Human relations theories

• These arose as a result of the need to counter

problems that were cited in the classical
management theories.
• They looked at the human side of production.
• They believed that the thrust in production of
goods and services should not be on the
economic benefit side alone but must also
look at human relations.
 Human relations cont…
• They consider participation of workers in
problem solving, decision making and other
initiatives crucial in motivating the worker and
increasing production.
 Human relations cont…
• Human relations theories are associated with
motivation which refers to the forces either
within or external to an individual that arouse
enthusiasm and commitment to purse a
certain course of action.
 Douglas McGregor
• Douglas McGregor’s work was concerned with
discovering the way in which employees
relate to the work environment and how they
are treated by their superiors.
• He produced 2 theories which he called
theory X and theory Y.
 Theory X Assumptions
• This view is associated with the classical view.
• Managers assume that workers are lazy and
dislike work.
• It states that although workers may view work
as a necessity they will try to avoid it
whenever possible.
 Theory X Assumptions cont…
• This means that most workers prefer to be
coerced, controlled, directed and threatened
with punishment to get them to put adequate
effort towards the achievement of
organizational objectives.
 Theory Y assumptions
• It assumes that work is as natural as play or
rest.
• Workers want to work and can derive
satisfaction from working.
• In this view, subordinates are seen as having
the capacity to accept work, seek
responsibility and apply imagination and
creativity for organizational problems.
 Theory Y assumptions cont…
Theory Y encourages the following:
• Delegation of authority for decision making to
lower level workers.
• Attempt to make workers’ jobs less routine
and boring
• Increase the level of responsibly in each
worker’s job
 Theory Y assumptions cont…
• Improve free flow of information and
communication with the organization
• Recognize that people are motivated by a
complex set of psychological needs not just
money.
 Herzberg’s two factor theory
• In his research, Herzberg asked people to
describe in detail situations when they felt
exceptionally good and when they felt bad
about their jobs.
• From the responses, he concluded that when
people felt good about their jobs, they would
have cited intrinsic factors and when they felt
bad they would have cited extrinsic factors.
 Herzberg’s two factor theory cont…

• He established that there were 2 sets of

factors at work; one set which caused job
satisfaction (motivators) and one set which
caused job dissatisfaction (hygiene factors)
 Motivators
These have a positive effect on job satisfaction,
they lead to higher job moral and these are
related to the job content and what
individuals actually do such as:
• Personal growth through work
• Advancement resulting from individual
performance
• Recognition for achievement
• Responsibility
 Hygiene factors
• These control or reduce dissatisfaction.
• They reduce the likelihood of problems and
prevent trouble.
• These however do not necessarily enhance
performance or mean that workers are satisfied.
• If these factors are adequately provided,
people will not be dissatisfied but they will
not be satisfied either.
 Hygiene factors cont…

Hygienic factors relate to the working

environment which includes:
• Company policies
• Nature of supervision
• Salary structures
• Physical surroundings
• Interpersonal relations
• Security at work
 Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
• He described a hierarchy of needs applicable
to every human being.
• A man is a wanting animal, as soon as one of
his needs is satisfied another appears.
• Man’s needs are organized in order of
importance.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs cont…

Self
Actualization
Esteem/Ego
Social needs
Security/Safety

Physiological needs
 Physiological needs

• These are the basic needs for survival.

• A person needs them to live and without
them, there is no life.
• Examples are warmth/shelter, water, clothing,
air/ventilation, sex, etc.
 Application
• As managers, provide your subordinates with
enough time to eat, well ventilated buildings
with heating and lighting, give them time off
to be with their loved ones, provide them with
clean water, subsidised food, eat now and pay
later schemes.
 Security/safety needs
• These are needs that make an individual feel
secure or safe in an environment that he lives
or works in.
• In a working environment this include job
security and protective clothing.
 Application
Ensure the following in your employees;
• Contract signing,
• warning signs
• rehabilitation for those injured and remain in
service.
• Training / staff development
• Medical Aid
• Protective clothing provision,
 Application cont…
• Provide institutional housing or loans to build
houses or rent them accommodation.
• Organizations to provide security personnel to
safeguard property.
• Employ cleaners for safe environment.
 Social needs
• It is very important for Managers to
understand society. They must have an idea
of how people are socialised, people’s beliefs,
cultures…
• Understanding a person’s social needs will
inspire a person to work and produce results.
 Social needs
• Some people have certain social activities
(religious or cultural) that they value so much
that if these needs are not attended to, they
have an effect on their work performance.
 Application
• Provide recreational facilities for example,
sports, canteens, clubs
• Provide transport for sporting activities eg
inter-university competitions
• Annual party celebrations
 Application cont…
• Give room for employees to have prayers
during break times
• Encourage people to go on annual leave so
that they have enough time with their families
and come back refreshed.
• paying for employees’ children’s school fees
 Application
• Sending your subordinates for staff
Development training courses
• Loan facilities to buy big assets
• Clothing allowance to maintain organizational
image
• Membership to social clubs
• Long service awards, best worker with
monetary value
 Ego/Esteem needs
• This is an individual assessment in terms of
value.
• When a person is valued more than the others
in the group that person feels inspired to
work.
 Application
• Improved working environment with modern
facilities and furniture
• Holiday packages including transport for
family shopping
• Furniture houses
• Provide cellphones, airtime
• Provide security personnel at home
• promotions
 Self Actualization

• This is a situation whereby one feels that s/he

has done the best, has reached the climax of
all his needs in life or in a working
environment.
• Self actualization is subjective. The way we
feel that we have achieved the best/most is
different.
 Application
• Assist employees to achieve the best to reach
as far as they can.
• Promote the promotable
• Fund those who want to develop academically
or who are innovative
• Career development plans to enable
employees to reach their potential
 Implications of the human relations
approach
• There should be decentralization of
responsibilities.
• Heads of department and subordinate should
be given more responsibilities to make
decisions affecting their departments and
sections.
• Teams should substitute boss/subordinate
spirit.
 Implications of the human relations
approach cont...
• Workers should be provided with
opportunities to enhance their personal
growth and development.
• There should be a real concern for the needs
of the workers.
 The contingency approach to
management
• This is a critic of the classical management and
human relations approaches.
• It assumes that there is no universal way of
managing organizations because
organizations, people, and situations vary and
change over time.
 The contingency approach to
management cont…
• Management functions must be tailored to
suit specific situations.
• The theory advocates that both classical
management and Human relations models
should be used selectively and appropriately
depending with the situation at hand.
 The contingency approach to
management cont…
• The model calls for a thorough understanding
of the situation surrounding the worker and
the job s/he is doing within a given situation.
• Effective management according to this
theory means understanding the working
situation, the job itself and the workers
themselves.
 The Systems Approach
• A system is a set of interrelated and inter-
dependent parts arranged in a manner that
produce a unified role.
• An organization functions as a system with
structures and organs.
• The structures comprise of divisions,
departments and sections.
 The Systems Approach cont…
• If a sub-system malfunctions, it disturbs the
whole system
• There must be synergy in all the sub-systems
for the organization to work well.
 Four major concepts underlie the
systems approach:
• Specialization: A system is divided into smaller
components allowing more specialized
concentration on each component.
• Grouping: To avoid generating greater
complexity with increasing specialization, it
becomes necessary to group related
disciplines or sub-disciplines together.
 Cont…
• Coordination: As the components and sub-
components of a system are grouped, it is
necessary to coordinate the interactions
among groups.
• Emergent properties: Dividing a system into
subsystems, requires recognizing and
understanding why the system as a whole is
greater than the sum of its parts. 
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