Human Relations and Human Resources Approaches

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human relations approach

focused on the social and psychological needs of workers to boost productivity and satisfaction

hawthorne studies

ran by Elton Mayo of harvard, tests were conducted at hawthorn electric plant to determine how changes in the work environment would affect productivity of factory workers. they used illumination studies (lighting), relay assembly test room studies (changing work incentives, rest pauses, humidity, temp, work hours, and refreshments), interview program (interviewed thousands of workers), and the bank wiring room studies (nonexperimental observation of workers in bank wiring room).

they found many explanations revolving around the social and emotional needs of workers and kickstarted the human resources approach.

hawthorne effect

attention to individuals causes changes in behavior simply because they are being observed

Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs

Abraham Maslow’s pyramid of needs where higher levels cannot be met if lower levels aren’t met first. a general theory of motivation

first level: physiological needs (food, water, seep)

second level: safety needs (free from danger and environmental threats)

third level: affiliation needs (belonging needs, love needs, giving and receiving human affection and regard)

fourth level: esteem needs (feeling a sense of achievement and accomplishment, in organizational terms it can be compensation and reward structures)

fifth level: self-actualization (desire to “become more and more what one is, to become everything one is capable of becoming”, be all you can be)

hierarchy of prepotency

the concept that the lower-level needs of the pyramid must be satisfied before an individual can move on to higher-level needs.

Douglas McGregor’s Theory X

management should be responsible for organizing, peopel must be controlled and motivated, and without direction people would be passive or resistant to achievement of organizational needs. strong and forceful management assuming lack of motivation

average man works as little as possible, he lacks ambition and dislikes responsibility preferring to be led, he is self-centered and indifferent to organizational needs, he is resistant to change, he is gullible

Douglas McGregor’s Theory Y

workers are motivated by the higher-order needs in Maslow’s hierarchy and capable of independent achievement. management shoudl bring out natural tendencies of intelligent and motivated workers.

work effort is as natural as play or rest, threat of punishment is not the only means of bringing effort towards organizational objectives, if man is committed he will exercise self-control in service of objectives, average human not only accepts but seek responsibility, creativity imagination and ingenuity in solution of organizational problems is common, intellectual potentials are only partially utilized within society

family metaphor

organizations are like families, where relationships are central to our understanding of organizational functioning. a family thrives when needs are fulfilled and opportunities are provided for self-actualization.

human resources approach

acknowledges contributions from both classical and human relations approaches, individuals in organizations have feelings that must be considered and also recognize that individual labor is an important ingredient for meeting organizational goals.

managerial/leadership grid (Robert Blake and Jane Mouton)

tool for training managers in leadership styles that would enhance organizational efficiency and effectiveness and stimulate satisfaction and creativity of individual workers.

impoverished management: low concern for people low concern for production

country club management: high concern for people low concern for production

authority compliance: high concern for production and low concern for people

team management: high concern for both production and people

middle-of-the-road management: attempts to balance concern for people and production without going too far for either goal

Rensis Likert

founder and director for social research at university of michigan, created system I to system IV

System I to System IV

made by Likert, four organizational forms that are either more or less effective in satisfying organizational and individual goals (system I to system IV)

system 1: exploitative authoritative organization

system 2: benevolent authoritative organization

system 3: consultative organization

system 4: participative organization

exploitative authoritative organization (system 1, Likert)

characterized by threats and fear motivation, downward and inaccurate motivation, top-level decision making, giving of orders, and top-level control. all the worst features of classical and scientific management.

benevolent authoritative organization (system 2, Likert)

characterized by motivation through economic and ego rewards, limited communication, decision making at top, goal setting through orders and comments, top-level control. similar to system I organization, but the goal is not to exploit workers. it is still authoritative

consultative organization (system 3, Likert)

decisions are still made at the top and control rests primarily at upper levels of hierarchy, but employees are consulted before decisions are made and views are taken into consideration. goals are set up after discussion, and there is a high level of communication moving both up and down the hierarchy.

participative organization (system 4, Likert)

provides sharp contrast to the other systems. decision making is performed by every organization member, and goals are set by complete work groups. control exercised at all levels of organization, and communication is extensive including upward downward and horizontal interaction. the contributions of all org members are strongly valued and employees are rewarded through the satisfaction of a wide variety of needs.

classical model communication content

task communication only

human relations model communication content

maintenance communication (attempt to maintain the quality of human relationships within the organizations) along with task communication

human resources model communication content

maintenance communication, task communication, and innovation communication (interaction about how the job can be done better, new production ideas, different ways of structuring organization, so on. innovating within the organization)

classical model direction of communication

predominantly downward, flowing from management to workers

human relations model direction of communication

downwards like classical, adds horizontal communication (communication among employees)

human resources model direction of communication

encourages the flow of ideas from all locations throughout organization, all directional flows including downward upward horizontal and diagonal. takes place in team-based settings.

classical model channel of communication

written communication dominant

human relations model channel of communication

face-to-face communication dominant, allowing for more immediate feedback and more consideration of nonverbal cues. more appropriate for addressing the human needs emphasized within human relations model

human resources model channel of communication

matches communication model to task at hand, sometimes face-to-face like meetings, sometimes written memos or emails are better.

learning organizations

organizations that emphasize mental flexibility, team learning, a shared vision, complex thinking, and personal mastery. learning organizations can be promoted through participation and dialogue in the workplace.

knowledge management

systematic process of capturing, organizing, storing, and sharing a company’s collective information and expertise to improve internal workflows and collaboration

team management

guiding, organizing, and facilitating information exchange within a group to reach shared company goals

employee involvement

a participative process that uses the entire capacity of workers designed to encourage employee commitment to organizational success

employment security (pfeffer’s seven practices of successful orgs)

job security demonstrates a commitment to employees and develops employees who understand the organization

selective hiring (pfeffer’s seven practices of successful orgs)

employees who are a good fit for the organization, in terms of skills, abilities, and other attributes, will stay with the organization and enhance organizational performance

self-managed teams and decentralization (pfeffer’s seven practices of successful orgs)

teams will permit employees to pool information and create better solutions as well as enhance worker control over work processes

comparatively high and contingent compensation (pfeffer’s seven practices of successful orgs)

contingent compensation connects performance outcomes with critical rewards

extensive training (pfeffer’s seven practices of successful orgs)

frontline employees need training to identify workplace problems and contribute to innovative solutions

reduction of status differences (pfeffer’s seven practices of successful orgs)

by reducing both symbolic (like language and labels) and substantive (pay) inequities, all employees will feel more valued

sharing information (pfeffer’s seven practices of successful orgs)

employees can only contribute if they have adequate information about their own jobs and about the performance of the organization as a whole.