The evolution of management theories

implications for supervisory practices on the early childhood development programme in Zimbabwe

Abstract

This paper examines critically the evolution of management theories and how they have informed the supervisory practices of the Early Childhood Development (ECD) Programme in Zimbabwe. The paper identifies a number of management theories that have influenced the supervision of the ECD Programme in Zimbabwe. Theories that have been found to have greatly informed the supervision of the ECD Programme in Zimbabwe include Scientific Management, Systems and Contingency. However, the Bureaucratic Management, Administrative, Human Relations, Total Quality Management, Learning Organisation and Re-engineering theories have had some influence on the supervision of the ECD Programme. The paper was a desk review. Unlike others, the study established that the Quantitative Theory of Management was not as influential in the supervision of ECD because of the view held by most supervisors that managerial decisions and the nature of the ECD Programme itself cannot be quantified. The paper concludes that supervisory practices at any given point in time are indicative of the influences of the management thought prevalent during such a period and the human element in place. An important issue that emerged is that, even when and where new theories tend to be more pervasive, the influences of the already existing ones remain visible and influential to some extent.