Organizational Communication Chapter 3

The Hawthorne studies

Western Electric Company Hawthorne studies. initially interested in how changes in the work environment would affect the productivity of factory workers. attempted to to discover aspects of the task environment that would max worker output.

interview program

created as a result of relay assembly test room interviewed thousands of employees to find out the impact of working conditions on productivity, but found workers wanted to talk about emotions and feelings

illumination studies

designed to determine the affect of lighting on worker productivity. the results showed there was little difference in productivity when lighting was raised, lowered, and held constant

What is unique about the communication of an organization that uses the human relations approach?

face to face communication is still the most preferred due to it allowing for immediate feedback and more consideration to non-verbal cues. (p.52)

The dimensions of measurements on the grid was

gauged from low to high numbered from 1 - 9

The five distinguished prototypical management styles are:

improvised management country club management authority-compliance team management middle-of-the-road management

relay assembly test room studies

isolated 6 women who assembled telephone relay systems. introduced changes to the group (incentive/temp/work hours) which were discussed ahead of time. "social satisfactions arising out of human association in work were more important determinants of work behavior in general and output in particular than were any of the physical and economic aspects.

hierarchy of prepotency

lower level needs must be satisfied before an individual can move on to higher level needs

What is unique about the communication of an organization that uses the human resources approach?

multi directional communication flow often takes place in a team-based setting. (p.52)

bank wiring room studies

non experimental observation of a group of men. they found social pressure and group influence on worker behavior exceeded the leverage exerted by the formal organizational power structure

The Hawthorne Effect

the phenomena- whereby mere attention to individuals causes changes in behavior

One of the greatest problems with the Human Relations and Human Resources Approach?

they are only as effective as the manager who implements them

Modern Day Impact of Hawthorne Studies (Human Relations)

-Re-analyses suggests more traditional explanations -incentives, pressure from management and worker selection

McGregor's Theory X and Y (Human Relations)

-Theory X: manager influenced by most negative aspects of classical management -Theory Y: manager who adheres to principles of human relations movement

Modern Human Resources

-What: team management and employee involvement -How: frequent failures

Human Resources

-aspires to maximize organizational productivity and individual need satisfaction -emphasizes contribution employee ideas can make to organizational functioning

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs (Human Relations)

-bottom to top: a. physiological(need for food, water,sleep) b.safety and security(protective and healthy working conditions) c.love and belonging(giving and receiving human affection) d.self-esteem(sense of achievement and accomplishment) e.self-actualization(provision of jobs that allows an individual to exercise responsibility and creativity)

The Leadership Grid (Human Resources)

-concern for production and concern for people -(1,1) Impoverished Management -(9,1) Authority-Compliance (Theory X Manager) -(5,5) Middle-of-the-road Management -(1,9) Country Club Management (Theory Y Manager) -(9,9) Team Management (most desirable)

Why is System IV "Participative organization," such a sharp contrast to the other system types?

-decision making is performed by every organizational member -goals are set by complete work groups -Control is exercised at all levels of the organization communication is extensive and includes all directional interaction. (p.51)

Systems IV: "Participative Organization" (Likert) (Human Resources)

-decision making is performed by every organizational member -goals set by complete work groups -control exercised at all levels -communication extensive (upward, downward and horizontal interaction) -contributions of all organizational members are strongly valued -employees rewarded through the satisfaction of a wide variety of needs

System III: "Consultative Organization" (Likert) (Human Resources)

-decisions made at top -control in the upper level hierarchy -before decisions are made employees are consulted and views taken into consideration -goals set after discussion -high level of communication moving both up and down the hierarchy

Implications of The Hawthorne Studies (Human Relations)

-discovery of the informal work group -importance of informal communication -The Hawthorne Effect -impetus for leadership research -early systems focus (flow of communication) -use of qualitative methods

Why is understanding "Maslow's hierarchy of need" useful to the organizational management

-hierarchy of prepotency: must meet the need below to meet the need above (ex. can't have safety and security without physiological needs met first)

The Hawthorne Studies (Human Relations)

-how changes in work environment would impact productivity -The Illumination Studies, -The Relay Assembly Test Room Studies, -The Interview Program, -The Bank Wiring Room Studies

System II: "Benevolent Authoritative Organization" (Likert) (Human Resources)

-motivation through economic and ego rewards -limited communication -decision making at top -goal setting through orders and comments -top-level control -similar to system I but does not incorporate the explicit goal of exploiting workers -still authoritative because managers feel it is the "best for workers"

System I: "Exploitive Authoritative Organization" (Likert) (Human Resources)

-motivation through threats and fear -downward and inaccurate communication -top-level decision making, the giving orders, and top-level control -includes worst features of classical and scientific management

Problems with Human Relations

-romanticized -job satisfaction and productivity -the appearance of participation

The Leadership Grid definition (Blake and Mouton)

-tool for training manager in leadership styles that would enhance organizational efficient and effectiveness -stimulates the satisfaction and creativity of individual workers -leaders most effective when they exhibit a concern for people and concern for production -combines the interests of classical management (concern for production) and human relations (concern for people) (p.48)

What is unique about Likeret's System IV explanation of organizations?

It is an organizational type that values and encourages the contributions of all organizational members. (p.51)

Which of the five leadership styles reflect a sense of balance based on it's location on the grid?

Middle-of-the-road Management - an attempt to have a concern for both without going too far for either goal.

Of the five leadership styles which one was be considered optimal?

Team Management - high concern for both people and production (p.49)

Human relations approach

View of organizations that emphasizes the importance of human needs in the workplace.

What was widely believed about the Hawthorn Studies and what was proven later?

Widely believed: the Hawthorn studies could be best explained as a function of social factors and satisfaction of human needs of workers. Reality: traditional explanations like incentives/pressure from management/worker selection are better reasoning for the Hawthorn results

Theory X propositions (Human Relations)

adheres to classical theories (McGregor disagrees) -As a manager I am: responsible for organizing and people must be controlled and motivated -Average worker is lazy, lacks ambition, is inherently self-centered, resistant to change, and gullible

Theory Y Propositions (Human Relations)

adheres to human relations movement (McGregor agrees) -expenditure of physical and mental effort in work is natural -external control and punishment not only means for bringing out effort toward organizational goals -commitment to objectives is a function of the rewards associated with workers achievement -average person accepts responsibility -capacity to exercise imagination and ingenuity is distributed to all workers -intellectual potential of the average person is only partially utilized

explanations of findings in Hawthorn Studies

as a direct result of the attention paid to workers b the researchers. hawthorn effects social factors management style

Rensis Likert

author of New patterns of management and the Human organization incorporate the ideals of the human resources movement system I to system IV

What label is found on the y-axis of the leadership grid?

concern for people

What label is found on the x-axis of the leadership grid?

concern for production