Marx vs. Fayol
Uploaded by monzevilmonkey on Sep 30, 2008
Marx vs. Fayol
Karl Marx and Henri Fayol are both pioneers with theories
on organizations. After that, the similarities fade as the
details of their theories start to differ. Marx’s theories
deal more with laborers versus the capitalists that employ
these laborers whereas Fayol breaks down the divisions of
works to help streamline how the hierarchy of the workplace
should line up to be most efficient. The two theorize the
same idea that the top of the organization is separate from
everyone else below them but the gradients of the theories
differ dramatically.
“Once labor is defined as a cost of production, rather
than as a means to achieve a collective purpose for the
good of society, workers are disenfranchised from the
product of their own work efforts” (Hatch). Marx feels
that if labor is going to be treated as a commodity then
there is going to be a breakdown in the workplace. The
workers are now being “bought and sold.” To keep this from
occurring, a check and balance needs to be implemented and
for Marx, the answer is labor unions. Marx knows that the
two groups are going to be separate no matter what but with
a balance in place, the two can coexist. "Society as a
whole is more and more splitting into two great hostile
camps, into two great classes directly facing each other:
Bourgeoisie and Proletariat" (Marx). Those class
distinctions have always existed in some form and will
always remain.
This alienation of the proletariat from the bourgeoisie
is what Marx fears. “Marx’s early position maintain that
the theme of alienation, if not central to later Marxist
writing, is, at least, clearly in evidence there and
perhaps basic to his sociology and his prescriptions for
the good world” (Grimes, Simmons).
Fayol on the other hand feels that instead of worrying
about the segregation of capitalists and laborers, he felt
the concern should be how the organization is setup from
top to bottom. It is not black and white like Marx sees
it. To Fayol, the area is grey from top to bottom.
The scalar chain is the superiors ranging from the
ultimate authority to the lowest ranks. The line of
authority is the route followed via every link in the
chain-by all communications, which start from or go to the
ultimate authority. This path is dictated both by the need
for some transmission and by the principle of unity of
command, but it is not always the swiftest. It is even at
times disastrously lengthy in large concerns, notably in
governmental ones (Fayol).
With dealing with chain of command...