Assignment on Organisation Behaviour

Organisation Behaviour

Abstract:

 This assignment is relating with organization behaviour where I will assess the relevance of classical management approach and the human relation approach to understanding the present day organizations. Classical management approach emphasised on the work element and did not see the workers as human beings but machine. 

The Human Relations School of management started focusing on the humans working on the tasks. This aimed at increasing the work productivity through collaboration and it saw work as a group activity.  Then I will define Classical management approaches and human relation approach and then I will mention how organizations are adopting those theories for their today’s success then I will use relevant example. There will be suggestion which will be the best approach to present day organizations.

Objective:

            There are different approaches in management like classical management approach, human relation approach and modern approach. The classical approach tries to find the best way for performing and managing tasks. It consider of classical scientific school and classical administrative school. In this approach the development of standard methods for doing jobs and people were trained and they worked more like machines. Every person has his own specialized work and he had to do it. It emphasised on the work element and did not see the workers as human beings but machine.

The Human Relations School of management started focusing on the humans working on the tasks. This aimed at increasing the work productivity through collaboration and it saw work as a group activity. This approach also used the most popular Maslow’s hierarchy of needs which stated that every human being has some needs which affects his performance and motivation. These needs in the order from the most basic are Physiological needs, Safety needs, Social needs, Esteem needs and Self-actualization needs. 

The objective of this assignment is to give an argument which one is the best approach for organizational behaviour. Then classify and illustrate both classical management approach and human relation approach. Then give some example relating with both approaches. Finally give a proper suggestion which approach is accurate for modern day organizations.

 Classical Management Approach:

The Classical perspective to management emerged during the nineteenth century and continued into the twentieth century. Due to the new challenges that organizations faced, management sought methods of efficiency which included a rational and scientific approach.

The Classical approach includes the following three theories and their contributors:

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Scientific Management by Frederick Taylor 

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Administrative Principle by Henry Fayol

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Bureaucratic Organization by Max Weber 

Scientific Management by Frederick Taylor

Scientific Management or Taylorism was a scientific method which was used to optimize the way in which tasks were performed thus improving the labour productivity. One of Taylor’s philosophies was “In the past man must have been first. In the future, the system must be first.”

The General Concept of Scientific Management 

·         Develop a standard method for performing a task and train workers to use these methods. (Managers developed precise procedures based each organizational task)

·         Provide workers with the proper tools needed to work. Selected employees were chosen for specific tasks. (Workers that were stronger both mentally and physically were assigned specific tasks)

·         Wage incentives were provided when output was increased. (Employees were motivated to increase their output with the use of additional benefits

Disadvantages of Scientific Management 

·         Workers felt exploited because their social aspect of life was disregarded. (Workers were treated as machines and not humans)

·         Management stereotyped workers and did not allow them to prove their skills in other areas.

·         Workers were not allowed to form innovative ways to perform their tasks

Administrative Principle by Henry Fayol (1841 – 1925)

 This theory dealt with the entire organization (both workers and management) which functioned with four basic principles. Which are:

·         Unity of command Each person receives order from only one superior.

·         Division of work – Specialization and efficiency were incorporated in workers.

·         Unity of direction– Related activities were grouped under one manager.

·         Scalar Chain– is the organizational structure which starts from the CEO are to the labourers.

Administrative Principle

The five basic functions or elements of management (Management Process) are:

·         Planning

·         Organizing

·         Controlling

·         Coordinating

·         Commanding (leading/directing)

Bureaucratic Organizations by Max Weber (1864 – 1920)

Weber’s theory concentrated on the fact that positions should be structured where there must be a clear line of authority (hierarchy) and all persons must be selected by competency for the job and promotion (promotion based on achievement and a specialized division of labour) also, a formal structure and position rather than an individual.

Views and Misconceptions of Bureaucratic Organizations

·         Good bureaucracy removed or reduced opportunities for corruption, favouritism and arbitrary exercises of power (instead of bribing a single official, you now have to bribe several officials) .

·         Sometimes extra paperwork is added to a system.

·         Identified bureaucracy with any large organization.

·         Sometimes bureaucracy would be mistaken for civil service (governmental organizations) but actually is being used at various types of organizations.

·         Bureaucracy is inflexible.

Example of classical management approach:

