ORGANISATION BEHAVIOUR

ORGANISATION BEHAVIOUR

“Organisation Behaviour is concerned with the

study of what people do in an organisation and
how that behaviour affects the performance of the
organisation.”
(Robbins: 1998,9)
ORGANISATION BEHAVIOUR

The study of Organisational Behaviour involves:

 consideration of the interaction among the formal structure
(organisational context in which the process of management takes
place)
 the tasks to be undertaken
 the technology employed and the methods of carrying out work
 the behaviour of people
 the process of management
 the external environment
ORGANISATION BEHAVIOUR

Interrelated dimensions influencing behaviour:

 The Individual - working environment should satisfy individual
needs as well as attainment of organisational goals.
 The Group - formal and informal. Understanding of groups
complements a knowledge of individual behaviour.
 The Organisation - impact of organisation structure and design,
and patterns of management, on behaviour.
 The Environment - technological and scientific development,
economic activity, governmental actions.
IMPORTANCE OF MANAGEMENT THEORY

 What leading writers say is an important part of the study of management.

 It is necessary to view the interrelationships between the development of

theory, behaviour in organisations and management practice.

 An understanding of the development of management thinking helps in

understanding principles underlying the process of management.

 Knowledge of the history helps in understanding the nature of

management and organisation behaviour.

 Many earlier ideas are still important and are often incorporated into more
current management thinking.

1
MANAGEMENT THEORY

Theory provides a sound basis for action BUT

if the action is to be effective the theory must
be adequate and appropriate to the task and
to improved organisational performance.
MANAGEMENT THEORY

In theory, theory and practice are the same.

In practice, theory and practice are different.

From “LEADERSHIP ... with a human touch”

20 October 1998
DIVISION OF LABOUR

Definition:
“The extent to which the organisation’s
work is separated into different jobs to be
done by different people.”
(Moorhead and Griffin:1998,448)
DIVISION OF LABOUR

 Major purpose or function  Common time scales

 Product or service  Common processes

 Location  Staff employed

 Nature of the work performed  Customer or people to be

served
DIVISION OF LABOUR

ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
 Efficient use of labour  Routine, repetitive jobs
 Reduced training costs  Reduced job satisfaction
 Increased standardisation  Decreased worker involvement
and uniformity of output and commitment
 Increased expertise from  Increased worker alienation
repetition of tasks  Possible incompatibility with
computerised manufacturing
technologies
DIVISION OF LABOUR

Decisions on division of work should take

account of:
 the need for co-ordination
 the identification of clearly defined divisions of work
 economy
 the process of managing the activities
 avoiding conflict

 of the
the design of work organisation should take account
nature and interests of staff and job satisfaction.
DIVISION OF LABOUR

Mintzberg’s five basic elements of structure which

Serve as co-ordinating mechanisms for the work of
the organisation.

1. Mutual Adjustment
2. Direct Supervision
3. Standardisation of Work Processes
4. Standardisation of Work Output
5. Standardisation of Worker Skills
DIVISION OF LABOUR

ADVANTAGES OF CENTRALISATION
 Easier implementation of a common policy for the organisation as
a whole.
 Prevents sub-units becoming too dependent.
 Easier co-ordination and management control.
 Improved economies of scale and a reduction in overhead costs.
 Greater use of specialisation, including better facilities and
equipment.
 Improved decision-making which might otherwise be slower.
DIVISION OF LABOUR

ARGUMENTS AGAINST CENTRALISATION

 More mechanistic structure
 Lengthens scalar chain (number of different levels in the structure
of an organisation).
DIVISION OF LABOUR

ADVANTAGES OF DECENTRALISATION
 Enables decisions to be made closer to the operational level of
work.
 Support services will be more effective if they are closer to the
activities they are intended to serve.
 Opportunities for training in management.

Tends to be easier to implement in private sector

organisations rather than the public sector -
accountability, regularity, uniformity.
DIVISION OF LABOUR

Six key elements to be addressed when designing

structure:
 Work Specialisation
 Departmentalisation
 Chain of Command (Scalar Chain)
 Span of Control (Number of subordinates reporting
directly to a manager or supervisor.)
 Centralisation and Decentralisation
 Formalisation
CLASSICAL APPROACH

 Emphasis on purpose, formal structure, hierarchy of management,

technical requirements and common principles of organisation.

 This perspective was concerned with structuring organisations

effectively.

 Two major sub-groupings of this approach are:

– Bureaucracy
– Scientific Management (sometimes categorised as an
approach in its own right)
CLASSICAL APPROACH

Major Contributors:  Weber proposed a

bureaucratic form of structure
that he believed would work
Henri Fayol
for all organisations.
Linda Urwick
Max Weber – most
 Embraced logic, rationality,
prominent of the three. efficiency.
CLASSICAL APPROACH

Weber’s Ideal Bureaucracy Criticisms of Bureaucracy

 Job Specialisation  Lack of attention to the

 Authority Hierarchy informal organisation.
 Formal Selection  Restriction of psychological
 Formal Rules and growth
Regulations  Bureaucratic dysfunction
 Impersonality
 Career Orientation
CLASSICAL APPROACH

SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT

Emphasis on obtaining increased productivity from

individual workers through the technical structuring of
the work organisation and the provision of monetary
incentives as the motivator for higher levels of output.

