in an area such as man-
managerial practice, even though it does not, as aging. All systems, except perhaps the universe,
some of its proponents seem to believe, encom- interact with and are influenced by their environ-
pass all there is to management. Moreover,it is ments, although we define boundaries for them so
doubtful that any experienced manager would be that we can see and analyze them more clearly.
surprised that the technology of the assembly line The long use of systems theory and analyses in
or the technology in railroadtransportation or in oil
physical and biological sciences has given rise to a
companies affects individuals, groups, and their considerable body of systems knowledge. Itcomes
behavior patterns, the way operations are or- as no surprise that systems theory has been found
ganized, and the techniques of managing required. helpfully applicable to management theory and sci-
Furthermore, as promising and helpful as this ap- ence. Some of us have long emphasized an arbi-
proach is in certain aspects of enterprise opera- trary boundary of management knowledge - the
tions, it is safe to observe thatthere is muchmoreto theory underlying the managerial job in terms of
pertinent management knowledge than can be what managers do. This boundary is set for the field
found in it. of management theory and science in order to
The decision theory approach This approach make the subject "manageable," but this does not
to management theory and science has apparently imply a closed systems approach to the subject. On
been based on the belief that,because it is a major the contrary, there are always many interactions
task of managers to make decisions, we should with the system environment. Thus, when man-
concentrate on decision making. It is not surprising agers plan, they have no choice but to take into
that there are many scholars and theorists who account such external variables as markets, tech-
believe that, because managing is characterized by nology, social forces, laws, and regulations. When
decision making, the central focus of management managers design an organizational structure to
theory should be decision making and that all of provide an environment for performance, they can-
management thought can be built around it. This not help but be influenced by the behavior patterns
has a degree of reasonableness. However, it over- people bring to their jobs from the environment that
looks the fact that there is much more to managing is external to an enterprise.
than making decisions and that, for most managers, Systems also play an important part within the
the actual making of a decision is a fairlyeasy thing area of managing itself. There are planning sys-
- if goals are clear, if the environment in which the tems, organizational systems, and control systems.
decision will operate can be fairly accurately anti- And, within these, we can perceive many sub-
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systems, such as systems of delegation, network ment science.
planning, and budgeting. No one interested in any scientificfieldcan over-
Intelligent and experienced practicing managers look the great usefulness of mathematicalmodels
and many management writers with practical ex- and analyses. But it is difficultto see mathematics
perience, accustomed as they are to seeing their as a school of management any more than it is a
problems and operations as a network of interre- separate school of chemistry,physics, or biology.
lated elements with daily interaction between en- Mathematics and mathematical models are, of
vironments inside or outside their companies or course, tools of analysis, not a school of thought.
other enterprises, are often surprised to find that
The contingency or situational approach
many writers regard the systems approach as One of the approachesto managementthoughtand
something new. To be sure, conscious study of, and
practice that has tended to take management
emphasis on, systems have forced many managers academicians by storm is the contingency ap-
and scholars to consider more perceptively the var-
ious interacting elements affecting management proach to management. Essentially,this approach
emphasizes the factthatwhatmanagersdo inprac-
theory and practice. But it can hardly be regarded tice depends on a given set of circumstances- the
as a new approach to scientific thought.
situation.Contingencymanagementis akinto situ-
The mathematical or "management science" ational management and the two terms are often
approach There are some theorists who see used synonymously. Some scholars distinguish
managing as primarilyan exercise in mathematical between the two on the basis that,whilesituational
processes, concepts, symbols, and models. Per- management merely implies that what managers
haps the most widely known of these are the opera- do depends on a given situation, contingency
tions researchers who have often given themselves management impliesan active interrelationship be-
the self-annointing title of "management scien- tween the variables in a situation and the man-
tists." The primary focus of this approach is the agerial solutiondevised. Thus, undera contingency
mathematical model, since, through this device, approach, managers might look at an assembly-
problems - whether managerial or other - can be line situationand conclude that a highlystructured
expressed in basic relationships and, where a given organizationpatternwouldbest fitand interactwith
goal is sought, the model can be expressed in terms it.
which optimize that goal. Because so much of the Accordingto some scholars, contingencytheory
mathematical approach is applied to problems of takes intoaccount notonly given situationsbutalso
optimization,it could be argued that it has a strong the influence of given solutions on behavior pat-
relationship to decision theory. But, of course, terns of an enterprise.Forexample,an organization
mathematical modelling sometimes goes beyond structured along the lines of operating functions
decision problems. (such as finance, engineering, production,and
To be sure, the journal Management Science, marketing)mightbe most suitablefora given situa-
published by the Institute of Management Sci- tion, but managers in such a structureshould take
ences, carries on its cover the statement that the into account the behavioralpatternsthatoftenarise
Institute has as its purpose to "identify,extend, and because of group loyalties to the functionrather
unify scientific knowledge pertaining to manage- than to a company.
