5 Behavioural Schools of Management

Suresh Kumar Turka

Introduction

Classical school of management was concern for high production and efficiency which considered being the most important to an organization success at the initial stage. After that the good  working  conditions,  motivation  and  satisfaction  formed  the  foundation  for  behavioral management theory. Behavioral school of management relies on the concept that managers will better understand the human aspect to workers and treat employees as important assets to achieve goals of the organisation. Management taking a special interest in workers makes them feel like part of a special group. As time went on, thinking shifted, and management started looking at employee satisfaction and working conditions as a way to increase productivity. Theorists like Elton Mayo, Abraham Maslow, Douglas McGregor, Herzberg and others studied employee productivity under different conditions to determine a connection.

Behavioural Theory of Management

The Behaviour Science approach to management laid more stress on the application of the methods and findings of general social psychology and sociology for understanding the organizational behaviour. Behaviour Science Movement is regarded as a further refinement of human relations movement. With its major emphasis on human relations, informal groups, communication, employee motivation and leadership styles, the behaviour approach to management has drawn attention to a wide range of socio-psychological phenomena like the dynamics of organizational behaviour, group dynamics, organizational conflict, change and techniques of organizational development.This approach is, therefore, also known as “Human Relations Approach” or “Behavioural Science Approach”.

   Features of Behavioral Theory of Management

1. Motivation: – Behavioural theory of management considers the different motivational factors which lead to high productivity and high morale.

2. Social System: –It is based on social system of organisationand includes different role of employees as well as the role of informal groups in the organisation.

3. Leadership: – Behavioural theory explains the role of personal leadership in management and studies the human relations and the relationship between the leader and workers. It also involves the study of successful and unsuccessful managerial behaviour.

4. Communication: – It includes the study of factors relating to the persons and organisation which helps in communication channels.

5. Employee Development: – It is concerned with the continued upgrading of employee skills and managerial skills.

Elton Mayo’s Hawthorne Studies

   Elton Mayo was born in Australia in 1880. He became a lecturer at the University of Queensland and worked there from 1911 to 1923 and the University of Pennsylvania and then became a professor of Industrial Research at Harvard University from 1926 to 1949. He is best known for his work on the Hawthorne Studies and is considered one of the fathers of the human relations movement. Elton Mayo started his work at Hawthorne in 1924. At the Hawthorne plant of Western Electric, he discovered that job satisfaction increased through employee participation in decisions rather than through short-term incentives. Although Elton Mayo and his team conducted the Hawthorne Experiments over a number of years, it is his work with 6 women workers in the relay assembly room that made his name. Throughout the series of experiments, one of Mayo’s team sat with the girls as they worked, noting everything they did, keeping them up-to-date with the experiment, asking for clarification, and listening to their views. The experiment began by introducing carefully controlled changes, each of which was continued for a test period of 4 to 12 weeks. The results of the experiment are discussed below:

1. Social Factors: –At Hawthorne studies Elton Mayo described that organization is a ‘social system’ and social norms at work play an important role in motivating people. Mayo stated that main cause of changes in productivity study is the restructuring of social relationships.

2. Informal Groups are important: –Elton Mayo stated that informal groups have a favourable impact on productivity and attitude of the workers and influence the work performance.Informal groups may help to overcome the limitations of the formal group.

3. Leadership: –Leadership is veryimportant in each and every organisation to achieve the desired results. Informal leaders are more acceptable in an organisation because they have more influence on the behaviour of the subordinates as, they associate themselves with the social problems of the workers and able to get the cooperation from them.

4. Communication:- During decision making workers participation is must and the logic behind every decision should explained and communicate to the workers. This will not only help to brought much better results but also useful to understand the attitude of the workers and give them due recognition.

5. Balanced Approach: –The management must take into account every aspect of the problems of the workers. All the problems should be discussed and decisions should be taken for improving these problems/limitations. Experiments showed that a balanced approach should be taken to manage the situation.

Mayo’s Contribution to Management Thought

Mayo was the first person to advocate for the understanding of workers problems in the context of growth of science and technology. He wanted the management to understand the problems of workers and make efforts to improve them.

1. Human Relations Approach: –Mayo stated that human beings are the most important factor in organisation and influence its performance. So, social and psychological needs of human beings cannot be ignored. He is rightly called the father of human relations movement. His ideas were a milestone and a turning point in human relations approach of the management.

2. Non Economic Awards: –Elton Mayocriticized the traditional assumption that workers will work more if more monetary incentives are provided to them. He said that the techniques of monetary incentives were unrealistic and respectful treatment, sense of participation and belonging, recognition, morale, human pride and social interaction are sometimes more important than monetary incentives.

