UNIT ONE
Theoretical Foundations
CHAPTER THREE
Humanistic Theories of Organizations
PREVIEW

Review Classical Theories of Organizations
• Taylor’s Theory of Scientific Management
• Fayol’s Administrative Theory
• Weber’s Theory of Bureaucracy

Humanistic Theories of Organizations

Human Relations Theory
• The Hawthorne Studies
• Chester Barnard
• McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y

Human Resources Theory
• Likert’s Systems Theory (Four Systems of Management)
• Blake and Mouton’s (Blake and McCanse) Managerial Grid
Classical Theories Reviewed




Classical Theories of Organizations (p. 36)
 Taylor’s Theory of Scientific Management (tasks)
 Fayol’s Administrative Theory (mgmt)
 Weber’s Theory of Bureaucracy (org structure)
All 3 theories attempt to enhance management’s ability
to predict and control the behavior of their workers
Considered only the task function of communication
(ignored relational and maintenance functions of
communication)
Designed to predict and control behavior in
organizations
Classical vs. Humanistic

Classical theories emphasized coercion, control, and punishment
(FOCUS ON TASKS /PRODUCTION).






Maintain predictability and control
Decision-making power at top of hierarchy
Minimize input from lower-level employees
Rely on science and rules to guide behavior
Regulate communication to increase predictability and decrease
misunderstandings
Result:
• Workers feel they have no control over their work situation
• Management does not care about their ideas
• Feelings and ideas of workers are unimportant

Humanistic theories were developed to promote the
CONCERNS of the individual worker in an atmosphere that was
too focused on production (FOCUS ON RELATIONAL &
MAINTENANCE FUNCTIONS)
Principles of Human Relations Theory







Human relations theory is characterized by a shift in emphasis
from TASK to WORKER
Go beyond physical contributions to include creative, cognitive,
and emotional aspects of workers
Based on a more dyadic (two-way) conceptualization of
communication.
SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS are at the heart of organizational
behavior--effectiveness is contingent on the social well-being of
workers
Workers communicate opinions, complaints, suggestions, and
feelings to increase satisfaction and production
Origins (Hawthorne Studies & work of Chester Barnard)
Human Relations School of Management - Elton Mayo (Harvard
Origins of Human Relations Theory

“The Hawthorne Studies




Hawthorne Works of Western Electric Company
1924 - Chicago
Research focus: Relation of quality and quantity of illumination
to efficiency in industry
Four Important Studies
“The Hawthorne Studies”

Illumination Study (November 1924)



Relay Assembly Test Room Study (1927-1932)






Assembly of telephone relays (35 parts - 4 machine screws)
Production and satisfaction increased regardless of IV manipulation
Workers’ increased production and satisfaction related to supervisory practices
Human interrelationships are important contributing factors to worker productivity
Bottom Line: Supervisory practices increase employee morale AND productivity
Interviewing Program (1928-1930)




Designed to test the effect of lighting intensity on worker productivity
Heuristic value: influence of human relations on work behavior
Investigate connection between supervisory practices and employee morale
Employees expressed their ideas and feelings (e.g., likes and dislikes)
Process more important than actual results
Bank Wiring Room Observation Study (November 1931 - May 1932)



Social groups can influence production and individual work behavior
RQ: How is social control manifested on the shop floor?
Informal organization constrains employee behavior within formal organizational
structure
Hawthorne Studies - Implications

Illumination Study (November 1924)


Relay Assembly Test Room Study (1927-1932)




Demonstrated powerful influence of upward communication
Workers were asked for opinions, told they mattered, and positive attitudes toward
company increased
Bank Wiring Room Observation Study (November 1931 - May 1932)


Relationships between workers and their supervisors are powerful
Human interrelationships increase the amount and quality of worker participation
in decision making
Interviewing Program (1928-1930)


