The final phase of the research programme was the bank wiring study, which started in November 1931 and lasted until May 1932. Its primary purpose was to make observational analysis of the informal work group. A group of male workers in the study provided knowledge about informal social relations within groups and about group norms that restrict output when such steps sum advantageous to the group. It also included a massive interviewing programme (1928 - 1931) that was initially aimed at improving supervision but evolved into a means of learning what workers had on their minds and allowing them to let of steam.
The results in the bank wiring room were essentially opposite to those in the relay room.
The output was actually restricted by the bank wirers. By scientific management analysis, a standard of 7312 terminal connections per day had been arrived at. This represented 2½ equipments. The workers had a different brand of rationality. They decided that 2 equipments was a "proper" days work.
The researchers determined that the informal group norm of 2 equipments represented restriction of output rather than a lack of ability to produce 2 ½ equipments. The following evidence supports this contention:
1. The observer noted that all the men stopped before quitting time.
2. Most of the men admitted to the interviewer they could easily turn out more work.
3. Tests of dexterity and intelligence indicated no relationship between capacity to perform and actual performance.
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Organisational Behaviour Assessing the Hawthorne Studies: The Hawthorne studies have been severely criticized mainly because the studies often had major flaws (such as changing several factors at the same time) and because important data were sometimes ignored in drawing conclusions (especially in discounting the potential importance of pay).
The Human Relations Movement, like Scientific Management, is not without its shortcomings. Because of the nature of its findings and the resulting lessons for managers, it has been criticised as "cow Sociology"(so called because happy cows presumably give more milk). This simplistic view of the relationship between morale and productivity is something that existing research has not been able to verify.
Yet, despite their shortcomings, the effects of these pioneering studies were far-reaching.
In strong contrast to the impersonality that characterized the classical approach, the Hawthorne studies pointed to the impact that social aspects of the job had on productivity, particularly the effect of personal attention from supervisors and relationship among group members. As a result, the focus of the field of management was drastically altered.
A common interpretation of the Human Relations Movement is that managers need only treat their employees well to generate maximum productivity. This conclusion is unfortunate for two reasons.
1. It is oversimplified and therefore often inaccurate.
2. Those who do not agree with this conclusion might be labeled advocates of poor treatment of employees - which, of course, is also false.
Do Happy Cows Give More Milk?
The Human Relations School of thought has been accused of advocating "cow sociology"
as a method of managing people, i.e., since happy cows can give more milk, it follows that happy people will produce more. But do happy cows give more milk? Or, perhaps more importantly, how can you tell if cows are happy? In our quest for an answer to these important questions we asked farmers, dairies, and professors of agriculture; we read journals (Journal of Dairy Science), textbooks on dairy management, and popular farm publications.
We even assigned a graduate student to research the question. But alas, we could not uncover any scientific evidence proving it to be true (although everyone we spoke to believed it to be true). In one study, we found, an author noted the importance of
"psychological and stress" factors which affected milk production, but declined to study them because "they were too difficult to measure". So at least for the present, we must scientifically conclude that the question is yet unanswered. Nevertheless, we were impressed by one textbook in dairy science in which the author prescribes several techniques to maximize milk production:
1. Cows become accustomed to a regular routine; disturbing this routine disturbs them and causes a decrease in milk production.
2. Attendants should come into close contact with the cows, and it is important that the best of relations exist between the cows and keepers.
3. The cows should not be afraid of the attendants.
4. Cows should never be hurried.
5. Chasing cows with dogs or driving them on the run should never be allowed.
6. In the barn, attendants must work quietly; loud shouting or quick movements upset cows and cause them to restrict production
Quite possibly the positive but simplistic philosophy of human relations has actually hindered needed research into organisational behaviour. This does not necessarily mean that an understanding of human relations is not useful; it may have a payoff in areas other than performance, such as absenteeism, turnover etc. The influence of the human relations philosophy can be seen in many management training programmes today. Topics
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such as communication, counselling, understanding people, and leadership are common ingredients in many training programmes and reflect the findings of the original Hawthorne studies. Often participants are taught that improved communications, etc., will increase morale. Unfortunately, these topics can erroneously be seen as the totality of the manager's job, thereby increasing the probability that employee morale may increase and productivity may decrease.
Conclusion
The Human Relations Movement is sometimes referred to as a backlash to the economic and rational approach of Scientific Management movement, but this point of view tends to cast Scientific Management in an unfair light. Because of his shop-floor experience, Taylor realized before Mayo and his colleagues did that there were "goldbrickers" that group norms might restrict output, and that workers generally preferred their own ways of doing things. Perhaps the major shortcoming of Taylor's philosophy was his underestimation of the magnitude of these feelings in relation to his economic man concept.