ment." But as judged by the articles published in By its very nature, managerialpracticerequires
this journal and the hundreds of papers presented that managers take into account the realitiesof a
by members of the Institute at its many meetings all given situation when they apply theory or tech-
over the world, the school seems to be almost com- niques. Ithas never been and never willbe the task
pletely preoccupied with mathematical models and of science and theoryto prescribewhat should be
elegance in simulating situations and in developing done in a given situation. Science and theory in
solutions to certain kinds of problems. Conse- management have not and do not advocate the
quently, as many critics both inside and outside the "best way"to do things in every situation,any more
ranks of the "management scientists" have ob- than the sciences of astrophysicsor mechanicstell
served, the narrow mathematical focus can hardly an engineer how to design a single best instrument
be called a complete approach to a true manage- forall kindsof applications.Howtheoryand science
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are applied in practice naturally depends on the 4. Negotiator(dealingwithvariouspersons and
situation. groupsof persons)
This is saying that there is science and there is Mintzberg refers to the usual way of classifying
art, that there is knowledge and there is practice. managerial functions as "folklore."As we willsee in
These are matters that any experienced manager the following discussion on the operational theory
has long known. One does not need much exper- approach, operational theorists have used such
ience to understand that a corner grocery store managerial functions as planning, organizing, staff-
could hardly be organized like General Motors, or ing, leading, and controlling. For example, what is
that the technical realities of petroleum exploration, resource allocation but planning? Likewise, the en-
production, and refining make impracticable auton- trepreneurial role is certainly an element of the
omously organized product divisions for gasoline, whole area of planning. And the interpersonal roles
jet fuel, or lubricating oils. are mainly aspects of leading. In addition, the in-
formational roles can be fitted into a number of the
The managerial roles approach Perhaps the
functional areas.
newest approach to management theory to catch
the attention of academics and practitioners alike is Nevertheless, looking at what managers actually
do can have considerable value. In analyzing activ-
the managerial roles approach, popularized by
ities, an effective manager might wish to compare
Henry Mintzberg [1973, 1975]. Essentially this ap- these to the basic functions of managers and use
proach is to observe what managers actually do the latter as a kind of pilot's checklist to ascertain
and from such observations come to conclusions as
what actions are being overlooked. But the roles
to what managerial activities (or roles) are. Al-
Mintzberg identifies appear to be inadequate.
though there have been researchers who have Where in them does one find such unquestionably
studied the actual work of managers, from chief
executives to foremen, Mintzberg has given this important managerial activities as structuring or-
ganization, selecting and appraising managers,
approach sharp visibility. and determining major strategies? Omissions such
By systematically studying the activities of five as these can make one wonder whether the execu-
chief executives in a variety of organizations, Mintz-
tives in his sample were effective managers. Itcer-
berg came to the conclusion that executives do not
act out the traditional classification of managerial tainly opens a serious question as to whether the
functions - planning, organizing, coordinating, and managerial roles approach is an adequate one on
which to base a practical theory of management.
controlling. Instead they do a variety of other acti-
vities. The operational approach The operational
From his research and the research of others approach to management theory and science, a
who have studied what managers actually do, term borrowed from the work of P. W. Bridgman
Mintzberg has come to the conclusion that man- [1938, pp. 2-32], attempts to draw together the per-
agers act out a set of ten roles. These are: tinent knowledge of management by relatingit to
A. InterpersonalRoles the functions of managers. Like other operational
1. Figurehead (performing ceremonial and sciences, itendeavors to puttogetherforthe fieldof
social duties as the organization'srepresent- management the concepts, principles, theory, and
ative) techniques that underpin the actual practice of
2. Leader
3. Liaison(particularly withoutsiders) managing.
The operational approach to management rec-
B. Informational Roles
1. Monitor (receiving informationabout the ognizes that there is a central core of knowledge
operationof an enterprise) about managing that exists only in management:
2. Disseminator(passing informationto subor- such matters as line and staff, departmentation, the
dinates) limitations of the span of management, managerial
3. Spokesperson (transmittinginformationout-
side the organization) appraisal, and various managerial control tech-
C. Decision Roles niques involve concepts and theory found only
1. Entrepreneur where managing is involved. But, in addition, this
2. Disturbancehandler approach is eclectic in that it draws on pertinent
3. Resource allocator knowledge derived from other fields. These include
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 the clinical study of managerial activities, problems, rial aspects and applications.
and solutions; applications of systems theory; deci- The nature of the operational approach can per-
sion theory; motivation and leadership findings and haps best be appreciated by reference to Figure 1.
theory; individual and group behavior theory; and As this diagram shows, the operational manage-
the application of mathematical modeling and tech- ment school of thought includes a central core of
niques. All these subjects are applicable to some science and theory unique to management plus
extent to other fields of science, such as certain of knowledge eclectically drawn from various other
the physical and geological sciences. But our inter- schools and approaches. As the circle is intended to
est in them must necessarily be limited to manage- show, the operational approach is not interested in