The mere practice of observing people’s behavior tends to alter their behavior
(Hawthorne Effect)
Led future theorists to account for the existence of informal communication
Taken together, these studies helped to document the powerful nature
of social relations in the workplace and moved managers more toward
the interpersonal aspects of organizing.
Hawthorne Studies - Criticisms







Not conducted with the appropriate scientific rigor necessary
Too few subjects (N=5)
No control groups
Subjects replaced with more “cooperative” participants
WORTHLESS
GROSS ERRORS
INCOMPETENCE
The Emergence of Communication

Chester Barnard
 Considered a bridge between classical and human relations theories
 The Functions of the Executive (1938)
 Argues for . . .
• strict lines of communication - classical theory
• a “human-based system of organization”
• The potential of every worker and the centrality of communication
to the organizing process
 Six Issues Relevant to Organizational Communication
• Formal vs. Informal Organization
• Cooperation
• Communication
• Incentives
• Authority
• Zone of Indifference
Six Issues Relevant to Organizational Communication

Formal vs. Informal Organization

Formal Organization - a system of consciously coordinated activities or forces of two or more
persons. (definite, structured, common purpose)
•
•
•

Informal Organization - based on myriad interactions that take place thourghout an
organization’s history.
•
•
•
•

Indefinite
Structureless
No definite subdivisions of personnel
Results: customs, mores, folklore, institutions, social norms, ideals -- may lead to formal organization
Cooperation



Persons are able to communicate with one another
Willing to contribute action
To accomplish a common purpose
Necessary component of formal organization
The expression of the net satisfactions or dissatisfactions experienced or anticipated by each
individual in comparison with those experienced or anticipated through alternative opportunities
Communication





Critical to cooperation
The most universal form of human cooperation, and perhaps the most complex, is speech
The most likely reason for the success of cooperation and the reason for its failure
System of communication: known, formal channels which are as direct (short) as possible,
where the complete line of communication is used, the supervisory heads must be competent,
the line of communication should not be interrupted, and every communication should be
authenticated.
Barnard’s system lacks relationship formation and maintenance mechanisms
Six Issues Relevant to Organizational Communication

Incentives



Authority




Should be available
Not discussed in detail
Associated with securing cooperation for organizational members
The interrelationship among the originator of the communication, the
communication itself, and the receiver
Authority of position OVER Authority of Leadership (knowledge & ability).
Zone of Indifference - orders followed

Marks the boundaries of what employees will consider doing without question,
based on expectations developed on entering the organization.
Barnard drew attention away from formal organizational structures toward
communication, cooperation, and the informal organization. His work was
integrated by other theorists in the human relations movement.
Theory X and Theory Y: Douglas McGregor

Douglas McGregor (1906-1964)









Articulated basic principles of human relations theory
The Human Side of Enterprise (1960, 1985)
To understand human behavior, one must discover the theoretical
assumptions upon which behavior is based
Especially interested in the behavior of managers toward workers
“Every managerial act rests on assumptions, generalizations, and
hypotheses--that is to say, on theory . . . Theory and practice are
inseparable.”
Two Objectives:
• Predict and control behavior
• Tap Unrealized potential
Theory X - Classical Theory
Theory Y - Human Relations Theory
FOCUS: Manager’s assumptions about HUMAN NATURE
Theory X and Theory Y: Douglas McGregor

Theory X - Classical Theory

Three Assumptions
•
•
•


The average human being has an inherent dislike of work and will avoid it.
Most people must be coerced, controlled, directed, and threatened with punishment
The average human being prefers to be directed, wishes to avoid responsibility, has
relatively little ambition, wants security.
Neither explains nor describes human nature
Theory Y - Human Relations Theory

Assumptions
•
•
•
•
•
•


Physical and mental effort in work is similar to play / rest.
External control and the threat of punishment are not the only strategies
Commitment to objectives is a function of the rewards associated with their achievement
The average human being learns, under proper conditions, not only to accept but to seek
responsibility
The capacity to exercise a high degree of imagination, ingenuity, and creativity in the
solution of organizational problems is widely distributed in the population
Intellectual potentialities of the average human being are underutilized
A more positive perspective of human nature
The KEY to control and quality production is commitment to organizational
objectives
Theory Y Prototype: The Scanlon Plan


