CRICOS Provider 00115M Contact THANK YOU INNOVATIVE RESPONSIBLE ENGAGED MGT1FOM TOPIC 4 Managing people The human relations movementLearning Objectives • At the conclusion of this topic, student should be able to: – Review the findings of the Hawthorne studies and comment on the validity of these findings; – Examine the contribution of human relations school theorists to our understanding of the relationship between organisational goals and human motivation; – Describe the different strategies that can be employed by managers to increase the quality of working life of employees; – Explore the rationale behind the implementation of current progressive human resource management practices; – Provide relevant examples of progressive human resource management strategies.Basic ideas • Organisations are systems of interdependent human beings • Importance of basing management on understanding of human motivation • Recognition of conflict between needs of individuals and management of organisationsThe Hawthorne experiments • Grew out of preliminary studies 1924-7 at the Western Electrics Company at Hawthorne, Chicago – Productivity was very low. – Labour unrest was growing • Management hired consultants • Focused on working conditions, morale, and productivityInitial research • Researchers set up experimental work rooms and groups to study the impact of such factors as: – the length of the work day; – the length of the work week; and – the introduction of breaks during the day. • Productivity improved regardless of what specific changes were introduced.Example 1: Work time • Whether they shortened or lengthened working: – Hours; – Days; and – Weeks. • Worker productivity improved; • Each different change seemed to increase productivity.Example 2: Lighting levels • Two groups were established: – A control group with constant illumination; – An experimental group with illumination varied by the experimenters. • Findings: – Among the experimental group, any variation in lighting increased productivity even when it was reduced to the level of moonlightInitial conclusions • Finally, the researchers concluded that: – People worked harder because they were part of the experiment and they wanted to do the best they could for the researchers and the company. – Greater productivity resulted from the positive interpersonal relationships and unusual level of supervisor attention present in the experimental group at every phase of the research. – The experiment led to closer working relations which increased worker confidence and trust in supervisorsElton Mayo • Australian psychologist • Headed a research team from Harvard University • Conducted a further series of experiments from 1927-1932.The assembly test room experiment • Working conditions were changed in order to determine variation in output of six women engaged in assembling a telephone part; • Boring and repetitive work.Relay Assembly • Investigators selected two young women who choose another four  group of six; • The group assembled telephone relays – small, intricate mechanisms composed of about forty separate parts; • Assembled by the young women seated alone at a bench; and • Relays were mechanically counted when finished.Normal working conditions • A forty-eight hour week; • Six week day including Saturdays; • No rest pauses; • The women produced 2,400 relays a week each.Experimental conditions • Piece-work for eight weeks: – Output went up. • Two 5 minute rest pauses, morning and afternoon, for 5 weeks: – Output went up once more. • Rest pauses lengthened to 10 minutes each: – Output went up sharply. • Six 5 minute pauses were introduced: – Output fell slightly (complaints that work rhythm broken).Experimental conditions • Return to 2 rest pauses, with one free hot meal supplied by Company: – Output went up. • 4.30 pm finish instead of 5.00 pm: – Output went up. • 4.00 pm finish: – Output remained the same.Experimental conditions • Returned to conditions of the beginning of the experiment: – Work on Saturday; – 48 hour week; – No rest pauses; – No piece work; and – No free meal. • Output was the highest ever recorded averaging 3000 relays a week.Bank wiring observation room • 14 men involved in banks of wiring; • Financial incentive scheme; • Relations between employees influenced by group dynamics; • Informal group norms determined output level - less than they were capable of producing; and • Conclusion that group or social pressures could be stronger than financial incentives as a factor in productivity.Conclusions from the experiments • Work is a group activity; • Informal, primary groups were discovered; • Groups exert strong influence over individuals; • Group co operation determines productivity; • Co operation can be elicited through the special attention of supervisors; • Importance for managers of interpersonal skills as well as skills in control and planning; • Productivity increases because of social factors.The impact • Shift from emphasis on economic factors to social and human factors in organisations; • Attention to: – The role of harmony and conflict; – Human motivation; – Importance of leadership and supervisory development. • Recognition of the 'Hawthorne effect‘.The ‘Human Relations School’ • Emphasis on: – Productivity based on motivation; – Job satisfaction; – Cooperation between supervisors and workers; and – Developing both the social and technical skills of managers.Summary of human relations conclusions • Employees are essentially social rather than economic beings with a variety of needs • Informal work groups influence employee performance • Trust between managers and workers improves organisational performance • Money is not a motivator (though it can symbolise recognition) • Both the formal and informal organisation influence employee behaviourImproving the quality of work life • Subjective well being at work: – I am being treated fairly; – I feel safe at work. • External legitimation for