Industrial
Engineering PoliticalScience
i H E O ,

General
Systems Social
Theory Psychology

Cultural
Anthropology

Decision
Theory

Psychology

Economic
Theory

Mathematics
ClinicalExperienceof
Practitioners

Operational management science and theory is that part of the diagram enclosed in the circle. It shows how operational
management science and theory has a core of basic science and theory and draws from other fields of knowledge pertaining to
management. It is thus, in part, an eclectic science and theory.
Figure 1
The Scope of OperationalScience and Theory
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all the important knowledge in these various fields, one that is not so broad as to encompass everything
but only that which is deemed to be most useful and that might have any relationships, no matter how
relevant to managing. remote, to the managerial job. We realize that any
The question of what managers do day by day field as complex as managing can never by isolated
and how they do it is secondary to what makes an from its physical, technological, biological, or cul-
acceptable and useful classification of knowledge. tural environment. We also realize, however, that
Organizing knowledge pertinent to managing is an some partitioning of knowledge is necessary and
indispensable first step in developing a useful some boundaries to this knowledge must be set if
theory and science of management. It makes pos- meaningful progress in summarizing and classify-
sible the separation of science and techniques used ing pertinent knowledge is ever to be made. Yet, as
in managing and those used in such nonmanagerial in the case of all systems analyses where system
activities as marketing, accounting, manufacturing, boundaries are set, it must be kept in mind that
and engineering. It permits us to look at the basic there is no such thing as a totally closed system and
aspects of management that have a high degree of that many environmental variables will intrude on
universality among different enterprises and differ- and influence any system proposed.
ent cultures. By using the functions of managers as
a first step, a logical and useful start can be made in
The ManagementTheoryJungle:
setting up pigeonholes for classifying management PromisingTendencies Toward
knowledge. Convergence of Theories
The functions some theorists (including me) have As can be seen from the brief discussions above
found to be useful and meaningful as this first step of the schools and approaches to management
in classifying knowledge are:
theory and science, there is evidence that the man-
1. Planning:selecting objectivesand means of ac- agement theory jungle continues to flourish and
complishingthem. perhaps gets more dense, with nearly twice as
2. Organizing:designingan intentionalstructureof
roles forpeople to fill. many schools or approaches as were found nearly
two decades ago. It is no wonder that a useful
3. Staffing:selecting, appraising,and developing
people to effectivelyfillorganizationalroles. management theory and science has been so tardy
in arriving. It is no wonder that we still do not have a
4. Leading:takingactions to motivatepeople and
clear notion of the scientific underpinnings of man-
help them see thatcontributingto groupobjec-
tives is intheirown interest. aging nor have we been able clearly to identifywhat
5. Controlling:measuringand correctingactivities we mean by competent managers.
of people to ensure that plans are being ac- The varying approaches, each with its own gurus,
complished. each with its own semantics, and each with a fierce
As a second step in organizing management pride to protect the concepts and techniques of the
knowledge, some of us have found it useful to ask approach from attack or change, make the theory
basic questions in each functional area, such as: and science of management extremely difficultfor
1. What is the natureand purpose of each func- the intelligent practitioner to understand and utilize.
tionalarea? If the continuing jungle were only evidence of com-
2. What structuralelements exist in each func- peting academic thought and research, it would not
tionalarea? much matter. But when it retards the development
3. What processes, techniques, and approaches of a useful theory and science and confuses prac-
are there in each functionalarea and what are ticing managers, the problem becomes serious.
the advantages and disadvantagesof each? Effective managing at all levels and in all kinds of
4. What obstructions exist in effectively accom-
enterprises is too importantto any society to allow it
plishingeach function? to fail through lack of available and understandable
5. Howcan these obstructionsbe removed?
knowledge.
Those who, like me, subscribe to the operational At the same time, there appears to be some
approach do so with the hope of developing and reason to be optimistic, in that signs exist indicating
identifying a field of science and theory that has tendencies for the various schools of thought to
useful application to the practice of managing, and coalesce. Although the convergence is by no
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means yet complete, there is reason to hope that, attempts at developing a scientific field have been
as scholars and writers become more familiarwith improved.
what managers do and the situations in which they
act, more and more of these schools or approaches Recognizing that the Contingency Approach
will adopt, and even expand, the basic thinking and Is Not a New or Separate Approach
concepts of the operational school of management. Although perceptive and intelligent managers
While acknowledging that these are only indica- and many management theorists have not been
tions and signs along the road to a more unified and surprised by the realization, it is now clear that the
practical operational theory of management, and contingency view is merely a way of distinguishing
that there is much more of this road to travel, let us between science and art - knowledge and prac-
briefly examine some of these tendencies toward tice. As I pointed out earlier, these are two different
convergence. things, albeit mutually complementary. Those writ-
ers and scholars who have emphasized contin-
Greater Emphasis on Distillation of
Basics within the Empirical Approach gency approaches have, to be sure, done the field
of management theory and practice a great service
Within the many programs utilizing cases as a by stressing that what the intelligent manager ac-
means of educating managers, there are indica- tually does depends on the realities of a situation.
tions that there now exists a much greater em- But this has long been true of the application of any
phasis on distilling fundamentals than there was science.
two decades ago. Likewise, in the field of business That contingency theory is really application in
policy, by which term most of these case approach- the light of a situation has been increasingly recog-
es have tended to be known, there has been in- nized, as is evidenced by a recent statement by one
creased emphasis in teaching and research toward of its founders. Jay Lorsch recentlyadmittedthat
going beyond recounting what happened in a given the use of the term"contingency"was "misleading"
situation to analyzing the underlying causes and [1977, pp. 2-14]. He appearedto recognizethat an
reasons for what happened. One major result of all operationalmanagementtheoristwouldnecessari-
this has been a new emphasis on strategy and ly become a situationalistwhen it came to applying
strategic planning. This has been nowhere more management concepts, principles, and techniques.
noteworthy than at the Harvard Business School, Finding that Organization Theory
which is regarded as the cradle of the case ap- Is Too Broad an Approach
proach. This has led many empiricists to come up
with distilled knowledge that fits neatly into the oper- Largelybecause of the influenceof Chester Bar-
ational theorist's classification of planning. nard and his broad concept of "organization"as
almost any kind of interpersonal relationships, it has
Recognizing that Systems Theory become customary, particularlyin some academic
Is Not a Separate Approach circles, to use the term "organization theory" to
When systems theory was introduced into the refer to almost any kind of interpersonal relation-
management field some two decades ago, it was ships. Many scholars attempted to make this field
hailed by many as being a new way of analyzing equal to management theory, but it is now fairlywell
and classifying management knowledge. But in agreed that managing is a narroweractivityand that
recent years, as people have come to understand management theory pertains only to theory related
systems theory and the job of managing better, it to managing. Management theory is often thought
has become increasingly clear that, in its essen- of as being a subset of organization theory and it is
tials, there is little new about systems theory and now fairly well agreed that the general concept of
that practicing managers as well as operational organization theory is too broad.
theorists had been using its basics (although not This sign offers hope of clearing away some of
always the jargon) for a number of years. Nonethe- the underbrush of the jungle.
less, as those in the field of operational manage- The New Understanding of Motivation
ment theory have more consciously and clearly
employed the concepts and theory of systems, their The more recent research into motivation of
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people in organizational settings has tended to em- zation climate and styles of leaders. Most recent
phasize the importance of the organizational studies and theories tend to underscore the impor-
climate in curbing or arousing motives. The over- tance of effective managing in making managers
simplified explanations of motives by Maslow and effective leaders. Implied by most recent research
Herzberg may identify human needs fairlywell, but and theory is the clear message that effective
much more emphasis must be given to rewards and leaders design a system that takes into account the
