The next step in the timeline of management history sets the stage for
a stream of new developments that are continuing to this day. Loosely called the
modern management approaches, they share the assumption that people and
organizations are complex, growing and changing over time in response to new
problems and opportunities in their environments. Th e many building blocks of
modern management include use of quantitative tools and techniques, recognition
of the inherent complexity of organizations as systems, contingency thinking
that rejects the search for universal management principles, attention to quality
management, and the desire to ground management practice in solid scientifi c
evidence.