the organisation and management: – We treat our employees fairly; – We provide a safe place to work.Issues identified at being important to subjective well being at work 1. Job itself; 2. Social integration in the workplace; 3. Levels of participation; 4. Job insecurity; 5. Work values and gender (characteristics of employees); 6. Impact of managerial control systems.The job itself • Ability to develop oneself through work; • Focus on job characteristics: - Variety; - Pace; - Opportunities for involvement and initiative; - Autonomy; and - Feedback. • Focus on issues of job design and redesign.The job itself • Skill level (most focussed on): – Skilled work-higher involvement; – Unskilled work-lower levels of involvement; – Yet, skilled work-higher involvement-higher job strain (physical and emotional tension and stress). – Related to rising eduction levels: • Rise in education • Rise in expectations about quality of work lifeThe job itself • Focus on job redesign and task enrichment – Emerged during 1960s and 70s – Quality of Working Life Movement – Focus on: • Job rotation • Job enlargement • Job enrichment • Relaxation of work rules • Group and team workWhat impacts on task characteristics? • Technology – Upskilling – Deskilling • Managerial philosophies – Decision-making structures – Investment in training – Teams (how work is organised)Area of debate • ‘Progressive HRM’ – Job enrichment, rotation, team based work etc. • Do ‘progressive’ HRM policies contribute to increased satisfaction or work intensification (ie. stress, tension, physical and emotional problems)Social integration in the workplace • “Theory of social support”; • Origin: Hawthorne Studies, 1927-1932; • Underlying premise: people at work social not economic actors; • Workers satisfaction argued to be linked to: – Social integration; – Role of the supervisor; • Foundation for human relations movement and HRMParticipation • The extent to which the organisation encourages participation in decision making and opportunity for employee input; • Argued to have consequences for satisfaction and quality of work life issues; • Yet, little empirical evidence .Job insecurity • Stable or insecure work; • Empirical evidence shows that job insecurity has a negative impact on peoples’ work experience; • Feeling under threat tends to: – Lower levels of involvement; – Higher levels of strain; and – More psychological distress.Managerial control systems • Technical control: machines control work: – Lower job involvement; and – Higher work strain. • Performance management control (performance appraisal systems) – Control system for skilled workers; – Linked to higher work effort; and – Also, linked to higher work strain.Work values and gender (individual characteristics) • Different orientations to work depending on characteristics: – Age; – Gender; – Time in the workforce etc. • Do older (compared to younger) employees have different orientations to work? • Do men (compared to women) have different work orientations?Changing nature of work • Higher involvement; • Higher expectations of work and oneself; • On the one hand may improve the quality of work life; • But, an increasing focus on effects of job insecurity: – This has risen; – People will need to change jobs more often.Changing nature of work... • Also, increased interest in work strain – Physical stress • Long hours • Shift work • Lack of support – Emotional strain • Anxiety • Depression • Much current interest in work strain, workplace health, safety at work (emotional)Conclusions • Early management theorists concentrated on two organisational problems. Designing organisations that would increase: 1. management control, efficiency and predictability 2. convergence between organisational goals and human motivationsConclusions • These problems were dealt with in two ways: 1. Designing organisations with rules and structures which governed all relationships (bureaucracy and scientific management) and 2. Devising techniques that induce members to conform to the goals of the organisation (human relations approaches).Quality of work cited as important • To peoples lives • To work productivity • To workplace harmony • Evidence shows importance of work to lives and quality of lifeAssessment Task 1: Critical reflection exercises Details of assessments • Due date: Tuesday 30th August at 9AM • Students to answer all questions. • Limit of 300 words PER question (total of 1200 words) • Submit via the link on LMS • Students are required to include student name, student ID, day and time of class and class teacher on the front cover.Assessment Task 1: Critical reflection exercises Students are required to answer ALL four questions • On page 49 there is a quote from Bendix that defines "managerial ideology." Dissect the meaning of this quote and state the meaning of managerial ideology in your own words (as if you were explaining it to someone else). Which of Morgan's metaphors is most closely associated with this concept? • Rational-bureaucratic organizations are supposed to develop the best means to achieve their goals. Based on your reading of Chapter 5, what would you say are some of the obstacles to making the "best" decisions about ways to reach a goal or solve a problem? Do some organizations have a more difficult time with this than others? What kinds of goals or problems do they deal with? • Do you think the term used by Barnard -- "common moral purpose" -- is a good way to describe what happens in work organizations? Why or why not? • The transformation of organizational forms has given rise to a variety of paradoxical demands. For example, organizations want to achieve both economies of scale and economies of scope; they want to specialize yet be flexible. What do each of these separate demands mean for organizing and managing? Why they all are desired? How can they peacefully co-exist?CRICOS Provider 00115M Contact THANK YOU THANK YOU INNOVATIVE RESPONSIBLE ENGAGED