expectations of rewards. These, along with a cli- expectancies of subordinates, the variability of
mate that arouses and supports motivation, will motives between individuals and from time to time,
depend to a very great extent on the nature of situational factors, the need for clarity of role defini-
managing in an organization. tion, interpersonal relations, and types of rewards.
Litwinand Stringer [1968] found that the strength As can be readily seen, knowledgeable and ef-
of such basic motives as needs for achievement, fective managers do these things when they design
power, and affiliation,were definitely affected by the a climate for performance, when goals and means
organizational climate. In a sample of 460 mana- of achieving them are planned, when organizational
gers, they found a strong relationship between roles are defined and well structured, when roles
highly structured organizations and arousal of the are intelligently staffed, and when control tech-
need for power, and a negative relationship with the niques and information are designed to make self-
needs for achievement and affiliation.Likewise, in a control possible. In other words, leadership theory
climate with high responsibility and clear standards, and research are, like motivation, fitting into the
they observed a strong positive relationship be- scheme of operational management theory, rather
tween this climate and achievement motivation, a than going off as a separate branch of theory.
moderate correlation to power motivation, and an
unrelated to negatively related relationship with af- The New Managerially Oriented
filiationmotivation. "Organization Development"
The interaction between motivationand orga- Both "organization development" and the field
nizationalclimatenotonly underscoresthe systems ordinarily referred to as "organization behavior"
aspects of motivationbut also emphasizes how have grown out of the interpersonal and group be-
motivationdepends on whatmanagersdo insetting havior approaches to management. For a while, it
and maintainingan environmentfor performance. seemed that these fields were far away and sepa-
These researches move the problemof motivation rate from operational management theory. Now
from a purely behavioralmatterto one closely re- many of these scientists are seeing that basic man-
lated to and dependent on what managers do. The agement theory and techniques, such as managing
theory of motivation, then, fits nicely into the op- by objectives and clarifying organization structure,
erational approach to management theory and fit well into their programs of behavioral interven-
science. tion.
The melding of motivation and leadership A review of the latest organization behavior
theory Another interesting sign that we may be books indicates that some authors in this field are
moving toward a unified operational theory of man- beginning to understand that behavioral elements
agement is the way that research and analysis have in group operations must be more closely inte-
tended to meld motivationand leadershiptheory. grated with organizational structure design, staff-
Especially in recent years, leadershipresearchand ing, planning, and control. This is a promising sign.
theory have tended to emphasize the ratherele- It is a recognition that analysis of individual and
mentary propositionsthat the job of leaders is to group behavior, at least in managed situations,
know and appeal to thingsthatmotivatepeople and easily and logically falls into place in the scheme of
to recognize the simple truththat people tend to operational management theory.
followthose inwhomthey see a means of satisfying
The Impact of Technology:
theirown desires. Thus, explanationsof leadership
have been increasinglyrelatedto motivation. Researching an Old Problem
This melding of motivationand leadershiptheo- That technology has an important impact on or-
ries has also emphasized the importanceof organi- ganizational structure, behavior patterns, and other
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aspects of managing has been recognized by intel- similar mathematical and modeling techniques fit
ligent practitioners for many years. However, pri- nicely in the planning and controlling areas of
marily among academic researchers, there has operational management theory and science. Most
seemed to be in recent years a "discovery" that the operational management theorists recognize this.
impact of technology is important and real. To be All that is really needed is for the trickleof "manage-
sure, some of this research has been helpful to ment science" defectors to become a torrent, mov-
managers, especially that developed by the socio- ing their expertise and research more closely to a
technical school of management. Also, while per- practical and useful management science.
ceptive managers have known for many years that
technology has important impacts, some of this Clarifying Semantics: Some Signs of Hope
research has tended to clarify and give special One of the greatest obstacles to disentangling
