Chester Irving Barnard was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
business
executiveSenior management, executive management, or management team is generally a team of individuals at the highest level of organizational management who have the day-to-day responsibilities of managing a company or corporation, they hold specific executive powers conferred onto them with and by...
, public administrator, and the author of pioneering work in
managementManagement in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
theory and
organizational studiesOrganizational studies, sometimes known as organizational science, encompass the systematic study and careful application of knowledge about how people act within organizations...
. His landmark 1938 book, Functions of the Executive, sets out a theory of organization and of the functions of executives in organizations. The book has been widely assigned in university courses in
managementManagement in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
theory and
organizational sociologyIndustrial sociology, until recently a crucial research area within the field of sociology of work, examines "the direction and implications of trends in technological change, globalization, labour markets, work organization, managerial practices and employment relations to the extent to which...
.
Biography
In his youth, Barnard worked on a farm, then studied economics at
Harvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, earning money selling pianos and operating a dance band. Harvard denied him a BA because of a technicality, but a number of universities later granted him honorary doctorates.
Barnard joined the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (now AT&T) in 1909. In 1927, he became president of the New Jersey Bell Telephone Company. During the
Great DepressionThe Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, he directed the New Jersey state relief system. He was elected a Fellow of the
American Academy of Arts and SciencesThe American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
in 1939. He was president of the
United Service OrganizationsThe United Service Organizations Inc. is a private, nonprofit organization that provides morale and recreational services to members of the U.S. military, with programs in 160 centers worldwide. Since 1941, it has worked in partnership with the Department of Defense , and has provided support and...
(USO), 1942-45. Upon retiring from business, he served as president of the
Rockefeller FoundationThe Rockefeller Foundation is a prominent philanthropic organization and private foundation based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The preeminent institution established by the six-generation Rockefeller family, it was founded by John D. Rockefeller , along with his son John D. Rockefeller, Jr...
, 1948–52, and as chairman of the
National Science FoundationThe National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
, 1952-54. End 1950s he was among the first members of the
Society for General Systems ResearchThe Society for General Systems Research is predecessor of the current International Society for the Systems Sciences , known to be one the first interdisciplinary and international co-operations in the field of systems theory and systems science...
.
Work
Barnard looked at organizations as systems of cooperation of human activity, and noted that they are typically short-lived. It is rare for a firm to last more than a century. Similarly most nations last for less than a century. The only organization that can claim a substantial age is the
Roman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. According to Barnard, organizations are not long-lived because they do not meet the two criteria necessary for survival:
effectivenessEffectiveness is the capability of producing a desired result. When something is deemed effective, it means it has an intended or expected outcome, or produces a deep, vivid impression.-Etymology:...
and efficiency. Effectiveness, is defined the usual way: as being able to accomplish stated goals. In contrast, Barnard's meaning of organizational efficiency differed substantially from the conventional use of the word. He defined efficiency of an organization as the degree to which that organization is able to satisfy the motives of the individuals. If an organization satisfies the motives of its members while attaining its explicit goals, cooperation among its members will last.
Barnard was a great admirer of
Talcott ParsonsTalcott Parsons was an American sociologist who served on the faculty of Harvard University from 1927 to 1973....
(1902–1979) and he and Parsons corresponded persistently. The two scholars would send manuscripts for commentary to each other and they would write long letters where they engage in a common theoretical discussion. The first correspondence between Barnard and Parsons began in the end of the 1930s and it persisted essentially to Barnard’s death in 1961.
Functions of the Executive
Barnard's classic 1938 book Functions of the Executive discusses, as the title suggests, the functions of the executive, but not from a merely intuitive point of view, but instead deriving them from his conception of cooperative systems.
Barnard summarized the functions of the executive as follows:
- Establishing and maintaining a system of communication;
- Securing essential services from other members;
- Formulating organizational purposes and objectives.
Authority and incentives
Barnard formulated two interesting theories: one of
authorityThe word Authority is derived mainly from the Latin word auctoritas, meaning invention, advice, opinion, influence, or command. In English, the word 'authority' can be used to mean power given by the state or by academic knowledge of an area .-Authority in Philosophy:In...
and the other of incentives. Both are seen in the context of a communication system grounded in seven essential rules:
- The channels of communication should be definite;
- Everyone should know of the channels of communication;
- Everyone should have access to the formal channels of communication;
- Lines of communication should be as short and as direct as possible;
- Competence of persons serving as communication centers should be adequate;
- The line of communication should not be interrupted when the organization is functioning;
- Every communication should be authenticated.
Thus, what makes a communication authoritative rests with the subordinate rather than with his superior. Barnard's perspective had affinities to that of
Mary Parker FollettMary Parker Follett was an American social worker, management consultant and pioneer in the fields of organizational theory and organizational behavior. She also authored a number of books and numerous essays, articles and speeches on democracy, human relations, political philosophy, psychology,...
and was very unusual for his time, and that has remained the case down to the present day. He seemed to argue that managers should obtain authority by treating subordinates with respect and competence.
As for incentives, he proposed two ways of convincing subordinates to cooperate: tangible incentives and
persuasionPersuasion is a form of social influence. It is the process of guiding or bringing oneself or another toward the adoption of an idea, attitude, or action by rational and symbolic means.- Methods :...
. He gives great importance to persuasion, much more than to economic incentives. He described four general and four specific incentives. The specific incentives were:
- Money and other material inducements;
- Personal non-material opportunities for distinction;
- Desirable physical conditions of work;
- Ideal benefactions, such as pride of workmanship etc.
Selected publications
- 1938. The Function of the Executive
- 1939. Dilemmas of Leadership in the Democratic Process.
- 1946. A Report on the International Control of Atomic Energy.
- 1948. Organization and Management
- 1956. Organization and Management: Selected Papers
- 1956. On the Teaching of Law in the Liberal Arts Curriculum. With Harold Joseph Berman. Harvard Law
- 1958. Elementary Conditions of Business Morals.
- 1973. Conversations With Chester I. Barnard. Edited by William B. Wolf.
- 1986. Philosophy for Managers; Selected Papers of Chester I. Barnard. Edited by William B. Wolf and Haruki Iino.
Further reading
- Anicich, Adam. (2009) "Management Theorist: Chester Barnard's Theories of Management," Doctoral Research Papers, UMD (2): 1-15.
- Gehani, R. Ray (2002) "Chester Barnard's “executive” and the knowledge-based firm", Management Decision 40(10): 980 - 991.
- Mahoney, Joseph T. (2002) "The relevance of Chester I. Barnard's teaching to contemporary management education: communicating the aesthetics of management," Int. J. of org. Theory & behav. 5 (1&2): 159-72.
- Mathews, Gary S. (1981) "An Examination of Cooperative Organizational Behavior and the Functions of Executives in Formal Organizations: The Theory of Chester Irving Barnard and Its Implications for Educational Administration. A Research Paper."
- Marshall, Gordon (1998) "Chester I. Barnard" in A Dictionary of Sociology.
- Scott, William G. (1992) Chester I. Barnard and the guardians of the management state.
- Wolf, William B. (1974). The basic Barnard: an introduction to Chester i. Barnard and his theories of organization and management.
External links