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Behavioral Approach of Management

The behavioral approaches to management aimed to understand human aspects in organizations by studying how factors like leadership, motivation, and job satisfaction influence performance. Key contributions included the Hawthorne Studies which found that increased attention alone can boost productivity due to the Hawthorne Effect, and the Human Relations movement highlighted the importance of social and esteem needs in motivation according to Maslow's hierarchy and McGregor's Theory Y approach to management. The Behavioral Science approach applied scientific methods to further understand human behavior in organizations.

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VAIBHAV JAIN
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112 views2 pages

Behavioral Approach of Management

The behavioral approaches to management aimed to understand human aspects in organizations by studying how factors like leadership, motivation, and job satisfaction influence performance. Key contributions included the Hawthorne Studies which found that increased attention alone can boost productivity due to the Hawthorne Effect, and the Human Relations movement highlighted the importance of social and esteem needs in motivation according to Maslow's hierarchy and McGregor's Theory Y approach to management. The Behavioral Science approach applied scientific methods to further understand human behavior in organizations.

Uploaded by

VAIBHAV JAIN
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We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Behavioral approach of management

As explained earlier the classical management approaches, and in particular scientific


management, were criticized for being mechanistic and dehumanizing in nature and none
emphasized human behavior in organizations. The behavioral approaches to management
demonstrate that job satisfaction through effective leadership and motivation
influences organizational performance.
Behavioral approaches to management therefore attempted to understand the "human
aspects" in organizations and the main contributions to this approach are:

1. The Hawthorne studies


The Hawthorne studies were named so because they were conducted at the Western
Electric's Hawthorne plant near Chicago. The management of the company hired a team of
Harvard researchers led by Elton Mayo and Fritz Roethlisberger to find the main physical
working conditions(starting with lighting) which might be affecting workers' efficiency
and productivity. Three sets of studies were carried out and the first two are discussed
below.
Hawthorne Studies - Experiment 1 'The Illumination Experiments" - The researchers
changed the lighting in the factory to assess the effects of different lighting conditions on
productivity. However one group of workers - the control group - was kept in constant
lighting conditions. They observed that:
 The control's group productivity increased;
 Where lighting conditions were improved, productivity also increased;
 Where lighting conditions were deteriorated, productivity still increased
As level of productivity was rising in an unpredictable manner, the researchers were baffled
and decided to look for other physical working conditions that might affect productivity.
Hawthorne Studies - Experiment 2: In this second set of experiments, five female workers
were placed separately in a Relay Assembly Test Room and the researchers acted as
supervisors. As a consequence the researchers were able to alter a number of work
conditions whereby:
 There were no formal supervisors present;
 Wages were increased and workdays and workweeks were shortened;
 The length of rest periods was altered and the group members were free to choose when
to take them.
A control group, which did not benefit from any changes, was also tested in order to
compare findings between both groups. Once again the researchers found that productivity,
in both groups, peaked after which it began to fall erratically. At this stage in the Hawthorne
Studies, Mayo and his associates made their first contribution to the behavioral approach -
namely the Hawthorne Effect. The Hawthorne Effect It is obvious that the only common
element between the control group and the "five female workers test group" was the
presence of the researchers. The researchers argued that since both groups of workers
were being monitored closely and received special attention, they became more motivated
than usual. This phenomenon of increased motivation to work harder, due to special
attention, is known as the Hawthorne effect. So the researchers suggested that
employees' behavior and productivity are influenced by management's/supervisors' attitude
towards them.

Prepared by HighQ – The HR Club


2

2. The Human Relations Movement


The human relations approach tried to encourage managers to move away from the
belief that employees were motivated only by material and economic incentives and
instead proposed that managers recognize the necessity of interpersonal processes as an
important motivational mechanism for employees. Two important contributors to the human
relations movement are:
 Abraham Maslow for his "hierarchy of needs theory" which suggests that people are
motivated by the need to satisfy a sequence of human needs, including physiological (the
most basic needs), safety, social, esteem and self-actualization.
 Douglas McGregor for his "Theory X and Theory Y" which describe two opposing
management views of employees. Theory X views employees as innately lazy and
without ambitions, while Theory Y sees employees as motivated, hard-working and
responsible beings. McGregor preferred the Theory Y management approach whereby he
observed that job satisfaction increases employees' performance. This, he argued, is
achieved by allowing employees to exercise responsibility and participate fully in the
organization.

3. The Behavioral science approach

Though the human relations movement has contributed to management approaches by


highlighting the importance of motivating employees through job satisfaction, it has
nevertheless been criticized for being based solely on theories rather than scientific
evidence. Hence the behavioral science approach to management is based on
scientifically developing and establishing theories about human behavior in
organizations which can be used to provide practical guidelines for
managers. Researchers from diverse disciplines such as economics, psychology, sociology
and even mathematics have joined their efforts in order to gain scientific knowledge about
human behavior. Many concepts pertaining to human behavior and the organization are
tested in laboratory settings. Findings are then presented to management practitioners, who
can apply them to their organizations.

Prepared by HighQ – The HR Club

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