meaning to this impact. the jungle has long been, and still is, the problem of
The impact of technology is easily embraced by semantics. Those writingand lecturing on manage-
operational management theory and practice. And ment and related fields have tended to use common
it should be. It is to be hoped that scholars and terms in different ways. This is exemplified by the
writers in the area of technological impacts willsoon variety of meanings given to such terms as "organi-
become familiar with operational management the- zation," "line and staff," "authority,""responsibili-
ory and incorporate their findings and ideas into that ty," and "policies," to mention a few. Although this
operational framework. At the very least, however, semantics swamp still exists and we are a long way
those who subscribe to the operational approach from general acceptance of meanings of key terms
can incorporate the useful findings of those who and concepts, there are some signs of hope on the
emphasize the impact of technology. horizon.
It has become common for the leading manage-
Defections Among "Management Scientists" ment texts to include a glossary of key terms and
Itwill be recalled that in the discussion of schools concepts and an increasing number of them are
or approaches to management, one of them is beginning to show some commonality of meaning.
identified as the mathematical or "management Of interest also is the fact that the Fellows of the
science" approach. The reader has also undoubt- International Academy of Management, composed
edly noted that "management science" was put in of some 180 management scholars and leaders
quotation marks; the reason for so doing is that this from 32 countries of the world, have responded to
group does not really deal with a total science of the demands of its members and have undertaken
management but rather largely with mathematical to develop a glossary of management concepts and
models, symbols, and elegance. terms, to be published in a number of languages
There are clear signs among the so-called man- and given wide circulation among many countries.
agement scientists that there are defectors who Althoughit is too earlyto be sure, it does appear
realize that their interests must go far beyond the that we may be moving in the direction necessary
use of mathematics, models, and the computer. for the development of a science - the acceptance
These especially exist in the ranks of operations of clear definitions for key terms and concepts.
researchers in industry and government, where
The Need for More Effort
they are faced daily with practical management In Disentangling the Jungle
problems. A small but increasing number of aca-
demics are also coming to this realization. In fact, Despite some signs of hope, the fact is that the
one of the leading and most respected academics, management theory jungle is still with us. Although
one widely regarded as a pioneer in operations some slight progress appears to be occurring, in the
research, C. West Churchman, has (in conversa- interest of a far better society through improved
tions with me) been highly critical of the excessive managerial practice it is to be hoped that some
absorption with models and mathematics and, for means can be found to accelerate this progress.
this reason, has even resigned from the Operations Perhaps the most effective way would be for
Research Society. leading managers to take a more active role in
There is no doubt that operations research and narrowing the widening gap that seems to exist
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between professional practice and our college and which they exist.
university business, management, and public ad- Most of our professional schools have advisory
ministration schools. They could be far more vocal councils or boards composed of influential and in-
and helpful in making certain that our colleges and telligent top managers and other leading citizens.
universities do more than they have been in devel- Instead of these boards spending their time, as
oping and teaching a theory and science of man- most do, in passively receiving reports from deans
agement useful to practicing managers. This is not and faculty members of the "new" things being
to advocate making these schools vocational done, these boards should find out more of what is
schools, especially since basic operational man- going on in managerially related teaching and
agement theory and research are among the most research and insist that some of these be moved
demanding areas of knowledge in our society. toward a more useful operational science of man-
Moreover, these schools are professional schools agement.
and their task must be to serve the professions for

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HaroldKoontz is Mead Johnson Professor of Man-

agement Emeritus,GraduateSchool of Management,
Universityof California,Los Angeles, and Chancellor
of the International
Academyof Management.
Received 5/25/79

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