Taylor's and Fayol's work came primarily from their experiences with large manufacturing firms that were experiencing stable environments. It may be unwise to generalize from those situations to others—especially to young, high-technology firms of today that are confronted daily with changes in their competitors' products. The classical approaches seem to view the life of a worker as beginning and ending at the plant door. Their basic assumption is that workers are primarily motivated by money and that they work only for more money. They also assume that productivity is the best measure of how well a firm is performing. These assumptions fail to recognize that employees may have wants and needs unrelated to the workplace or may view their jobs only as a necessary evil. A heavy emphasis on rules and regulations may cause people to obey rules blindly without remembering their original intent. Oftentimes, since rules establish a minimum level of performance expected of employees, a minimum level is all they achieve. Perhaps much more could be achieved if the rules were not so explicit. Classical theories leave the impression that the organization is a machine and that workers are simply parts to be fitted into the machine to make it run efficiently. Thus, many of the principles are concerned first with making the organization efficient, with the assumption that workers will conform to the work setting if the financial incentives are agreeable. The work force was not highly educated or trained to perform many of the jobs that existed at the time. It was not common for workers to think in terms of what "career" they were going to pursue. Rather, for many, the opportunity to obtain a secure job and a level of wages to provide for their families was all they demanded from the work setting, much of the writing took place when technology was undergoing a rapid transformation, particularly in the area of manufacturing. Indeed, for many writers, technology was the driving force behind organizational and social change. Thus, their focus was on finding ways to increase efficiency. It was assumed that all humankind could do was to adapt to the rapidly changing conditions.

Human Relation approach

 The Human Resource perspective to management suggested that jobs should be designed to meet higher levels needs by allowing workers to use their full potential.

Human Resource Approach includes the following three theories and their contributors:

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The Hawthorne Studies by Elton Mayo

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The Maslow Theories of Human’s Need

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Mc Gregor’s Theory (x y theory)

Hawthorne Studies by Elton Mayo by Elton Mayo

After a series of studies, it was proven that employees increase the level of output when given better treatment. He carried out research at the Hawthorne Works of the Western Electric Company in Chicago. He and his team of researchers took a group of six women and segregated them. They then altered their conditions of work in a number of ways, over a five year period, and observed the effects on production and the morale of the group.

From Mayo’s investigations the following conclusions were made:

·         Work is a group activity.

·          The social world of an adult is primarily patterned by their work activity. 

·         The need for recognition, security and belonging is more important than physical conditions of the work environment.

·         A complaint is commonly a symptom manifesting disturbance of an individual’s current position. An informal group with an organization creates a strong social control over the work habits and attitudes of an individual.

·         Group’s collaboration must be planned and developed, and then cohesion within an organization would be formed thus resisting the disrupting effects of a continuously adaptive society. 

·         The change from an established society in the home to an adaptive society in the work plant resulting from the use of new techniques contributes to the disruption of the social organization of the workplace.

Maslow’s Theory of Human’s Needs of Human’s Needs

Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a theory in psychology that contends, each of us is motivated by needs. Our most basic needs are inborn, having evolved over tens of thousands of years. Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs helps to explain how these needs motivate us all. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs states that we must satisfy each need in turn, starting with the first, which deals with the most obvious needs for survival itself. Only when the lower order needs of physical and emotional well-being are satisfied are we concerned with the higher order needs of influence and personal development.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

                   

Maslow said that needs must be satisfied in the given order. Aims and drive always shift to next higher order needs. Levels 1 to 4 are deficiency motivators; level 5, and by implication 6 to 8, are growth motivators and relatively rarely found. The thwarting of needs is usually a cause of stress, and is particularly so at level 4.Examples he used were: You can't motivate someone to achieve their salestarget (level 4) when they're having problems withtheir marriage (level 3).You can't expect someone to work as a team member (level 3) when they're having their house re-possessed (level 2).

Mc Gregor’s Theory(X Y Theory) (X Y Theory)

In 1960 Douglas McGregor, an American psychologist proposed a book “The Human Side of Enterprise” making contrasting assumptions about the nature of humans in the work place. These assumptions are the basis of Theory X and Theory Y teachings. Generally speaking, Theory X assumes that people are lazy and will avoid work whenever possible. Theory Y, on the other hand, assumes that people are creative and enjoy work.

Theory X and Theory Y

Theory X	Theory Y
·      The average individual dislikes work and will avoid it. ·      Most people must be forced or penalised to get them effectively achieve the organizations goals. ·       The average human has little or no ambition would avoid responsibility but like the security and benefits.	·              The average individual likes to work and it’s a natural activity. ·              A person could be self motivated and is committed to their work.  ·              The average human learns to accept and seek responsibility. ·               Has the capacity to be innovative and creative. ·               The potential of a human under modern industrial life is moderately utilized.

Management Concept using Theory X and Theory Y Theory X and Theory Y 

Mc Gregor’s theory is a useful and simple reminder of the natural rules for managing people and he maintained that there are two fundamental approaches to managing people. Theory X Manager is an authoritarian manager and generally gets poor results. Theory Y Manager is a participative manager which produces better performance and results, and allows people to grow.

Theory of X and Y management:

                       

Comparison & Contrast of Management Theories Management Theories

Theory X	Theory Y
·         Motivation style- Threats and disciplinaryaction are used more effectively in this situation, also monetary gain. ·          Leadership-Authoritarian ·         Power & Authority-Arrogant, one way communicator ·         Conflict-Intolerant ·         Performance Appraisals-Appraisals occur on a regular basis	·      Motivation style-Rewarding ·      Leadership-Participative ·      Power & Authority- The manager would takesuggestions from workers, but would keep the power to implement the decision ·      Conflict-Workers might be given the opportunity to exert" Negotiating" strategies to solve their own differences ·      Performance Appraisals-Promotions also occur on a regular basis.

