University Of Allahabad-Shashwat Gupta-M.

COM IstYear, Section B-Date of Submission-05/08/2019

Question-1-Explain Henry L. Gantt’s & Mary Parker Follett’s theory of management.
Answer-1-
Henry L. Gantt’s theory of management

Henry Laurence Gantt was an American engineer and famous management consultant. He was best known for his
planning methodology, the Gantt Chart.
He was one of the followers of Frederick Taylor, but when he became an industrial Engineer, he began to
reconsider Taylor's incentive policies. He mainly focused on control system for production scheduling. He modified
the “Differential Rate System” as having too little motivational impact. He came up with new ideas-
A. Workers who met daily requirement should be given 50% bonus.
B. Supervisors should be given bonus for each worker that reached daily standard.
C. Plus extra bonus if everyone reached it.
With these he believed it would motivate supervisors to train their workers to do better jobs.
Every workersprogress was rated publicly and recorded in individual bar charts. Black when the worker
meets with the standard & red when he fell short. With this he originated a charting system in the year 1910 for
production scheduling known as gantt chart.
He also emphasized on the recognition of human factors & the social responsibility of business. He believed
profitable organizations have responsibility towards the welfare of society.

“The business system must accept its social responsibility & devote itself primarily to service, or the community
will ultimately make the attempt to take it over in order to operate in its own interest.”
-Henry L. Gantt

Gantt Task System: Under Gantt Task System, the standard time is fixed for the completion of a task based
on a careful time and motion study. The worker’s actual performance is compared against thestandard time to
determine his efficiency and make the payments accordingly.
The Gantt task system guarantees the worker’s time-rate for the level of output below thestandard. Thus, if the
worker takes more than the standard time to complete the task, then hisefficiency is below 100%, and he is paid
only the time wages.If the worker completes the task within the standard time, then his efficiency is 100% and
inaddition to the time wages, he is also paid a bonus of 20% on the wages earned. If the workertakes less than the
standard time to complete a task, then his efficiency is more than 100%, andthe wages are paid at high-piece rates.
The Gantt task system can be illustrated by the following example:
Regular Rateper Hour = Rs40.00
High piece-rate= Rs60.00
Standard Output= 10 units
Time Taken = 10hrs
Case-1 Case-2 Case-3
Output 7 units 10units 12 units
Rate Applicable Rs 40.00 Rs 40.00 Rs 60.00
Reason As the output is less than As the output is equivalent As the output is more than
the standard so the worker to the standard, the the standard, the worker
is entitled to only time worker is paid the time shall be paid at a high
wages. wages plus a bonus of piece-rate,
20% on time wages.
Time Wages (Time x Rate Rs400 Rs400 Rs720
per hour)
Bonus (Time Wage X 20%) Nil Rs80 Nil
Earning (Time Wage + Rs400 Rs480 Rs720
Bonus)
 Gantt Chart: It is a horizontal bar chart used to record the progression of time through the phases of a
project. A Gantt chart is constructed with a horizontal axis representing the total time span of the project and a
vertical axis representing the tasks that make up the project. Horizontal bars are of varying lengths represent the
sequences, timing, and time span for each task. The bar spans may overlap when we do more than one task during
the same time span. To prepare a gantt chart we need to follow following steps-
STEP-1: Determine project and its start date as well as deadline.
STEP-2: List out various activities to be done on the vertical axis.
STEP-3: Define the time duration of project on the horizontal axis.
STEP-4: Evaluate dependant activities & while marking ensure to include these dependency.
STEP-5: Mark progress of each activity and update it until project completion by using horizontal bars.

e.g. To complete an assignment within a five days you come up with the following course of action-
Activity Time Dependant
1. Read Books Day 1 No
2. Read on the internet Day 1 No
3. Review the information Day 1 On 1 & 2, Used Simultaneously
gathered
4. Organize the information Day 2 On 3
gathered
5. Write Day 3 & 4 On 4
6. Recheck it Day 5 On 5

Read Books Day 1

Read on the Internet Day 1

Review the information gathered Day 1

Organize the information gathered Day 2

Write Day 3 Day 4

Recheck it Day 5

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5

Gantt Chart representing the completion of an assignment

Advantages And Disadvantages of Gantt Chart

Advantages Disadvantages
Easy to construct. Tedious & time consuming to manage & update chart.
Easy to check Project’s Status. Does not show whether project is behind the schedule.
Effective Time Management. Stacks represents only the time and not the hours of the
work.
Clear representation of projects tasks. All Tasks are not visible in a single view of a Gantt.
Better resource allocation & effective team Does not demonstrate effect of delay in one activity
management. because of start of another activity, thus on the project
completion time.
 Mary Parker Follett’s theory of management
Mary Parker Follett was an American social worker & management consultant. She is known for introducing ideas
about human psychology and human relations into industrial management. She has been called the "Mother of
Modern Management". She defined management as “the art of getting things done through people."
Follett practiced these four principles of coordination:
 Direct contact: Direct contact between employees and managers helps organizations avoid conflict and
misunderstandings. Holding regular meetings or discussing assignments in person is a simple way to practice
this principle.
 Early stages: Coordination should be learned and mastered straight away. No employee should feel less
important than the next; each has a significant role that compliments the roles of others.
 Reciprocal relationship: Every worker, regardless of their level in hierarchy, is responsible for pulling their
weight and integrating with the rest of the organization. No one person should be trying less or more than
another – it's a team effort.
 Continuous process: Coordination must be maintained. Don't just learn it and forget about it; channel it in
everything you do.

