Unit 1(P11): Management Theories: Behavioural perspective

The Behavioral perspective:

• Focused on the human side of an organization.
• Emphasizes individual attitude and behavior and group processes and recognized the importance of behavioral process in the workplace.
• This school of management studied different factors associated with workers efficiency, happiness, and productivity. (It was observed that employees were not happy and satisfied with economic incentive alone).
• There are two findings in this perspective:

1. Behavioral science approach: Interpersonal relations and behavioral patterns of workers.
2. Human relations approach: attention to the importance of the individuals within the organization.

Human Relation approach:

Hugo Munsterberg(German psychologist (1863-1916):

• Contribution made in employee selection and motivation.
• He argued that psychologists could help industry in three major areas: 

1. Finding ways to identify individuals best suited to particular jobs. 
2. Identifying the psychological (the scientific study of mental functions and behaviors.) conditions for optimum efficiency. 
3. Finding ways to influence individual behavior to be congruent with management’s objectives

Elton Mayo: the Hawthorne studies

• The Hawthorne studies were carried out by the Western Electric company at their Hawthorne plant in the 1927-1932. 
• The Hawthorne studies were series of early experiments that focused on behavior in the workplace. In one experiment involving this group of workers, for example, researcher monitored how productivity changes as a result of changes in working conditions. The Hawthorne studies and subsequent experiments lead scientists to the conclusion that the human element is very important in the work place. 

The Relay Assembly Test Room.

• Initially, the study focused on lighting or manipulating illumination for one group of workers and comparing their subsequent productivity with the productivity of another group whose illumination was not changed. When illumination was increased for the experimental group, productivity went up in both groups. Productivity continued to increase in both group, even when the lighting for the experimental group was decreased. Not until the lighting was reduced to the level of moon light did productivity begin to decline. 
• Workers were motivated not with the degree of illumination but rather by their feelings of importance.
• Work hours, wage, incentives did not have independent effect on employee efficiency.
• Change in attitude of employee had significant effects on productivity than working condition.
• Team feeling led to increase in productivity. 

The interviewing Program

• Social groups were formed informally at workplace.
• The groups have strong control over the behavior of their individual members.

Bank wiring Observation Room

• Another experiment established a piece work incentive pay plan for a group. (scientific management)
• They observe the influence of the informal groups on employees’ performance.
• Over a period of time the informal groups develop their codes of behavior, hierarchy of members, and acceptable standard of output. As they approached this acceptable level of output workers slacked off to avoid overproducing.
• All members were following group standards and norms. Social system was found to be emerging in workplace.

Behavioral science approach

Abraham Maslow:

• Develop a theory of motivation that was based on three assumptions about human nature.
• Assumption:
• Human beings have needs that are never completely satisfied. 
• Human behavior is aimed at satisfying the needs that are yet unsatisfied at a given point of time. 
• Needs fit into a somewhat predictable hierarchy ranging from basic, lower level needs to higher level needs: 
• Physiological ,Safety ,Belongingness or social ,Esteem ,Self- actualization 

The Maslow's Pyramid of Human Needs is explained below:-

1. Physiological Needs: Physiological needs are the basic needs for sustaining human life. These needs include food, shelter, clothing, rest, air, water, sleep and sexual satisfaction. These basic human needs (also called biological needs) lie at the lowest level in the hierarchy of needs as they have priority over all other needs. These needs cannot be postponed for long. Unless and until these basic physiological needs are satisfied to the required extent, other needs do not motivate an employee. A hungry person, for example, is just not in a position to think of anything else except his hunger or food. According to Maslow, 'man lives by bread alone,' when there is no bread. The management attempts to meet such physiological needs through fair wages.
2. Security / Safety Needs: These are the needs connected with the psychological fear of loss of job, property, natural calamities or hazards, etc. An employee wants protection from such types of fear. He prefers adequate safety or security in this regard i.e. protection from physical danger, security of job, pension for old age, insurance cover for life, etc. The safety needs come after meeting the physiological needs. Such physiological needs lose their motivational potential when they are satisfied. As a result, safety needs replace them. They begin to manifest themselves and dominate human behavior. Safety needs act as motivational forces only if they are unsatisfied.
3. Social Needs: An employee is a human being is rightly treated as a social animal. He desires to stay in group. He feels that he should belong to one or the other group and the member of the group should accept him with love and affection. Every person desires to be affiliated to such groups. This is treated as basic social need of an individual. He also feels that he should be loved by the other members. He needs friends and interaction with his friends and superiors of the group such as fellow employees or superiors. Social needs occupy third position in the hierarchy of needs.
4. Esteem Needs: This category of needs include the need to be respected by others, need to be appreciated by others, need to have power and finally prestigious position. Once the previous needs are satisfied, a person feels to be held in esteem both by him and also by others. Thus, esteem needs are two fold in nature. Self esteem needs include those for self confidence, self-respect, competence, etc. The second groups of esteem needs are those related to one's status, reputation, recognition and appreciation by others. This is a type of personal ego which needs to be satisfied. The Organization can satisfy this need (ego) by giving recognition to the good work of employees. Esteem needs do not assume the motivational properties unless the previous needs are satisfied.
5. Self-actualization Needs: This is the highest among the needs in the hierarchy of needs advocated by Maslow. Self actualization is the desire to become what one is capable of becoming. It is a 'growth' need. A worker must work efficiently if he is to be ultimately happy. Here, a person feels that he should accomplish something in his fife. He want to utilize his potentials to the maximum extent and desires to become what one is capable of becoming. A person desires to have challenges and achieves something special in his life or in the area of his specialization. Though everyone is capable of self-actualization, many do not reach this stage. This need is rarely fully satisfied.

Criticism of Maslow’s theory:

• Five levels of need are not always present.
• There is no order of five needs which we satisfy one by one as Maslow said.
• What is a deficiency for one is not necessarily a deficiency for another. 

Dauglas McGregor: 

Developed the Theory X and Theory Y dichotomy about the assumptions managers make about workers attitudes and how these assumptions affect behavior.

Theory  x ('authoritarian management' style)

• The average person dislikes work and will avoid it he/she can.
• Therefore most people must be forced with the threat of punishment to work towards organizational objectives.
• The average person prefers to be directed; to avoid responsibility; is relatively unambitious, and wants security above all else

Theory  y ('participative management' style)

• Effort in work is as natural as work and play.
• People will apply self-control and self-direction in the pursuit of organizational objectives, without external control or the threat of punishment.
• Commitment to objectives is a function of rewards associated with their achievement.
• People usually accept and often seek responsibility.
• The capacity to use a high degree of imagination, ingenuity and creativity in solving organizational problems is widely, not narrowly, distributed in the population.

Frederick Herzberg: 

It (also known as Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory and Dual-Factor Theory) states that there are certain factors in the workplace that cause job satisfaction, while a separate set of factors cause dissatisfaction. He discovered two kinds of factors:

• The hygiene factor: 
• e.g. status, job security, salary, fringe benefits, work conditions) that do not give positive satisfaction, though dissatisfaction results from their absence. These are extrinsic to the work itself, and include aspects such as company policies, supervisory practices, or wages/salary)
• The motivator factor: 
• e.g., challenging work, recognition, responsibility) that give positive satisfaction, arising from intrinsic conditions of the job itself, such as recognition, achievement, or personal growth.