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HRM - Conflicts of Scientific and Humanistic Values
1.0 Introduction
One of the popular theory of the “Critical Theorist “ ( with referrence to the Marxist view ).
science reduce humankind to passive objects beholden to the laws of "nature."
Sociology, as a form of science, is therefore also criticized for making scientific studies a means to an end unto themselves, as well as for not recognizing the importance of the individual.
Modern society at large is criticized for being obsessed with rationality and efficiency instead of human emancipation. Also, people have become overly controlled by technology. For example, constant stimuli such ad television pacify us and control our thoughts and emotions.
Culture also comes under attack for becoming what has been termed a culture industry. Instead of having stories, beliefs or artifacts for their own sake, culture has become commodified It has lost spontaneity or the ability to inspire originality in people. Similarly, there is said to be a knowledge industry. Universities are seen as oppressive institutions more concerned with increasing their influence than in providing students with knowledge.
Likewise, in the field of organization development, humanistic and scientific are two different and opposite elements that have always been in constant conflict and tension. And so often the measure of these conflicts are the effectiveness or efficiency of an organisation.
In my point of view, "humanistic" in nature and approach, whatever the subject, seeks to solve problems "from a human-centered viewpoint." And hence this paper could be an attempt of such effort.
2.0 What is efficiency ?
Efficiency is highly prized in a culture turned toward productivity. It is therefore cultivated in contemporary business administration theories. It also tends to be prized above all other values in modern society, as society is more and more oriented toward technological advancement. Efficiency is also defined here as the most economic or the shortest or fastest or most simple way of realizing or achieving a goal with the least cost.
As a means of evaluating human activity in business and practical activity in general, efficiency is, therefore, the standard. It is a standard of quality pertaining to the action, but it cannot be considered a moral virtue, since the quality of good or evil does not derive from the form in which an objective is achieved but from the goal or end that the action achieves. To give an extreme example, one could say that Hitler and his engineers were extremely efficient in achieving the goal of exterminating Jews.
Efficiency is not always the answer, according to David Owen, in his novel The Conundrum, explains that society is headed in the wrong direction, believing that to be greener we need to make our everyday lives more efficient when in reality we need to change our behavior. As consumers, people want to be sustainable and preserve the Earth while greedily expanding our collection of trinkets. Efficiency can be beneficial, but to make the world a greener one, it is essential for people to change their behavior, not efficiency of the products.
Sociology is a science because methodological study is used to study the behavior of people in society in their environment. The same steps using the scientific method in a research process: observation, hypothesis testing, data analysis, and generalization is used when conducting sociological research.
The criticism that Anderson is making is that society is controlled and monitored, pushed to conform to set standards, given less information and has relied on technology since birth.
The humanistic perspective takes into consideration of the hierarchy of needs that a person has and then contemplates on the ones that are most important. Human beings normally have unique needs and each need is important. These needs include: physiological needs, safety, self-esteem, love as well as actualization. All the above needs are vital to the happiness of an individual despite their difference in the level of
As a result they create there ideology of what and how they feel about the society. It is also believed that popular culture diverts people from what is important and considered beneficiary to the elite. This ideology conceals the reality of domination from those power (Storey 2006). The categorization of what is popular culture and what is classical culture over the years has been onesignificant issue when it comes to ideological practices.Popular culture in pre-modern societies, was integrated and inseparable from day to day life routines. Again culture became commercialized. For instance in modern society the manner in which object are manufactured and the massage the products communicate has not only affected how people view them but also they use them. Again people use this product despite of them having no clue of how they are produced. That is “the negative effects of popular culture were very clear to Walter Benjamin, who argued that mechanical reproduction of arts removes the ‘aura’ from that work. (Kidd, 2007, p. 74).the consequences of this process is that people don’t know or get to learn the traditional way of production of get to learn from those who produced cultural objects.People ability to think independently and critically have been greatly undermined by the introduction of the
The humanistic perspective on personality deals exclusively with human behavior. Humanistic psychologists believe that human nature includes a natural drive towards personal growth, that humans have the freedom to choose what they do regardless of environmental factors, and humans are mostly conscious beings and are not controlled by unconscious needs and conflicts. They also believe that a person's subjective view of the world is more important than objective reality. Two of the humanistic theorists that have made an impact of humanism are Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow.
