Management and Organisational Behaviour
7th Edition
CHAPTER 3
Approaches to Organisation and
Management
Mullins: Management and Organisational Behaviour, 7th edition © Pearson Education Limited 2005
OHT 3.2
The importance of management theory
• What leading writers say is an important part of the
study of management
• The relationships between the development of theory,
behaviour in organisations & management practice are
explored
• Knowledge of the development of management thinking
helps in understanding the principles that underlie the
process of management
• Knowledge of history helps in understanding the nature
of management and OB
• Many earlier ideas are of continuing importance
Mullins: Management and Organisational Behaviour, 7th edition © Pearson Education Limited 2005
OHT 3.3
Figure 3.1
Main approaches to organisation, structure, &
management
Mullins: Management and Organisational Behaviour, 7th edition © Pearson Education Limited 2005
OHT 3.4
Classical approach to management
• Classical writers thought of organisations in terms of
purpose & formal structure
• Emphasis was placed on the planning of work,
technical requirements of the organisation, principles of
management, and the assumption of rational and
logical behaviour
• A clear understanding of the purpose of the
organisation was essential to understand how the
organisation works and how its working methods can
be improved
Mullins: Management and Organisational Behaviour, 7th edition © Pearson Education Limited 2005
OHT 3.5
Common principles to the classical approach to
management
• Principle of coordination – the need for people to act
together with unity of action, and need for discipline
• The scalar principle – the hierarchy of organisation,
the grading of duties and process of delegation
• Functional principle – specialisation & distinction
between different kinds of duties
Mooney & Reiley
Mullins: Management and Organisational Behaviour, 7th edition © Pearson Education Limited 2005
OHT 3.6
Criticisms of the classical approach
• Insufficient account taken of personality factors
• Creates organisational structures where people
can exercise only limited control over their work
environment
• Out-of-date approach
Mullins: Management and Organisational Behaviour, 7th edition © Pearson Education Limited 2005
OHT 3.7
Scientific management
There is a best machine for each job, so there is a best
working method by which people should undertake their
jobs
All job processes should be analysed into discrete tasks &
via this management find the ‘one best’ way to perform
each task
Taylor
Mullins: Management and Organisational Behaviour, 7th edition © Pearson Education Limited 2005
OHT 3.8
Principles of scientific management
• The development of a true science for each
person’s work
• The scientific selection, training and
development of workers
• Co-operation with workers to ensure work is
carried out in prescribed way
• The division of work and responsibility between
management and workers
Mullins: Management and Organisational Behaviour, 7th edition © Pearson Education Limited 2005
OHT 3.9
Bureaucracy – the main characteristics
• Tasks are allocated as official duties among the various
positions
• An implied clear-cut division of labour and a high level
of specialisation
• Uniformity of decisions and actions achieved through
formally established systems of rules & regulations
• An impersonal orientation expected from officials in
their dealing with clients
• Employment is based on technical qualifications
Mullins: Management and Organisational Behaviour, 7th edition © Pearson Education Limited 2005
OHT 3.10
Bureaucracy – the main features
• Specialisation
• Hierarchy of authority
• System of rules
• Impersonality
Stewart
Mullins: Management and Organisational Behaviour, 7th edition © Pearson Education Limited 2005
OHT 3.11
Criticism of bureaucracy
• Over-emphasis on rules and procedures, record
keeping and paperwork
• Lack of flexibility and stifling of initiative
• Position and responsibilities can lead to officious
bureaucratic behaviour
• Impersonal relations can lead to stereotyped behaviour
and lack of responsiveness to individual incidents or
problems
Weber
Mullins: Management and Organisational Behaviour, 7th edition © Pearson Education Limited 2005
OHT 3.12
Human relations approach
• Is based on the consideration of the social factors at
work and the behaviour of employees within an
organisation
• Particular importance is paid to the informal
organisation and the satisfaction of individuals’ needs
through groups at work
• Hawthorne experiments acted as a turning point in the
development of the Human Relations movement
Mullins: Management and Organisational Behaviour, 7th edition © Pearson Education Limited 2005
OHT 3.13
Human relations approach – the criticisms
• Weak methodology of Hawthorne experiments,
including failure to take sufficient account of
environmental factors
• Adoption of a management approach, a ‘unitary frame
of reference’ and over simplification of theories
• Insufficiently scientific and takes too narrow a view,
ignoring the role of the organisation within society
Mullins: Management and Organisational Behaviour, 7th edition © Pearson Education Limited 2005
OHT 3.14
The systems approach
Attempts to reconcile the classical and human relations
approaches
Attention is focused on:
• the total work of the organisation
• the inter-relationships of structures & behaviour
• the range of variables within the organisation
The organisation is viewed within its total environment
and the importance of multiple channels in interaction
is emphasised
Mullins: Management and Organisational Behaviour, 7th edition © Pearson Education Limited 2005
OHT 3.15
The contingency approach
Views the structure of an organisation and its
success as dependent on:
• the nature of tasks that are undertaken
• the nature of environmental influences
There is no one best way to structure or
manage organisations - it is dependent on the
contingencies of the situation
Mullins: Management and Organisational Behaviour, 7th edition © Pearson Education Limited 2005
OHT 3.16
Post modernism
A more recent view of organisations and
management
• Rejects a rational, systems approach and
accepted explanations of society and
behaviour
• Places greater emphasis on the use of
language and attempts to portray a particular
set of assumptions or versions of the truth
Mullins: Management and Organisational Behaviour, 7th edition © Pearson Education Limited 2005
OHT 3.17
Advantages of different approaches /
categorisations
• Provides a setting in which to view the field of
management
• Traces the major lines of argument developed by
different writers
• Provides a framework in which principles can be set
and comparisons of management practice made
• Helps in organisational analysis and identification of
problem areas
• Enables managers to select those ideas which best
suit the requirements of their job
Mullins: Management and Organisational Behaviour, 7th edition © Pearson Education Limited 2005
OHT 3.18
Caveats
• The various approaches represent a
progression of ideas and a pattern of
complementary studies
• Not all writers can be neatly categorised
• Whilst there may be acceptance of the need
for a framework there is no agreement on its
shape
• The distinction between certain ‘schools’ of
thought are not clear cut
Mullins: Management and Organisational Behaviour, 7th edition © Pearson Education Limited 2005
OHT 3.19
Management theory – comparing Western &
Japanese thinking
1960s – Western management lacked curiosity about
competition from Japan, with British and European
managers obsessed by American examples
1970 & 80s - many sought to emulate the
characteristics of Japanese management
Japanese methods have produced:
• high levels of teamwork
• an atmosphere of innovative ideas
• a willingness to continually improve (Kaizen)
Mullins: Management and Organisational Behaviour, 7th edition © Pearson Education Limited 2005