2.1 Classical approaches to management

The classical approach to management focuses on centralized authority, labor specialization and incentives to optimize productivity in an organization and, in turn, drive profits. Workplaces are segregated into three levels of authority: business leaders or top-level management, middle management and supervisors.
Shortcomings of classical management theory can include:

• The treatment of workers as machines without accounting for the role job satisfaction and workplace culture play in an organization’s success
• The difficulty of applying some of its principles outside a limited manufacturing context
• A top-down approach to communication that neglects employee input and prevents collaboration
• Failure to provide for creativity and innovation, which rigid structures and hyper specialization can stifle