Human Relations Theorists and Their Theories

(after Hawthorne)

(before beginning, take SAQ 1(pp. 103-104) and score (p. 106)

Douglas McGregor (1906-1964)

Believed organization functioning depended on beliefs of managers and their assumptions of human nature and human behavior

Theory X managers – assume most people are lazy, dislike work, need carrots/sticks to perform; they are immature, need direction, are incapable of taking responsibility

How would a Theory X manager treat employees, motivate them, reward/punish them?

Theory Y managers assume that people have a psychological need to work, want achievement, have the ability for creative problem solving, will seek out and accept responsibility.

How would a Theory Y manager treat employees, motivate them, reward/punish them?

6 basic assumptions of Theory Y:

1.Work is a natural human function; people do not dislike work, and it may be a source of satisfaction.

2. People will exercise self-direction and self-control toward objectives, if they are committed to them.

3.Commitment to objectives is a function of the rewards associated with their achievement.

4.The average human being learns to seek out responsibility.

5.People have the capacity for imagination, ingenuity, creativity in solving organizational problems

6.In modern life, the intellectual potential of average people is only partially utilized.

What are the implications for management?

Theory X managers tend to blame problems on employees (like some instructors blame problems on students!)

Theory Y managers take responsibility for problems “no bad troops, only bad officers”)

Theory X/Y is oversimplified; people may react differently in different situations; it’s not human nature nor personality that is at issue.

The key word is POTENTIAL; people are capable of much more than they are given credit for.

How might this theory affect your management of employees?

Abraham Maslow 1908-1970

“the father of humanist psychology”

Developed a “hierarchy of needs”

Lower-level needs (physiological, safety) are stronger, and must be met first, then higher-level needs (social and self-esteem) may be met.

These needs are “deficiency needs” = only unmet needs motivate.

(The highest order need, self-actualization, is a growth need. The process of satisfying this need actually increases rather than decreases motivation.)

Frederick Herzberg 1923 - ?

The author of the “two-factor” theory of employee motivation.

His 1968 article (“One more time: how do you motivate employees?”) discusses KITA management.

KITA = Kick in the Ass – KITA can be positive or negative – NEITHER is effective (Negative KITA is rape; Positive KITA is seduction)

Herzberg said that satisfaction and dissatisfaction are not opposite – the opposite of satisfaction is the absence of satisfaction (you are either satisfied or you’re not)

The factors that lead to job satisfaction/ motivation are different from the factors that lead to job satisfaction:

Hygiene factors:

Absence = dissatisfaction

Presence = no dissatisfaction

Policies; work conditions; pay; benefits; relationship with co-workers; supervision

Motivators = satisfiers

Achievement; recognition; work itself; advancement; responsibility; advancement

Herzberg’s study showed that:

Of all factors contributing to job satisfaction, 81% were motivators

Of all factors contributing to dissatisfaction,, 69% involved hygiene factors

H believed that job enrichment adds to motivators

How does Herzberg’s theory link with McGregor’s X/Y theory and

Maslow’s hierarchy?

Can you see the connections between their assumptions about managers and about employees?

Rensis Likert (1903-1981)

Studies employees in industrial firms

Categorized management along a line from System 1 to System 4:

System 1: exploitative, authoritarian; management by fear, coercion; top-down communication; no shared decision-making; superiors and subordinates psychologically far apart

Climate: fear, intimidation, dissatisfaction

System 2:

Benevolent authoritarian – carrot rather than stick; subordinates still subservient; information flowing upwards is “what boss wants to hear;” major policy decisions made at the top

System 3 – Consultative

Carrot/stick both used; management tries to talk with employees; communication flows both ways, but is still limited upwards; important decisions still top-down

System 4: Participative

Communication open, extensive; ideas and opinions solicited; employees feel free to express ideas

Decision-making participative; employees have influence

Information flows freely; flexible channels of communications in all directions

4, contd:

Performance goals developed through participative management; organization members motivated

(Take SAQ 2 at this point and discuss its relationship to Likert’s theory)

Much of the study in organizaitonal communications from the 1960s through the 1980s rested on the belief that System 4 was the ideal climate for organizational effectiveness.

Is this true? Always? Are there circumstances in which System 4 is not optimal for communication? For effectiveness?

Which Style would you like to “live in”?

Later, Likert postulated System 5 for the future: all authority/ hierarchy will disappear

Basic principle behind work of McGregor/Likert: effective modern organizations must see themselves as interacting groups of people with supporting relationships to each other

How could this be applied to your practice?

Paul Spector – 1997 – study of Job Satisfaction

4 facets:

Rewards

Other People

Nature of the work

Organizational context

Some of Spector’s thoughts:

Job satisfaction seems to increase with age – why?

No clear results on relationship between job satisfaction and gender or race, there are clear differences in job satisfction across countries (Mexican workers more satisfied than American) (think “expectation”)

Supervisors have the biggest role in job satisfaction

Outside factors:

34% of Americans experience a considerable amount of work-family conflict. This negatively affects job satisfaction. Men have more problems in this area than women.

There is small correlation between pay level and satisfaction (see Herzberg)

Job stressors have an effect on satisfaction:

Control over decisions

Support, encouragement

Work schedule flexibility (people like longer shifts with more days off; 4 10-hour days vs. 5 8-hour days)

Personality clearly effects job satisfaction

Studies show that about 30% of variance in job satisfaction is attributable to genetic factors; some people are predisposed to be happy; some are chronically unhappy

1.Positive attitude

2.Person-job “fit”

Job dissatisfaction manifests in;

Absenteeism

Turnover

Burnout

Physical health/psychological well-being

It seems clear that job experiences affect health.

Studies consistently find that job satisfaction and life satisfaction are moderately and positively correlated.

What are the implications of these findings for your practice?

Hiring employees – what kind should you look for?

Motivating employees – what will you use to keep people interested?

How can you reduce absenteeism, turnover?

How do these theories relate to your communication with employees?