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many organizations, including schools and colleges. These include division of labour,
authority, unity of command and unity of direction.

The works of Taylor and Fayol were seminal contributions to management
theory, whereas the first major writer on organization theory was Max Weber. He
defined the essentials of bureaucracy and had a singnificant influence on the subsequent
development of this line of theory. Weber advocated a clear-cut division of labour, a
hierarchical authority structure and a system of rules and regulations. These concepts
are consistent with the principles of classical management expounded by Taylor,
Fayol and their successors. Chapter 2 presents and extract from one of Weber’s most
important works.

Aspects of Weber’s theory are clearly relevant to educational institutions, as
Hughes (1986, p.8) suggests: ‘Schools and colleges, particularly if they are large, conform
to a considerable degree to Weber’s specification of bureaucracy.’ However, there are
few studies which apply the bureaucratic model to British education. One exception
is the piece by Paul Harling which forms Chapter 3 of present volume. Harling links
the main precepts of Weber’s theory to English schools.

The pervasive influence of bureaucratic and other rational models on schools
and colleges is confirmed by the fact that all the other perspectives tend to be tested
against the bureaucratic ‘norm’. A major criticism of this approach is that it neglects
the individual qualities of people and regards them as part of the organizational
structure, slotting into defined positions in the hierarchy. Schools and colleges are
staffed mainly by professionals who require substantial discretion in performing their
teaching role. The bureaucratic model does not satisfactorily explain the contribution
of professional staff to the management of educational institutions.

The vital role of teacher professionals in the management of education is at
the heart of collegial or democratic models. These approaches reject the concept of
hierarchy and assert that decisions should be based on professional discretion rather
than bureaucratic rules and regulations. Policies are assumed ot emerge through a
process of discussion leading to professional consensus. Hierarchical authority is
supplanted by the authority of expertise which is regarded as the hallmark of the
professional.

Collegial approaches in British education originated in the Oxford and
Cambridge colleges: