Ancient history

The field of organizational studies emerged in the 1940s  (Scott & Davis, 2007), but has roots that likely span human existence. Anthropologists and archeologists explore evidence of human organizing activity that pre-dates recorded history. Prehistoric clans built stone and dirt monoliths, like Stonehenge and the Mississippi mounds. In 3500 B.C., the Egyptians were organizing the actions of many people to build cities and societies. Workers organized guilds in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome. Chinese factories developed the capacity to produce 125,000 tons of iron a year  (McShane & Von Glinow, 2005). Around 500 B.C., Sun Tzu provided directives for organizing to conquer and control populations; Sun Tzu’s treatise emphasized that humans had always organized to wage battles (Giles, 1910).

In the third century B.C., Plato wrote about leadership, while Aristotle wrote about persuasive communication. In the 16th century, Nicolò Machiavelli (1505) disclosed how a prince can control his realm. In the late eighteenth century, Adam Smith advocated organizing by divisions of labor. In the 18th century, Karl Marx proposed a worker’s paradise to revolutionize the increasing industrialization of western society, inadvertently creating an organizational system that governments would use to oppress populations, and a “critical radical humanism” that capitalists would use to encourage competition, efficiency, and innovation in workers (Aktouf, 1992). Meanwhile, Max Weber wrote about bureaucratic organizations and leadership. Shortly after, Taylor focused on motivating employees with goal setting and rewards  (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2007).