The development of any science needs a conceptual
framework of theory and principle. Principles of management have existed for
along time, but an acceptable framework to encompass them was needed. A large
debt is due to the many writers and researchers who have contributed a great
deal to existing principles and accepted practices. It is in the formulation of
principles that the science of management can be developed. A management
principle distils and organizes knowledge that has been built up through
experience and analysis. Management is far from being an exact science at
present but, by understanding and applying accepted principles, the quality of
management practice can be greatly improved. It is most probable that
management will never become wholly and exact science as personal judgement
will always be needed to supplement available knowledge; therefore, as a
practice, management will always be an art.
In the natural science, a theoretical principle is
deduced from particular facts which are applicable to a defined group or class
and is expressed by a statement that a certain happening always occurs if
certain conditions are present. Management principles are not fundamental
truths, they are conditional statements qualified by adverbs, e.g. usually,
normally, etc.
It is worthwhile looking briefly at the nature of
the two methods of reasoning, deductive and inductive.
Deductive
method
The deductive method reasons from the general to
the particular, i.e. from the attributes of a class it will deduce the
attribute of an individual member of that class. The following example of
deductive reasoning illustrated that if certain facts are admitted as true,
then such a thing must be true about the particular case in question, for if it
were not so, it would be inconsistent with the fact already admitted as true.
It does mean that premises should be carefully
tested before any inference is made from them.
1st
premise – All men are mortal
2nd
premise – Wilson
Deduction
from these premises – Wilson
If the deduction is made from false premises, the
conclusion are worthless – for example :
All
good sailors have beards
Robinson
is a good sailor
Therefore
he has a beard
Inductive
method
The inductive method is the opposite of the
deductive.
It starts by collecting facts relating to a given
point, these facts emerging from observations. Then a statement or premise is
proposed which is true of all cases observed. For example if, by observation, a
number of men – Wilson, Robinson, Smith, Brown – a discovered to be mortal, we
can have confidence in this premise, if
a sufficient number of cases have been examined under a variety of
circumstances, to see if any conflicting case was noted. A generalization is
then built up, or reasoned, regarding the cases in the light of the observed
characteristic, e.g. each of the cases examined was a man and therefore all men
are mortal. This generalization is no more that hypothesis, the product of
inductive thinking, which must now be proved. When the hypothesis is tested and
no conflicting case found, then a law is formulated and this is used to control
the present or to predict the future.
Scientific method can be applied to management, for
example: the method of inductive thinking can be applied to policy making when work
is measurable.
Observations leads to objective examination of
present practices; analysis breaks them down and studies them; classification
means comparing them with basic principles and the resultant hypothesis will be
an improved new method or practice. A trial run or test will be critically
examined and only then accepted and a law formulated.
It can be applied in the management of people, by
studying the human factor and observing principles of human relations. This is
an important area especially in relation to motivation and co-ordination.
It can also apply to the manager himself, in
developing a scientific attitude of mind toward his problems and the making of
his decisions.
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