People sit around and stare blankly at their TVs all day thinking that they have so much to offer, when they don’t even actually know who the person on the screen is. It is almost like they are brainwashed into thinking that the more technology available the more happy that they will be. In reality, all of the technology that is supposedly making them “happy” is keeping them away from the things that they should truly cherish and value in life. The society is making everyone quickly drift away from the true meaning of happiness.
Kanigel, Robert. The One Best Way: Frederick Winslow Taylor and the Enigma of Efficiency. New York: Viking Press. 1997.
Productivity is key in any organizational business performance. Higher productivity generally creates a higher chance for a business to perform. Lower employee productivity affects the business performance.
It is common knowledge that in order for an organization to thrive, there must be labor productivity. In conjunction, for the efficiency in companies to be on a high level,
Social efficiency theory, as described by Schiro (2013), began in 1913 when Franklin Bobbitt introduced his ideals that educators must use scientific methods to determine the set of objectives students needed to learn in order to grow and function as contributing members of society. Efficiency implies a careful organization and carrying out of educational experiences the learner must learn. In order for that to happen, Bobbitt refers to the creation and use of behavioral objectives by educators. Behavioral objectives use desired learner behaviors outcomes which the educator may observe and assess. As Schiro (2013) points out, the social efficiency theory is one under which “Educators, acting as agents of society, must determine the needs of society and the products [pupils with skills] that fulfill those
Productivity is an important life skill that consists of prioritizing obligations in the most efficient way possible. Ekaterina Walter, Wharton University, and asapSCIENCE all explain their thoughts on the most efficient way to be productive. All of the authors reveal that in order to be most productive, one must recognize their own “productivity pockets”, set S.M.A.R.T. goals and create a methodical system for work.
Although there are some differences among bureaucratic and scientific management theories, in actuality, they both share a deliberate and detailed approach towards improving an organization’s efficiency and effectiveness. Dissimilarities seen in these approaches may be due primarily to their points of reference. Where the scientific approach focuses primarily on maximizing the efficiency of work, the bureaucratic approach’s concentration is directed on the structuring of the personnel within the organization. Although there are weaknesses in both management theories time has shown each to be successful models. These two classical approaches to management complement each other and lend well to large organizations. Both theories have been universally adopted and adaptations of each are in practice today.
To Quote Anthony Giddens: "Sociology is the study of human social life, groups and societies. It is a dazzling and compelling enterprise, having as its subject matter our own behaviour as social beings. The scope of sociology is extremely wide, ranging from the analysis of passing encounters between individuals in the street up to the investigation of world-wide social processes“(1989). Gidden’s statement describes sociology as a study that helps us understand our own behaviour as human beings in a social word. Sociologist study everything from the interaction between people in the street to the interaction between different countries. Sociologists aim to study how societies have changed over, how societies are structured and organized, the norms of society. It’s also important to understand that not all sociologists agree with each other, Sociologists often debate with one another to prove/disprove certain theories and concepts. By studying Sociology is it helps us analyze social conflicts on a micro and macro scope. Through a macro level, we can study large-scale social organization and large social categories it also examinees social processes and patterns society as a whole. We can analyze individuals much deeper on a micro level. This way we study a human by face-to face interactions. Its important as humans to understand the way our society came together and the reasons to how elements work and function together. Sociology gives us a deeper
Sterling, P. (2014, January 8). Efficiency vs. Effectiveness. Retrieved from American Public Works Association: http://www.lcnetwork.co.uk/effectiveness-doing-the-right-things/