Major Contributor - FW TAYLOR (1856 - 1917) - held

the view that there was a best working method by which
people should undertake their jobs.
CLASSICAL APPROACH

TAYLOR’S PRINCIPLES

 the development of a true science for each person’s work

 the scientific selection, training and development of the workers
 co-operation with the workers to ensure work is carried out in the
prescribed way
 the division of work and responsibility between management and
the workers.
CLASSICAL APPROACH

REACTIONS AGAINST SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT

 opposition because its specific goal was to get more output from
the workers
 argument that his incentive system would dehumanise the
workplace
 inadequate views of employee motivation
 allegations that he falsified some of his research findings and paid
someone to do his writing for him.
 HUMAN RELATIONS APPROACH

 During the 1920s, attention began to focus on social factors at

work, groups, leadership, the informal organisation and
behaviour of people.
 ‘Behavioural’ and ‘informal’ are alternative headings sometimes
given to this approach.
 Turning point came with the famous Hawthorne experiments at
the Western Electric Company in America (1924-32)
 One of the researchers (leader) was ELTON MAYO (1880-
1949)
HUMAN RELATIONS APPROACH

Four Main Phases to the Hawthorne Experiments

 The Illumination Experiments - level of production was
influenced by factors other than changes in physical conditions of
work.
 The Relay Assembly Test Room - attention and interest by
management reason for higher productivity.
 The Interviewing Programme -20,000 interviews. Gave impetus
to present-day personnel management and use of counselling
interviews. Highlighted the need for management to listen to
workers.
 The Bank Wiring Observation Room - Piecework Incentive
Scheme. Group pressures stronger than financial incentives
offered by management.
NEO-HUMAN RELATIONS APPROACH

 Writers in the 1950s and 1960s who adopted a more

psychological orientation.

 Major focus was the personal adjustment of the individual within

the work organisation and the effects of group relationships and
leadership styles.

 Main contributors: MASLOW, HERZBERG AND McGREGOR.

NEO-HUMAN RELATIONS APPROACH

MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF HUMAN NEEDS

General Examples NEEDS Organisational

Examples
Achievement SELF-ACTUALISATION Challenging Job
Status ESTEEM Job Title
Friendship BELONGINGNESS Friends in the Work
Group
Stability SECURITY Pension Plan
Sustenance PHYSIOLOGICAL Base Salary
NEO-HUMAN RELATIONS APPROACH

HERZBERG isolated two different sets of factors affecting

motivation and satisfaction at work.

1. Hygiene or Maintenance Factors - concerned basically with job

environment. Extrinsic to the work itself.
2. Motivators or Growth Factors - concerned with job content.
Intrinsic to the work itself.

Goal of managers is to achieve a state of no dissatisfaction by

addressing Hygiene Factors. Task of improving motivation is
then by addressing the Motivators.
NEO-HUMAN RELATIONS APPROACH

McGREGOR argued that the style of Management adopted is a

function of the manager’s attitudes towards human nature and
behaviour at work.

He put forward two suppositions called Theory X and Theory Y which

are based on popular assumptions about work and people.
NEO-HUMAN RELATIONS APPROACH

THEORY X ASSUMPTIONS

 People do not like work and try to avoid it.

 People do not like work, so managers have to control, direct,
coerce, and threaten employees to get them to work toward
organisational goals.
 People prefer to be directed, to avoid responsibility, to want
security, and have little ambition.
NEO-HUMAN RELATIONS APPROACH

THEORY Y ASSUMPTIONS
 People do not naturally dislike work; work is a natural part of their
lives.
 People are internally motivated to reach goals to which they are
committed.
 People are committed to goals to the degree that they receive
personal rewards when they reach their objectives.
 People will seek and accept responsibility under favourable
conditions.
 People have the capacity to be innovative in solving
organisational problems.
 People are bright, but generally their potentials are under-utilised.
SYSTEMS APPROACH

 Integration of the classical and human relations approaches.

Attempts to reconcile the work of the formal and the informal
writers.
 Importance of the socio-technical system.
 Attention is focused on the total work organisation and the
interrelationships of structure and behaviour, and the range of
variables within the organisation.
 The Systems Approach encourages managers to view the
organisation both as a whole and as part of a larger environment.
CONTINGENCY APPROACH

 Best viewed as an extension of the systems approach.

 Highlights possible means of differentiating between alternative
forms of organisation structure and systems of management.
 There is no one best design of organisation.
 Most appropriate structure and system of management is
dependent upon the contingencies of the situation for the
particular organisation.