Page 1 of 6 SCHOOLS OF MANAGEMENT THOUGHT Behavioural School ‘The classical schools of management thought — the scientific management school and the organizational school ~ viewed the organization from a mechanistic point of view. Herbert Simon’s Theory: Economic Man ~ Full Rationality "| Administrative Man — Bounded Rationality 1. Administrative man satisfies — looks for a course of action that is satisfactory or “good enough”. 2. Administrative man recognizes that the world he perceives Is a drastically simplified model of the buzzing, blooming confusion that constitutes the real world. 3. Knowledge of consequences is always fragmentary. Since these consequences lie in the future, imagination must supply the lack of experienced feeling. 4. In Actual behaviour only a very few of all | possible alternatives ever come to mind. | 1. Economic man maximizes — selects the best alternative from among all those available to him. 2. Economic man deals with the “real world” in all its complexity. (He is rational.) 3. Rationality requires a complete knowlecige and anticipation of the consequences that will follow on each choice. 4, Rationality requires a choice among all | possible alternative behaviours, Resolution in Favour of Satisfying, Administrative Man 1. It is impossible for the behaviour of a single, isclated individual to reach any high degree of rationality. The number of alternatives he must explore is so great, the information he would need to evaluate them so vast that even an approximation to objective: rationality is hard to conceive. 2. Administrative man is able to make his decisions with relatively simple rules of thumb that do not make impossible demands upon his capacity for thought...... He makes his choices using a simple picture of the situation that takes into account just a few of the factors that he regards as most relevant and crucial, Economic Man and Administrative Man: The Line of Argument (Source: Simon, 1957)Page 2 of 6 Emphasis was placed on the design and performance of work and the process of the management functions, but there was little understanding of the behaviour of the individuals involved. The school of behavioural management theory evolved in recognition of the importance of human behaviour in organizations. The Major contributors were Owen, Munsterberg, Mayo, Follett, Maslow, McGregor, and Argyris. o ROBERT OWEN Robert Owen (1771-1858) was a British industrialist who was the first to speak out on behalf of the organization's human resources. He criticized industrialists who spent huge sums of money repairing and fine-tuning their production machines, but did little to improve the lot of their “human machines” (Wren, 1987). a HUGO MUNSTERBERG Hugo Munsterberg (1863 — 1916) developed a psychology laboratory at Harvard University where he studied the application of psychology to the organizational setting. His concern for the human side of business led his peers to consider him to be the father of industrial psychology. He successfully documented the psychological conditions associated with varying levels of work productivity, and he instructed managers on ways to match workers with jobs and also how to motivate them (Munsterberg, 1913). a ELTON MAYO AND THE HAWTHORNE STUDIES Elton Mayo, a Harvard consultant, and his associates conducted a series of studies at the Hawthome plant of Western Electric. Originally, the research was an application of Taylor's management science techniques designed to improve production efficiency. The first study involved the manipulation of illumination for one group of workers and comparing their output with that of another group whose illumination was held constant, To the amazement of Mayo and his colleagues, when the illumination was increased for the test group, production went up in both groups, Furthermore, productivity continued to increase for both groups, even when the illumination was decreased for the test group. Eventually, Mayo and his associates concluded that a new “social setting” created by their tests had accounted for the increase in productivity. Their finding Is now known as the Hawthome Effect of the tendency for people, who are singled out for special attention, to improve their performance. In subsequent tests at Western Electric, Mayo found that the same work factors (such as working conditions, pay etc.) can be sources of satisfaction for some workers and dissatisfaction for other workers. Workers were found to restrict their output in order to avoid the displeasure of the group, even at the sacrifice of incentive pay. Thus, the Hawthorne studies were a milestone in establishing the framework for further studies into the field of organizational behaviour.Page 3 of 6 ca MARY PARKER FOLLETT Mary Parker Follett’s (1868 - 1933) contribution towards the understanding of groups is of immense value. She believed that groups were the mechanisms through which people could combine their differing talents for the greater good of the organization, which she defined as the “community” in which managers and subordinates could work in harmony. She was convinced that the traditional and artificial distinction between the managers who give the orders and the workers who take the orders obscured their natural partnership. The Follett Behavioural Model of Control, depicts control being sponsored by and oriented towards the group, while self-control exercised by both individuals and the group ultimately result in both sharing the power. In the Follett Holistic Model of Control, Follett captured the interactive, integrative nature of self-control groups being influenced by the forces within the work environment (Parker, 1984), a ABRAHAM MASLOW ‘Abraham Maslow, a psychologist, proposed that man was a wanting animal whose behaviour was calculated to serve his most pressing needs. A need can be described as a physiological or psychological deficiency that a person is motivated to satisfy. Maslow further proposed that man’s need could be placed in a hierarchy of Needs, ranging from physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization needs. Se Self Control; '= Power-sharing