3. Social System: –Mayo was of the opinion that informal relationships in the organization are more effective than formal relationships. People form informal groups learnt a lot of things and implement these into the organisation. He explained that besides logic and facts people are also guided by sentiments and feelings. The main conclusion of Hawthorne experiments was that the prevailing view of that time people went to work purely for money and a living was deeply imperfect. It was first and foremost a group activity in which other people and their behaviour, be they colleagues, managers or observers, affected how well people worked. People’s morale and productivity were affected not so much by the conditions in which they worked but by the recognition they received. The rises in productivity in the Relay Assembly Room were achieved under the interested eye of the observers not because the conditions made the workers feel good but because the workers felt valued. Hawthorne’s experiments were criticized for lack of scientific and dynamic research. The experiments were too narrow to warrant generalizations. Despite these observations Mayo’s work was a turning point in the development of management thought.

Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory of Motivation

   Abraham Maslow is well renowned for proposing the Hierarchy of Needs Theory in 1943. This theory is a classical representation of human motivation. This theory is based on the assumption that there is a hierarchy of five needs within each individual. The urgency of these needs varies. According to Maslow, individuals are motivated by unsatisfied needs. As each of these needs is significantly satisfied, it drives and forces the next need to emerge. Maslow grouped the five needs into two categories – higher order needs and lower-order needs. The physiological and the safety needs constituted the lower-order needs. These lower-order needs are mainly satisfied externally. The social, esteem, and self-actualization needs constituted the higher-order needs. These higher-order needs are generally satisfied internally, i.e., within an individual. Thus, it may be said that during boom period, the employees lower-order needs are significantly met.

    Abraham Maslow’s motivation theory is based on the human needs. These needs are classified into a sequential hierarchy from the lower to higher order.

1. Physiological Needs: –These needs are of the lowest-order and most basic needs of human beings. Physiological needs involve food, air, water, cloth, and shelter. These needs put remarkable influence on human behaviour because one has to meet his physiological needs for survival. So, people are motivated to work in the enterprise to have economic rewards to meet their basic needs.

2. Safety and Security Needs: –Whena person met his physiological needs thenhe looks for the safety and security needs. Safety and security needs involve the need for a secure environment, which is free from threats of physical and psychological harm. These needs find expression in such desires as economic security and protection from physical dangers.

3. Social Needs: –Man is social animal. These needs, therefore, refer to belongingness or affiliation. All individuals want to be recognized and accepted in the society.

4. Esteem Needs: –These needs are related to self-esteem and self-respect. These include such needs that indicate self-confidence, achievement, competence, knowledge, and independence. In case of entrepreneurs, the ownership and self- control over enterprise satisfies their esteem needs by providing them status, respect, reputation, and independence.

5. Self-Actualization: –The final step under the need hierarchy model is the need for self-actualization. This refers to self- fulfillment. The term ‘self- actualization’ means to become actualized in what one is potentially good. An entrepreneur may achieve self-actualization in being a successful entrepreneur.

    In Maslow’s above need hierarchy theory, human needs are arranged in a lowest to the highest order. The second need does not dominate unless the first is reasonably satisfied and the third need does not dominate until the first two needs have been reasonably satisfied. This process goes on till the last need. This is because man is never satisfied. If one need is satisfied, another need arises. Once a need is satisfied, it ceases to be a motivating factor.

Herzberg’s Motivation Hygiene Theory

 

    The psychologist Frederick Herzberg extended the work of Maslow and proposed a new motivation theory which is known as Herzberg’s Motivation Hygiene (Two-Factor) Theory. The two-factor theory is based on the assumption that there are two sets of factors that influence motivation in the workplace. The first of the two are called hygiene factors. Herzberg used the term ‘hygiene’ to describe factors that cause dissatisfaction in the workplace.

  • Compensation
  • Job Security
  • Organizational Policies
  • Working Conditions
  • Leadership Quality
  • Supervisors and Subordinates Relationship

    According to Herzberg, these factors do not motivate employees. However, when they are missing or inadequate, hygiene factors can cause serious dissatisfaction. Hygiene factors are all about making an employee feel comfortable, secure, and happy. The second factor is motivators or satisfiers. These are related to employee motivation and arise from inherent, dependent, conditions of the job itself. Factors for satisfaction include:

  • Responsibility
  • Job Satisfaction
  • Recognition
  • Achievement
  • Growth Opportunities
  • Advancement

