The Early Need for Management
Why did the need for management develop?
What important business lessons can we take away from studying the development of national railroads?
What challenges resulted from the growth of large national business after the Civil War?
The Scientific Management Era
What was scientific management? Why was it considered scientific?
What is one key idea or theory of this era? What management problem did it try to explain or solve?
What new questions were raised during this era?
The Social Person Era
Why was it necessary to begin studying "the human factor" after an era of scientific management?
What were the era's biggest challenges, and what attempts were made to resolve them?
Why were the Hawthorne studies conducted, and why were they so important?
The Modern Era
Each era had its own "big-picture" problem or challenge. What is the big-picture problem of this era?
How did management theory change in this era?
What were Peter Drucker's contributions to management theory and why were they important?
What do you think will be the next major idea or theory of management? What problem will it attempt to explain or solve.