Modern approach for Present day organization:

            Elements of various perspectives, mostly the humanistic perspective evolved into what is known as the Modern Approach to management.

Modern Approach includes the following three theories and their contributors:

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Open Systems

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Contingency Thinking

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Lessons from the Japanese management style (theory z)

Open Systems

A system is defined as a group of interacting units or elements that have a common purpose. Therefore Open systems refer to systems that interact with other systems or the outside environment. In other words organizations is an entity that takes inputs from the environment, transforms them, and releases the mass outputs in sequence with mutual effects on the organization itself along with the environment in which the organization operates.  Open systems refer to systems that interact with other systems or the outside environment. For example, living organisms are considered open systems because they take in substances from their environment such as food and air and return other substances to their environment. The three major characteristics of open systems are: They receive inputs or energy from their environment. They convert these inputs into outputs. They discharge their outputs into their environment.

Companies use inputs such as labour, funds, equipment, and materials to produce goods or to provide services and they design their subsystems to attain these goals.

Two early pioneers in this effort, Daniel Katz and Robert Kahn, began viewing organizations as open systems with specialized and interdependent subsystems and processes of communication, feedback, and management linking the subsystems. Katz and Kahn argued that the closed-system approach fails to take into account how organizations are reciprocally dependent on external environments. For example, environmental forces such as customers and competitors exert considerable influence on corporations, highlighting the essential relationship between an organization and its environment as well as the importance of maintaining external inputs to achieve a stable organization.

Contingency Perspective

 The contingency approach to management is an extension of the humanistic perspective which is base-don the idea that in an organization there is no one best way in the management process (planning, organizing, leading, and controlling) to successfully resolve any tailored circumstances; because organizations, people,and situations vary and change over time. Thus, the right thing to do depends on a complex variety of critical environmental and internal contingencies.

                              

The contingency approach was suggested by two American academics, Lawrence and Lorsch in 1967. Their important contribution to this approach was as follows: The more dynamic and diverse the environment, the higherthe degree of both differentiation and integration required for successful organization. Less changeable environments require a lesser degree of differentiation but still require a high degree of integration. The more differentiated an organization, the more difficult is to resolve conflict. Where the environment is uncertain, the integrating functions tend to be carried out by middle and low-level managers where the environment is stable; integration tends to be achieved at the top end of the management hierarchy.

Also, Fred Fiedler, in the 1960s and 1970s, was an early pioneer in this area. He identified that various aspects of the situation had an impact on the effectiveness of different leadership styles. For example, Fiedler suggests that the degree to which subordinates like or trust the leader, the degree to which the task is structured, and the formal authority possessed by the leader are key determinants of the leadership situation. Task-oriented or relationship oriented leadership should would each work if they fit the characteristics of the situation.

Japanese Management Style Theory Z 

McGregor identified a negative set of assumptions about human nature, which he called Theory X. He asserted that these assumptions limited the potential for growth of many employees. McGregor presented an alternative set of assumptions that he called Theory Y and were more positive about human nature as it relates to employees. In McGregor's view, managers who adopted Theory Y beliefs would exhibit different, more humanistic, and ultimately more effective management styles and Theory Y became a well-known prescription for improving management practices.

The key features of Japanese industrial organizations:

·         Career paths are non-specialized with life-long job rotation as a central feature of career development.

·         Decision making is shared at all levels.

·         Performance appraisal is long term (ie the first appraisal takes place 10 years after joining the company).

·          There is a strong sense of collective responsibility for the success of the organization. And cooperation effort rather than individual achievement is encouraged

In his view, this requires a new philosophy of managing people based on a combination of the following features of Japanese management: Lifelong employment prospects Shared forms of decision-making Relationship between boss and subordinate based on mutual respect. According to Ouchi the introduction of Theory Z approaches into Western firms requires the following strategy: Adoption of a “Top down” approach, based on definition of the new philosophy agreed and supported by the organization’s top management. Implementation of the new approach should be carried through on the basis of consultation and communication with the workforce and with full training support to develop relevant skills for managers, supervisor and their teams.

Conclusion:

After the great discussion and analysis  on organizational  behavioural we found, While Henri Fayol, and even more so Fredrick Taylor , focused on principles of management, scientific determination of the most efficient work routines and training, and worker compensation and the human relations approach emphasizes behavioural issues such as job satisfaction, group behaviour, and leadership style. The end goal for management stayed the same with the new considerations, i.e. increased productivity; however, the new aspect was that satisfied workers would be more productive compared with workers who felt antagonized by the companies they worked for. McGregor thereby introduced a humanistic approach to the business perspective. He describes in theory Y that the employees should be thought of as ambitious and self-motivated and able to exercise self-control. He emphasized a trust in the employee’s abilities that escaped management thought before McGregor. The theory Y is the best suitable and adjustable approach in modern day organizations.

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