Frederick Taylor was a key person in the development of the Scientific Management theory. Taylor's primary ideas were based on the assumption that management is a science that is based on clearly defined laws, rules, and principles. Taylor's ideas strongly reinforced the classic hierarchal distinctions because he broke people down into divisions of labor, developed chains of command, and strictly believed communication should only be orders and instructions. Taylor believed that Scientific Management is a management orientated, production centered view of organizations and communication. Taylor believes that an organization is a machine and that humans are its parts. Scientific Management divides employees and managers by saying that managers do all the thinking and the workers do the work. Taylor's Scientific Management theory supports the idea that there is one best way to get things done. .
Henry Fayol then developed the Classical Management theory in 1949. Fayol initially broke the Classical Management theory down into five elements: planning, organizing, commanding (goal setting), coordinating, and controlling (evaluating). Then, in 1995 Katherine Miller grouped Fayol's principles into four categories: structure, power, reward, and attitude. .
Fayol's ideal structure was to have a strict hierarchy with a clear vertical chain of command, which is also known as the "scalar principle." Fayol felt that each employee should have only one boss and be accountable to only one plan. Fayol also agreed with Frederick Taylor by dividing similar labor activities together otherwise known as departmentalization. This structure is known as the classic hierarchical pyramid. .
The second of the four categories, power, deals with obedience, discipline, and respect. Fayol believed in the centralization of decision-making and respect for authority. Fayol believed that authority is the result of a person's position and that discipline and obedience could only be expected if both were present.
