1. UNIT II ORGANIZATION THEORY APROACHES
OCMT
ORGANIZATION THEORY
UNIT II ORGANIZATION THEORY APROACHES
Dr Syed Mohammad Tariq Zafar
4/25/2017

2. UNIT II – LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Classical approaches: systematic management, scientific management
Bureaucracy, administrative management, Human relations
Quantitative management, organizational behavior, System theory
Contingency theory, Contemporary approaches: current and future revolutions
4/25/2017
BABY THOMAS 2015 / Dr Tariq

3. Hawthorne Works of Western Electric Company 1924 - Chicago
HAWTHORNE STUDIES
The Hawthorne Studies
Hawthorne Works of Western Electric Company
Chicago
Research focus: Relation of quality and quantity of illumination to efficiency in industry
Four Important Studies
4/25/2017
BABY THOMAS 2015 / Dr Tariq

4. “The Hawthorne Studies”
Illumination Study (November 1924)
Designed to test the effect of lighting intensity on worker productivity
Heuristic (experienced based) value: influence of human relations on work behavior
Relay Assembly Test Room Study ( )
Assembly of telephone relays (35 parts - 4 machine screws)
Production and satisfaction increased regardless of IV manipulation
Workers’ increased production and satisfaction related to supervisory practices
Human interrelationships are important contributing factors to worker productivity
Bottom Line: Supervisory practices increase employee morale AND productivity
Interviewing Program ( )
Investigate connection between supervisory practices and employee morale
Employees expressed their ideas and feelings (e.g., likes and dislikes)
Process more important than actual results
Bank Wiring Room Observation Study (November May 1932)
Social groups can influence production and individual work behavior
RQ: How is social control manifested on the shop floor?
Informal organization constrains employee behavior within formal organizational structure
4/25/2017
BABY THOMAS 2015 / Dr Tariq

5. Hawthorne Studies - Implications
Illumination Study (November 1924)
The mere practice of observing people’s behavior tends to alter their behavior (Hawthorne Effect)
Relay Assembly Test Room Study ( )
Relationships between workers and their supervisors are powerful
Human interrelationships increase the amount and quality of worker participation in decision making
Interviewing Program ( )
Demonstrated powerful influence of upward communication
Workers were asked for opinions, told they mattered, and positive attitudes toward company increased
Bank Wiring Room Observation Study (November May 1932)
Led future theorists to account for the existence of informal communication
Taken together, these studies helped to document the powerful nature of social relations in the workplace and moved managers more toward the interpersonal aspects of organizing.
4/25/2017
BABY THOMAS / Dr Tariq

6. Organizational behavior
Organizational behavior is a field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups, and structure have on behavior within organizations, for the purpose of applying such knowledge toward improving organizational effectiveness.
4/25/2017
BABY THOMAS 2015 / Dr Tariq

7. Theory X and Theory Y: Douglas McGregor
Theory X - Classical Theory
Three Assumptions
The average human being has an inherent dislike of work and will avoid it.
Most people must be coerced, controlled, directed, and threatened with punishment
The average human being prefers to be directed, wishes to avoid responsibility, has relatively little ambition, wants security.
Theory Y - Human Relations Theory
Assumptions
Physical and mental effort in work is similar to play / rest.
External control and the threat of punishment are not the only strategies
Commitment to objectives is a function of the rewards associated with their achievement
The average human being learns, under proper conditions, not only to accept but to seek responsibility
The capacity to exercise a high degree of imagination, ingenuity, and creativity in the solution of organizational problems is widely distributed in the population
Intellectual potentialities of the average human being are underutilized.

8. Contingency Theory
Developed in the 1960s by Tom Burns and G. M. Stalker in Britain and Paul Lawrence and Jay Lorsch in the United States
It is the idea that the organizational structures and control systems that managers choose depending on (i.e. are contingent on) the characteristics of the external environment in which the organization operates.
4/25/2017
BABY THOMAS Dr Tariq

9. Characteristics of Contingency Theory
The characteristics of the external environment affect an organization’s ability to obtain resources
To maximize the likelihood of gaining access to scarce resources, managers must allow an organization’s departments to organize and control their activities in ways most likely to allow them to obtain those resources
Examples of characteristics of the external environment include (but are not limited to):
changes in the environment;
the entry of new competitors;
unstable economic conditions.
4/25/2017
BABY THOMAS / Dr Tariq

10. Systems Types: Open Vs. Closed
An open system interacts with its environment.
A closed system receives no inputs from its environment & decay sets in.
Systems have different levels of being open or closed.
A variety of inputs is required to help a system to remain open.
Implications: Need to create a system as open as possible to avoid entropy (gradual decline).
Systems Concepts: Hierarchy
Systems are nested in a hierarchy, that is, systems consist of subsystems and systems operate within environments.
Implications
Need to specify what level of the hierarchy you are focusing on as that level becomes the system of interest.
4/25/2017
BABY THOMAS 2015 / Dr Tariq

11. The Organization as an Open System
Conversion
Stage
Machines
Human skills
Output
Stage
Goods
Services
Input Stage
Raw
Materials
Sales of outputs
Firm can then buy inputs
4/25/2017
BABY THOMAS / Dr Tariq

12. UNIT II ORGANIZATION THEORY APROACHES
OCMT
ORGANIZATION THEORY
UNIT II ORGANIZATION THEORY APROACHES
4/25/2017
BABY THOMAS / Dr Tariq