Control; = Group Control ‘The Follett Behavioural Model of Control (Source: Parker, 1984, p 742)Page 4 of 6 E E + oo SY E E E ‘S = Self Control; I = Interactive/Integrative Control; E = Environment: ‘The Fallett Halistic Model of Control (Source: Parker, 1984, p 743) SELFACTUALIZATION NEEDS Highest need lave: need to fulfil ones sel; to grow and use abies to fullest and most ‘creative exter. STEM NEEDS {teed for esteer of other; respect, prestig, recognition, need fer sel-esteom, personal sense of comoetence, mastery SOCIAL NEEDS: ‘Neel for lov, affection, senza of elongingness in ene'srlaNonships with ether persons | SAFETY NEEDS : Iieed for security, protection and stably ft the paylea and interpersonal events of | day-to-day ie PHYSIOLOGICAL NEEDS ‘Moet bave ofall homan needs; need fr biological maletenance; food, water, ee. Maslow's Hierarchy of Human Needs, (Source: Schermerhorn, 1989, p 49)Page 5 of 6 Maslow’s theory Is operationalized through two principles. First, the deficit principle holds that a relatively well-satisfied need is not a strong motivator of behaviour. Second, the progression principle holds that, once a need is fairly-well satisfied, behaviour is dominated by the next level in the need hierarchy. Theoretically, the physiological need is the prime motivator of behaviour until it is fairly-well satisfied, and then the next order of need, the safety need, becomes the primary motivator, and so on. a DOUGLAS McGREGOR Douglas McGregor (1906 ~ 1964) was so influenced by the Hawthorne studies and the work of Maslow that he wrote The Human Side of Enterprise, in which he urged managers to pay more attention to the social, esteem, and self-actualization needs of employees. In doing so, McGregor argued that managers should shift their traditional views of man and work (which he termed Theory X) to a new humane views of man and work (which he termed Theory Y). According to McGregor, Theory X attitudes, that man was lazy and work was bad were both pessimistic and counterproductive. On the other hand, the Theory Y view that man wanted to work and work was good should become the standard for humanizing the workplace. ‘Theory X Assumptions 1, People do not like work and try to avokt it. 2. People do not like work, so managers have to control, direct, coerce, ancl threaten employees to get them to work towards organizational goals. 3. People prefer to be directed, to avoid responsibilty, to want security; they have little ambition, ‘Theory Y Assumptions 1, People do nat nationally dislike work; work is @ natural part of their lives. 2, People are internally motivated to reach objectives to which they are committed. 3, People are committed to goals to the degree that they receive personal rewards when they reach their objectives. 4. People will both seek and accept responsibilty under favourable conditions, 5. People have the capacity to be innovative in solving ‘organizational problems. 6. People are bright, but under most organizational conditions ‘their potentials are underutilized. ‘Theory X and Theory ¥ (Source: McGregor, 1960) o CHRIS ARGYRIS Chris Argyris conducted research into personality and organizational life factors and developed the theory that both traditional management practices and organizational structures are inconsistent with the growth and development of the matured personality. Further, he arguedPage 6 of 6 that the continuing incongruence between one’s work enviranment and one’s personality will result in conflict, frustration, and failure (Argyris, 1957). Contributions and Limitation of the Behavioural Schoo! The behavioural school of management thought stressed the social, esteem, and self- actualizing needs of workers, improving on the classical approaches that considered productivity to be simply a problem of engineering and technology. At the Hawthorne plant, Mayo gave real meaning to Robert Owen’s earlier concern for the value of the “human machines” of business. The behaviouralists focused attention on the “human side of enterprise,” providing new insights into the motivation and interpersonal relationships of the workplace. The behavioural school opened the door to the academic field of organizational behaviour and its application to the world of business, However, most of the early behavioural theories tended to be overly simplistic and did not really capture the great complexity of human behaviour and organizational dynamics. Too many of the behavioural theories have not been exposed to appropriate research and application in real-work environments, Even the research that has been conducted has found inconclusive evidence of the relationships between motivation, performance, and job satisfaction (Mirvis and Lawler, 1977; Muchinsky, 1983). Quantitative School The shift to an information society has brought about a revolutionary change in the application of technology to the concept of work. From this movement came the quantitative school of management thought, which finds its foundation in decision theory, the application of statistics in decision-making, and the evolution of mathernatical/econometric models that are nurtured by computer technology. This approach is based on the assumption that mathematical techniques can help the manager in the solution of problems. Overall the quantitative management school |s characterized by: 1. Primary Focus on Decision Making The end result of problem analysis will include direct implications for managerial action, 2. Based on Economic Decision Theory Final actions are chosen on such criteria as costs, revenues, and rates of return on investment. 3. Use of Formal Mathematical Models Possible solutions to problems are specified as mathematical equations and then analyzed according to mathematical rules and formulas. 4, Frequent Use of Computers Heavy reliance is placed on computers and their advanced processing capabilities (Schermerhorn, 1989). ‘The quantitative approach has found favour through three major applications management science, operations management, and management information systems. Prepared by Prof, Saba Chatterjee exclusively for classroom discussions