   The Two-Factor theory implies that the managers must stress upon guaranteeing the adequacy of the hygiene factors to avoid employee dissatisfaction. Also, the managers must make sure that the work is stimulating and rewarding so that the employees are motivated to work and perform harder and better. This theory emphasize upon job-enrichment so as to motivate the employees. The job must utilize the employee’s skills and competencies to the maximum. Focusing on the motivational factors can improve work-quality. Hygiene theory criticized those peoples who generally tend to take credit themselves when things go well. They blame failure on the external environment. The theory basically explains job satisfaction, not motivation. Even job satisfaction is not measured on an overall basis. This theory stated that situational variables are not enough to motivate an individual. In fact, there is a great similarity between Maslow’s and Herzberg’s models of motivation. A close examination of Herzberg’s model indicates that for those employees who have achieved a level of social and economic progress in the society, higher level needs which include esteem and self actualization needs of Maslow’s model are the primary motivators. However, they still must satisfy the lower level needs for the maintenance of the current state. So we can say that money might still be a chief motivator for most of the operative employees and also for some low paid managerial people. Herzberg’s model draws a distinction between the two groups of factors, namely, motivational and maintenance, and points out that the motivational factors are often derived from the job itself. Most of the maintenance factors come under comparatively lower order needs and motivational factors are somewhat equivalent to higher order needs. Both models assume that specific needs energize behavior.

McGregor’s Participation Theory

   Douglas Murray McGregorwas a management professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management and president of Antioch College from 1948 to 1954. He also worked at the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta. In 1960 he wrote a famous book “The Human Side of Enterprise”. Douglas McGregor is a contemporary of Abraham Maslow. Likewise, he also contributed much to the development of the management and motivational theory. He is best known for his Theory X and Theory Y explained in the book ‘The Human Side of Enterprise’. He explained the various assumptions of the managers about the human behaviourand that how the superior manages their subordinates. McGregor identified an approach of creating an environment within which employees are motivated via authoritative, direction and control or integration and self-control, which he called theory X and theory Y.

Theory X

   Theory X assumes that employees are naturally unmotivated and dislike working, and this encourages an authoritarian style of management. According to this view, management must actively intervene to get things done. This style of management assumes that workers:

  • Dislike working.
  • Avoid responsibility and need to be directed.
  • Have to be controlled, forced, and threatened to deliver what’s needed.
  • Supervised at every step, with controls put in place.
  • Need to be control to produce results;
  • They have no ambition or incentive to work.

X-Type organizations required many managers and supervisors to control workers. There is little delegation of authority and control remains firmly centralized.McGregor recognized that X-Type workers are in fact usually the minority, and yet in mass organizations, such as large scale production environment, X Theory management may be required and can be unavoidable.

Theory Y

    This theory explains a participative style of management that is de-centralized. It assumes that employees are happy to work, are self-motivated and creative, and enjoy working with greater responsibility. It assumes that workers:

  • Take responsibility and are motivated to fulfill the goals they are given.
  • Seek and accept responsibility and do not need much direction.
  • Consider work as a natural part of life and solve work problems.

   Theory X represents the traditional and narrow view of human nature while Theory Y represents a modern and dynamic nature of workers. An organization designed on the basis of Theory Y will assume decentralization, participation of leadership and two-way communication. Theory X and the Theory Y represent two extremes. No person can belong to these two extreme situations. Each person possesses the traits of Theory X and theory Y, though the degrees may be different under different situations. Though, no generalizations can be made, still it appears that theory X is more applicable to unskilled and uneducated lower class workers who work for the satisfaction of their physiological needs only. Theory Y appears to be applicable to the educated, skilled and professional employees who understand their responsibilities and do not need any direction and control. However, there can be exceptions. A lower level employee may be more responsible and mature than a well qualified high level employee. Still these theories are very important tools in understanding the behaviour of human being and in designing the motivational schemes. The management should use a combination of both the theories to motivate different employees.

Conclusion

   Behavioural management thoughts were developed in response to know about the employee behaviour and motivation. These thoughts moved the management from a production orientation style to a leadership style and consider the workers’ human need for work-related satisfaction and good working conditions. Hawthorne experiments were first and foremost group activity in which other people and their behaviour, be, they colleagues, managers or observers, affected how well people worked. People’s morale and productivity were affected not so much by the conditions in which they worked but by the recognition they received. Through need hierarchy theory Maslow, arranged the human needs in a lowest to the highest order. The second need does not dominate unless the first is reasonably satisfied and the third need does not dominate until the first two needs have been reasonably satisfied. This process goes on till the last need. The Two-Factor theory implies that the managers must stress upon guaranteeing the adequacy of the hygiene factors to avoid employee dissatisfaction. Also, the managers must make sure that the work is stimulating and rewarding so that the employees are motivated to work and perform harder and better. Theory X represents the traditional and narrow view of human nature while Theory Y represents a modern and dynamic nature of workers. An organization designed on the basis of Theory Y will assume decentralization, participation of leadership and two-way communication. So, all the behavioural school of management thoughts considered the social and welfare aspects of employees which further increase the satisfaction and motivation among them.

 

References:

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