Pioneers of Management

Pioneers of Management

The study of management as a discipline is relatively new, especially when compared with other scientific disciplines. Yet, to truly understand current management thought, it is necessary to examine the historical links. It is best to consider not only management pioneers' management theories, but also thecontextual and environmental factors that helped to clarify the developmental process behind the theories. Therefore, management pioneers may be easily placed along a historical timeline.

Using the work of Daniel Wren as a guide, the following categories are employed: (1) early management thought; (2) the scientific management era; (3) the social man era; and (4) the modern era.

Early Management Thought:the Economic Facet

Adam Smith and James Watt have been identified as the two men most responsible for destroying the old England and launching the world toward industrialization. Adam Smith brought about the revolution in economic thought and James Watt's steam engine provided cheaper power that revolutionized English commerce and industry. In doing so, they also laid the foundation for modern notions of business management theory and practice.

Adam Smith.

Adam Smith (1723–1790) was a Scottish political economist. His Wealth of Nations, published in 1776, established the "classical school" and with its publication, he became the father of "liberal economics." Smith argued that market and competition should be the regulators of economic activity and that tariff policies were destructive.

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