Participative Management
Two Central Features
Cost-reduction sharing for organizational members - sharing the economic
gains from improvements in organizational performance

Effective participation - a formal means of providing opportunities to every
member of the organization to contribute ideas for improving organizational
effectiveness.
Must be implemented appropriately
Wastes time and undermines managerial power?
Magic formula for every organizational problem?
CONCERN for RELATIONSHIPS in the organization.
As the need to increase commitment grows, so does the need to develop strong,
communication-based relationships among organizational members, particularly
between supervisor and subordinate.






Miles’ Human Resources Theory

Difficult to adopt principles of human relations theory -- misapplications and
misunderstandings of both classical theory and human relations theory led to
Human Resources Theory

The key element to Human Relations Theory, participation, was used only to
make workers feel as if they were part of the organizational decision-making
processes

Key to classical and human relations theory is compliance with managerial
authority

Workers are told that they are important but were not treated as such

Major Distinctions between Human Resources and Human Relations Theory



All people (not just managers) are reservoirs of untapped resources - manager responsibility to tap
physical and creative resources
Many decisions can be made more effectively and efficiently by workers most directly involved with
their consequences
Relationship between employee satisfaction and performance - improved satisfaction and morale
contribute back to improved decision making and control
Miles’ Human Resources Theory

Increased satisfaction is related to the improved decision making and self-control
that occurs due to participation that is genuinely solicited and heard

Two prevalent Human Resources Theories



Rensis Liker
Blake & Mouton (Blake & McCanse)
Four Systems of Management: Rensis Likert (Figure 3.2, p. 56)




Management is crticial to all organizational activities and outcomes
Continuum that ranges from more classically oriented system to one based on human
resources theory
Of all the tasks of management, managing the human component is the central and
most important task
High producing departments and organizations tend toward System IV; low producing
units favor System I
•
•
•
•
System I - Exploitative Authoritative
System II - Benevolent Authoritative
System III - Consultative
System IV - Participative
Blake and Mouton’s Managerial Grid





Stresses interrelationship between production (task) and people
Management’s main purpose is to promote a culture in the organization that
allows for high production at the same time that employees are fostered in their
professional and personal development
Managerial Grid - now Leadership Grid (Blake & McCanse) (Figure 3.3, p. 59)
FOCUS: Manger’s Assumptions about CONCERN for PEOPLE and CONCERN
for PRODUCTION
Concern for PEOPLE





Concern for PRODUCTION



Degree of personal commitment to one’s job
Trust-based accountability (vs. obedience-based accountability)
Self-esteem for the individual
Interpersonal relationships with co-workers
Use of people and technology to accomplish organizational tasks
Concern for is not about quantity or quality
Assessment instrument does not represent personality traits of the manager -instead, indicate a specific orientation to production and people
Blake and Mouton’s Managerial Grid
•Authority Compliance (9,1)
•Classical theory
•Country Club (1,9)
•Informal grapevine
•Impoverished (1,1)
•Laissez-faire
•Middle-of-the-Road (5,5)
•Compromise (carrot & stick)
•Team (9,9)
•Human Resources Approach
•Promote the conditions that
integrate creativity, high
productivity, and high morale
through concerted team action
SUMMARY

Humanistic Theories of Organizations

Human Relations Theory
• The Hawthorne Studies
• Chester Barnard
• McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y

Human Resources Theory
• Likert’s Systems Theory (Four Systems of Management)
• Blake and Mouton’s (Blake and McCanse) Managerial Grid

The principles of human resources theory attempt to
integrate the concern for production from classical
theory with the concern for the worker from human
relations theory -- more effective and satisfying!