What is meant by the "management philosophy" of a business?

The management philosophy of a firm is the same thing as
its managment style.  It is the set of ideas that governs how a firm will attempt to
manage its employees.

For example, in the past, management
philosophy tended to be rather authoritarian.  In a firm, higher level managers would
give orders and those below would follow them.  There was no attempt to try to show the
lower level employees that their ideas were valued or to try to build a team spirit
among workers.  Today, many firms have moved away from this management philosophy.  They
now opt for philosophies that emphasize making their employees feel like valued members
of a team.  In both cases, the management philosophy is a basic set of core values about
how the business should be run.  These values or philosopies dictate how the firms
attempt to manage their employees.