MGT Principle and Practies CH 4

CHAPTER FOUR
BEHAVIORAL MANAGEMENT THEORY

The Behavioral Approach
 Human relations movement is concerned with increasing
productivity by ( Kreitner,2007 p. 41):
– making mgrs more sensitive to employee needs, and
– focusing on understanding the human element in an organization
 ie individuals and groups and how they can be effectively and efficiently combined
in a large organization.
– Arose out of the influences of
1. The threat of unionization
2. The philosophy of industrial humanism
3. The Hawthorne studies
2 2
The Human Relations Movement
1. The Threat of Unionization

– The Wagner Act of 1935 legalized union-management collective
bargaining, promoting the growth of unions and union avoidance by
firms.
2. The Hawthorne Studies (1924)
– The study’s results that productivity was strongly affected by workers’
attitudes
– turned management toward the humanistic and realistic viewpoint of the
“social man” model.
3
3. The Philosophy of Industrial Humanism
 Elton Mayo (1880 – 1949)
– The founder of both the human relations and industrial sociology school- Australian
– Emotional factors were more important determinants of productive efficiency than
were physical and logical factors.
 Mary Parker Follett (1868 - 1933)
– Managers should be aware of how complex each employee is and how to motivate
employees to cooperate rather than to simply demand performance from them.
4
The Philosophy of Industrial Humanism
 Douglas McGregor
– Developed Theory X and Theory Y
 Theory X: Management’s traditionally negative
view of employees as unmotivated and unwilling
workers
 Theory Y: The positive view of employees as
energetic, creative, and willing workers
5
6
The Philosophy of Industrial Humanism
 H. Munsterberg (1863 – 1916)
– He argued for the scientific study of human behavior to
identify general patterns and to explain individual
differences.
– He suggested the use of psychological tests to improve
 employee selection,
 the value of learning theory in the development of training
methods, and to
 understand what techniques are most effective for
motivating workers.
– Most of the current knowledge of selection techniques,
employees training, job design and motivation are built
on the work of Munsterberg
7 7
Mary Parker Follet
 Managers should:
– have the desire to get employees to work harder and be aware that
each employee is a complex collection of emotions beliefs and habits
– Recognize the individuals motivation
– Motivate performance rather than simply demanding it.
8 8
The Hawthorne Experiments
 Human relations or behavioral approach was the first major
approach to emphasize informal work relationship and worker
satisfaction.
 The approach emerged from a research project that:
– started as a scientific management study of seeking greater efficiency
through,
– improving the tools and methods of work in this case light.
9 9
The Hawthorne studies
 The Hawthorne studies (1924-1932) had their roots in the
logic of scientific management.
 The initial purpose of these experiments was to study the
effect of physical factors such as:
 illumination,
 rest periods,
 length of working days, and
 the payment schemes up on productivity
 The studies were conducted at the Hawthorne plant of

Western Electric Company in Illinois, USA.
 The Hawthorne studies consist of four major experiments.
1. Illumination Experiments
• The intention of this experiment was to learn if
there was any correlation between intensity of light
and productivity.
• To this effect two groups of women were taken:
 the experiment group - one subjected to variety in the
intensity of light and
 the other a controlled group which was exposed to
constant illumination intensity.
• After seeing this puzzle researchers concluded that
illumination has little or no effect on productivity.
2. Relay Assembly Test Room Experiment
• In the relay assembly test room experiment, Mayo and his
associates placed two groups of six women (five assemblers and a
layout operator) with an observer
• They were instructed to keep working at the regular pace.
• Researchers allowed the groups to choose their own rest periods
(were allowed to leave their work station without permission) and to
have a say in other suggested changes.
• A number of variables were tried: salaries, coffee breaks (rest
periods), refreshments, workday and workweek, temperature, and
noise.
• In one room job conditions were varied and in the other they were
not.
• Output went up in both the test room and controlled room regardless
• However, when these changes were later terminated and original
conditions reestablished, output still remained high
 indicating that the change in conditions was not the only reason for the
increase in output.
• Mayo and his associates concluded that such physical changes
have no significant effect on productivity
• Supervisory management was the major reason for the increase in
productivity in the relay assembly test room study.
3. The Massive Interviewing Program
• After the first two phases, the researchers concluded that their
attempt to relate physical conditions of the job to productivity did
not produce any significant results.
• So they postulated that the human element in the work
environment apparently had a significantly greater impact on
 Over 20,000 interviews were conducted in the third phase of the
studies.
 The interviews begun by asking employees direct questions about
supervision and the work environment in general.
 The researchers realized that an individual's work performance,
position and status in the organization were determined not by
that person alone but also by the group members.
 Peers had an effect on individual performance.
 In order to study this more systematically, the research entered its
fourth and final phase
4. The Bank Wiring Observation Room Study
 Nine males who assembled terminal banks for telephone
exchanges were selected.
• This experiment focused on the effect of a group piecework
incentive pay.
• The assumption was that the workers would seek their own
economic interests by maximizing their productivity and that faster
workers would pressure the slower ones to improve their efficiency.
• However, the researchers found that pressure was actually a form
of social behavior.
• In order to be accepted in the work group, the worker had to act in
accordance with group norms and be a "rate buster" by
overproducing or a "chiseler" by under producing.
• The researchers concluded that the work group set the fair rates for
each of its members.
• They found no relationship between productivity and intelligence,
dexterity, and other skills.
Discoveries of Mayo
 The amount of work carried out by a worker is
not determined by his or her physical capacity,
but by his or her social capacity.
 Non-economic rewards play a central role in
determining the motivation and happiness of
the worker.
 The highest specialization is by no means the
most efficient form of division of labor.
 Workers do not react to management its norms
and rewards as individuals, but as groups.
16 16
Mayo’s Conclusions
 Behavior and sentiments were closely related,

 group influence significantly affected individual behaviors,
 group standards established individual worker output, and
 money was less, a factor in determining output than group
standards, group sentiments
17 17
Contributions of Hawthorne Studies
 Placed a concern for people into the main stream of mgmt

thought.
 Recognition that the
– Feelings, attitudes, background, need & social relationships of people
are crucial to effective mgmt and
– That efficiency and productivity in business require a better utilization of
human resources.
18 18
Contributions of Hawthorne Studies
 Called for a new mix of managerial skills, namely:
– Diagnostic skills
 understanding new behavior
– Interpersonal skills
 counseling, motivating, leading and communication
– Technical skills
19 19
Criticisms of The Hawthorne Studies
 Methodology & failure of investigates to sufficient account of

environmental factors.
 Major flaws in the study included changing several factors at the
same time.
20 20
Lessons from the Behavioral
Approach
 People are the key to productivity.
 Success depends on motivated and skilled
individuals committed to the organization.
 Managerial sensitivity to employees is
necessary to foster the cooperation needed for
high productivity.
21 21
The Human Relations Movement
 emphasized the role of communication, participation and
leadership
 assumed that the most satisfying organization would be
the most efficient
 pointed out that workers would not be happy in
– cold, formal, rational orgs that only satisfied their economic
needs.
– Happy employees would be cooperative and thus increase
organization efficiency
 It pointed to a perfect balance between the
organization’s goals and the workers needs
22 22
Thank You
For Your
Attention!
23

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CHAPTER FOUR

BEHAVIORAL MANAGEMENT THEORY

1. The Threat of Unionization

 The studies were conducted at the Hawthorne plant of

 Behavior and sentiments were closely related,

 Placed a concern for people into the main stream of mgmt

 Methodology & failure of investigates to sufficient account of

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