While Classical Approach focused on the jobs, Behavioral
or Human Relations Management, which emerged in the 1920s, dealt with the human
aspects of organizations. It is also referred to as the neoclassical school
because it was initially a reaction to the shortcomings of the classical
approaches to management.
Human Relation Approach to management can be explained by
2 ways:-
Human Relation
Management
Behavioral Approach to
Management
Human Relations Management
The human relations
movement drew heavily in support of its findings on a series of famous
experiments called the Hawthorne Studies which were conducted from 1924 to 1933
at the Hawthorne Plant of the Western Electric Company in Cicero, Illinois. The
neglect of human aspect and over-emphasis machines, materials and abstract
functions led to the development of this approach. Prof. Elton Mayo is
considered as the initial profounder of the Human Relations or Behavioral
Approach to Management
Management functions
& processes are discharged by a number of individual (human beings) and
successful management is one that gets the best from these individuals.
Management therefore involves getting this done with and through people.
Understanding worker response and inter-personal relations is essential in the
development of any management approach. The core of human relations approach is
"being nice to workers" and it focused on the following six
propositions:
1.
A focus on people, rather than upon machines or economics
2.
People exist in an organizational environment rather than an
organized social context
3.
A key activity in human relations is motivating people
4.
Motivation should be directed towards team work which requires
both the co-ordination and cooperation of individuals involved.
5.
Human relations, through team work, seeks to fulfill both
individual and organizational objectives simultaneously
6.
Both individuals and organizations share desire for efficiency,
that is, they try to achieve maximum results with minimum inputs
The human relations
approach emphasizes on the individual and focuses on inter-personal approach.
It studies the individual, his needs and behavior. Its main concepts are
motivation and job satisfaction.
The human relations
approach neglected behavioral pattern of groups. Man is a social animal and her
never thinks alone. He is greatly influenced by what others with whom he is
associated thinks or behaves. Thus it is the group that sets the pattern of
human behavior. It is necessary to study the organizational behavior as a
whole, involving the study of the attitude, behavior and performance of both
individuals and groups in organizational setting. This led to the more improved
and modern approach called the Behavioral Sciences Approach to Management.
In the Human Relation
Management the famous aspects were:-
Behavioral approach to
management
The
behavioral approach views the enterprise as a social organism. It is termed as
behavioral sciences approach because it adopts a multi-dimensional and
inter-disciplinary study of employees behavior applying principles from
behavioral sciences like psychology, sociology and anthropology. The objective
is not only to study, but to predict the future behavior of employees.
Motivation, leadership, communication, group dynamics and participative
management are inbuilt in this approach, as means of securing better employee
performance and willing release extra energy towards contribution to the
accepted goals of the organization. Several sociologists and psychologists like
Abraham H. Maslow, Douglass McGregor, Frederic Herzberg, Chris Argyris etc.
have contributed towards the development and enrichment of this approach.
The
main propositions of behavioral science approach can be summarized as under.
1.
An organization is a socio-technical system
2.
Interpersonal or group behavior of people in the organization is
influenced by a wide range of factors.
3.
The goals of the organization are to be harmonized with an
understanding of the human needs
4.
Multitude of attitudes, perceptions and values are prevalent
amongst employees and these characterize their behavior and influence their
performance
5.
As a result some degree of conflict is inevitable in the
organization and this need not be viewed undesirable
The
behavioral approach recognizes the quality of leadership as a determining
factor in management success. It focuses on group relationship and recognizes
the role of individual psychology and group behavior in organizational
effectiveness. It is thus an improved version of human relations approach.
Theories of Human
Relation School based on its aspects
Its main aspects are:
Motivation: Motivation is the technique or art of influencing
workers for getting the work done by them. Based on motivation several theories
evolved. They are:- Need hierarchy, X & Y, 2 factor theory
Style of supervision- In neo-classical approach to management, emphasizes put
on ‘Leadership’ for solving the ongoing problems of the employees of
organization. For ‘Leadership’ system ‘Rensis Likert’ is highly known for his
‘System 1-4T’. Group dynamics: Group Dynamics’ is a system of behaviors and psychological
processes occurring within a social group or between social groups. ‘Group
Dynamics’ are the core of understanding racism, sexism, and other form of
prejudice and discrimination. Relating to group dynamics, famous experiment
done by ‘John Elton Mayo’ which is referred as ‘The Hawthorne Experiment or Study’ Nature of organization: In human relation approach to management,
the nature of the organization also had been emphasized. ‘Chris Argyris’
contributed incase of the nature of organization. Individual differences: In the ‘Human Relation’ approach to management the term
‘Individual Difference’ was recognized. For this reason, the best person is
recruited for the organization. That’s why, the recruitment process should be
careful. ‘Hugo Munsterberg’ contributed in this case. 