the classical school

Robert Townsend’s advice about organization charts in Up the Organization demonstrates the existence of the classical school :
You probably spend a major faction of your time dealing directly with people who aren’t really above or below you on the chart. If people are off to one side, but below you on the chart, you may be tempted to ignore them. Summon them to your office or at least assume that they will do whatever you want. The head of the mail room, or the chief telephone operator may hold your destiny someday. Figure out who is important to your effectiveness and then treat him (or her)that way. It wouldn’t hurt to assume, in short, that every man-and woman-is a human being, not a rectangle.
The classical theory of organization is concerned almost entirely with the design and structure of organizations, not with people. The chief tool is the organization chart. Around World War I, classical theory evolved from the scientific management movement in which man was described as a rational, economic being who can best be motivated to work by such carrot and stick techniques as piecework systems, bonus systems, time-and-motion studies and cost-figuring systems.
Given the nature of times, it was easy to motivate workers by appealing to their most basic human needs-needs heavily dependent upon money fulfillment.
The example of scientific management in practice concerns the manager of an agency who requires all employees to time their interviews with clients, record the number of minutes involved in clerical work, and calculate the average length of an interview and the average time involved in written work.
Two foremost scholars of the classical school were Henry Fayol and Max Webber. Others were James Mooney and Alan Reiley., Luther Glick, and Lyndall Urwick, and Chester Barnard.
Among the recommended principles of management, Fayol included the following :
1. Division of work (specialization)
2. Authority and responsibility (power)
3. Discipline (obedience)
4. Unity of command (one boss)
5. Unity of direction (one plan)
6. Subordination if individual interest to general interest (corncern for the organization first)
7. Remuneration of personnel (fair play)
8. Centralization (consolidation)
9. Scalar chain (chain of command)
10. Order (everyone has a unique position)
11. Equity (firm but fair)
12. Stability of tenure of personnel (low turnover)
13. Initiative (thinking out a plan)
14. Esprit de corps (high morale)
Max webber took issue with Fayol’s view of classical organization theory, distinguishing between inherent authority (traditional power, which may have been illegitimate) and legitimate authority (earned, respected, established by norms, rational and legal). Legitimate authority provided the foundation for what Weber called “bureaucracy”.
Some of the problems associated with the federal bureaucracy were publicized recently by a presidential commision that investigated paperwork in government. According to the commission, veteran bureaucrats are skilled at evading issues, shifting responsibilities, and diverting work to someone else.