"Leadership is not defined by the exercise of power but by the capacity to increase
the sense of power among those led.”

-Mary Parker Follett

Follett advocated the principle of what she termed "integration," or non-coercive power-sharing based on the use of
her concept of "power with" rather than "power over." She thought that workers of all levels should integrate to
reach the organization's goals. If conflict arises, there should be a conscious effort to pull instead of push, and to
work together as a team. Because each member is doing their part, overall, they'll be more likely to be content with
result. Rather than establishing a strict hierarchy and delegating power to certain individuals over others, Follett
believed that workers should practice co-active power. Powering with their team is better than powering over them;
this way, each member feels just as valued as the next. This is not to say that hierarchy should be eliminated entirely,
however. Structure is still crucial, but employees should not feel like they are less valuable than their managers.

"The most essential work of the leader is to create more leaders."

-Mary Parker Follett
Question-2- Discuss contingency theory of management.
Answer-2-
Contingency theory of management
It is a modern theory of management. Contingency approach to management is considered as a leading branch of
management thought today. As per contingency theory there is no “ONE BEST WAY” to manage all the situations.
This theory is also known as situational theory. Contingency approach evolved during the 1960s. The contingency
approach to management emerged from the real life experience of managers who found that no single approach
worked consistently in every situation. The contingency approach states that the particular situation will dictate the
correct managerial practice to be applied. This approach seeks to match different situations with different
management methods.
It is the ‘if and ‘then ‘approach to management, ‘If’ represents the independent variable and ‘then’ represents the
dependent management variable or the technique to be adopted in that situation.
The name tells itself that theory talks about circumstances which is possible but cannot be predicted with certainty
& every organization is unique in its own way. It focuses on situational factors with the main logic of absence of one
best method in all different situations. For example, the approach used to manage a group of teenagers working in a
fast‐food restaurant would be very different from the approach used to manage a medical research team trying to
find a cure for a disease. The main determinants of a contingency are related to the external and internal
environment of an organisation.

Routine of task/technology Environmental Uncertainty

Major Variables That

Determine Contingency
Management Practice
Organization Size Individual Differences

e.g. Let us consider a situation of a suitcase manufacturer who is facing problem of decreasing profits.
As manager we have various solutions-
Solution-1: Time study with belief that lower profits are due to lower productivity on the part of workers.
Solution-2: Involve workers more in decisions concerning the methods to use in producing the suitcases based on
the
premise that this will motivate workers to produce more.
Solution-3: Establish a committee of sales & production personnel to coordinate the production & distribution of
goods under the assumption that large inventories are reason for decreasing profits.
Solution as per contingency theory: Application of contingency perspective will enable manager to examine the
situation and to determine the cause of decreased profits before a new procedure or program is implemented, after
this analysis proper solution for the situation can be arrived.
Features
1. Management is externally situational: the conditions of the situation will determine which techniques and
control system should be designed to fit the particular situation.
2. Management is entirely situational.
3. There is no best way of doing anything.
4. One needs to adapt himself to the circumstances.
5. It is a kind of “if” “then” approach.
6. It is a practically suited.
7. Management policies and procedures should respond to environment.
8. Managers should understand that there is no best way of managing. It dispels the universal validity of
principles.

Advantages & Limitations Of Contingency Theory

Advantages Limitations
1. Flexible and Encourages innovation in problem Complex approach. The suggestion of the approach
solving. is very simple but when it comes to practical it
becomes more complex.
2. Pragmatic in nature. Requires the use of analytical, Reactive in nature. Sometimes the handling the
critical & multidimensional techniques & hence situations become hard for the manager.
more accurate.
3. Contingency approach helps the manager to Lack of literature. It is not sufficient to say that ‘a
enhance their leadership and decision-making skills. managerial action depends on the situation.
4. Focuses on situation specific solutions & managers Puts a greater pressure on the managers. Managers
cannot apply principles blindly. are required to be more alert, sensitive &
responsible towards the situations.
5. Dynamic in nature. It allows managers to change the Fails to enlist all the contingency variables.
policies according to the situation.

As per my opinion, Contingency theory is designed to provide the managers with the capabilities to examine
numerous possible solutions to a problem & this theory suggests the most appropriate style of management. Theory
is dependent on the context of the situation and that adopting a single, rigid style is inefficient in the long term.
Managers typically pay attention to both the situation and their own styles and make efforts to ensure both interact
efficiently.

University Of Allahabad

Shashwat Gupta

M.COM IstYear (Section B)

Date of Submission-05/08/2019