Taylor believed that in the final analysis, workers are rational, logical people who would change their behaviour in the interest of their economic well-being. Mayo, on the other hand, attempted to show that man is also an emotional, non-logical being who often reacts unpredictably to the work environment.
Today it is common to picture modern management theory as a blend of the extremes of the principles contained in scientific management and human relations, with each contributing valuable insights for managing organisations. We now recognize that the subject involving combinations of the rational and the emotional, the physical and the mental, and the logical and non-logical. Regardless of one's interpretation of the Hawthorne experiments, or perceptions of their social significance, that series of investigations stand as a monumental research study in the field of organisational behaviour. Elton Mayo and his associates should be considered as the founding fathers of modern organisational behaviour concepts.
Check Your Progress
1. Trace the History of Organisation Behaviour.
2. Explain the stages in the Human Relations Movement.
11.4 CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES OF ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
The challenges and opportunities of organisational behaviour could be understood through the following areas:
1. Understanding Global Organisational Behaviour: Globalisation reflects a business orientation based on the belief that the world is becoming more homogeneous and that distinctions between national markets are not only fading, but, for some products will eventually disappear. International firms have found it necessary to institute formal global strategic planning to provide a means for top management to identify opportunities and threats from all over the world, formulate strategies to handle them and stipulate how to finance the strategies of these implementation. Keeping these changes in mind the challenges are to understand global organisational behaviour. The issues include:
l The creation of a global village
l Work force diversity
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Organisational Behaviour l Improving quality and productivity to match global standards
l Improving people skills
l Moving towards employee empowerment
l Improving ethical behaviour
l Multiculturalism and diversity.
2. Working with people from different cultures: To work effectively with people from different cultures, you need to understand how their culture and religion have shaped them and how they will respond to particular styles in management. What motivates people from one culture may not be appealing for people form another culture and this makes the work of a manager more challenging.
3. Movement of jobs to countries with low cost labour: In a global economy, jobs tend to flow to places where lower costs of labour provide business firms with a comparative advantage. Jobs are moving from U.S.A and U.K and other developed countries to developing countries like India and China. This is a threat to managers from developed counties while it is an opportunity for developing countries especially like India for we have a talented people with good knowledge of the English language.
4. Workforce Diversity: While globalisation focuses on differences between people form different countries, workforce diversity addresses differences among people within a given country. Workforce diversity means that organisations are becoming more heterogeneous in terms of gender, age race etc.
11.5 THE NATURE OF ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
Organisational behaviour is not a discipline in the usual sense of the term, but rather an eclectic field of study that integrates the behaviour sciences into the study of human behaviour within organisations. Organisational behaviour is a young field of inquiry, in terms of the use of scientific techniques. To learn that human behaviour in organisations is not an exact science is in itself a significant realization. One of the failings of the scientific management movement was it belief that human behaviour was easily predicted.
So while the field of organisational behaviour may be inexact, it is realistic.
Organisational behaviour is neither a purely scientific area of inquiry nor a strictly intellectual endeavour. It involves the study of abstract ideas, such as valance and expectancy in motivation, as well as the study of concrete matters, such as observable behaviours and physiological symptoms of distress at work. Therefore, learning about organisational behaviour is a multidimensional activity as shown in Figure 11.1 below.
Figure 11.1: Learning about organisational behaviour
Mastery of basic objective knowledge: Objective knowledge, in any field of study, is developed through basic and applied research. Acquiring objective knowledge requires the cognitive mastery of theories, conceptual models, and research findings.
Mastery of basic objective knowledge
Development of special skills and abilities
Application of knowledge and skills
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Skill Development: The study of organisational behaviour requires skill development and the mastery of abilities essential to successful functioning in organisations. The essential skills identified by the U.S Department of labour are:
a. Resource management skills, such as time management b. Information management skills, such as data interpretation c. Personal interaction skills such as team work
d. Systems behaviour and performance skills, such as cause-effect relations e. Technology utilization skills, such as troubleshooting.
Many of these skills, such as decision-making and information management, are directly related to the study of organisation behaviour. Developing skills is different from acquiring objective knowledge in that it requires structured practice and feedback.
Application of Knowledge and Skills: It requires the integration of objective knowledge and skill development in order to apply both appropriately in specific organisational settings.