Human Relations Perspective In Management The human relations perspective is a way to manage a corporation where the employees are viewed as social beings with complex needs and desires as opposed to just units of production. It is based on the works of Abraham Maslow and Douglas McGregor in the mid twentieth century. This perspective places an emphasis on the social networks found in a corporation and uses gratification, not depravation, to provide motivation in the workplace. The human relations perspective developed in the mid twentieth century and was an extension of the behavioral viewpoint. Prior to the behavioral, almost all management was looked upon through the classical viewpoint. This viewpoint specifically focused on how to create higher efficiency though technical processes with little regard to the social aspect of work. It wasn’t until after the Hawthorne experiments that people began to realize that the happiness of the worker has a major effect on overall productivity. The experiment began as a test on the effects of different working environments on productivity. However as they proceeded researchers found that no matter what they altered productivity increased. Therefore they concluded that productivity rises when employees are given attention and a say in the decisions that affect their work. ( Kinicki, A., & Williams, B. K. (2008). Chapter 2. In Management: A practical Introduction (pp. 46-49) NYC: McGraw Hill.) Previous perspectives overlooked the relationship between the employee and the work group he/she was associated with. The Hawthorne experiments led to the establishment of the behavioral viewpoint. This viewpoint has a more psychological approach to management with an emphasis on understanding h... ... middle of paper ... ...useCoopers) This helps give employees a sense of importance within the organization and helps to fulfill their, “esteem needs” according to Maslow. They train their managers to, “…support and coach rather than direct.” (Milton, F., Mr. (n.d.). Innovation Survey. Retrieved September 15, 2008, from PricewaterhouseCoopers) They feel it is up to the mangers to create an open environment where people’s natural abilities can be recognized. The human relations perspective is based on a more psychological approach to management and looks to create efficiency through fulfilling the needs of employees. The workplace is looked at as a social network and employees are viewed as human beings, not units of production. A manager creates an open environment where employees feel involved and appreciated in order to obtain the highest level of productivity.
Most leaders believed that employees in their organization disliked work and would avoid it if they could. Daniel McGregor in his 1960 groundbreaking book The Human Side of Enterprise argued that “Those running companies were operating from a faulty assumption about human behavior” (Pink, 2009, p. 74). Managers believe employees must be coerced, controlled, directed, and threaten with punishment to acquire them to put forth an effort to achieve set objectives. McGregor’s X-Y theory suggest that there are two ways to manage people.
Established by Elton Mayo and associates while conducting a study in 1933, it recognizes the importance of human interaction and that social factors are significant in accomplishing organizational goals. The research showed that technical rationality such as, procedures, processes, and structures, were not sufficient enough to guarantee maximum productivity. They concluded, social factors, were as important, if not more important, than technical factors. They based the findings off of the observation that productivity seemed to be connected to worker morale and the sense of social responsibility to their co-workers (Hutchison 2011).
The central focus of the human relations approaches is human needs within an organization. The evolution of this theory stems from the classical approach. The classical approach centers around the machine metaphor. It highlights the importance of three key elements within an organization: specialization, standardization, and predictability (Miller, 2012: 18-19). In the classical approach, organizations emphasize structure and efficiency; communication is limited within the boundaries of hierarchy and formality. Classical organizations communicate vertically from upper management to employees, often relying on written and formal communication methods (Miller, 2012:
According to the author, Human Resource is the “practices and policies needed to perform the personnel aspects of a managerial job” (Dessler, 2011, p. 2). Generally, HR focuses on state and federal laws as well as company responsibilities such as staff benefits and payroll and the hiring or termination of employees. In addition to concentrating on the workforce of a company, the HR manager works cohesively with other members of management. Usually collaborations with other managers lead to the development of strategic planning for training or advancement of company objectives.
With today?s work force becoming increasingly diverse, a organization must do more to maximize the benefits of the different employees. Human Resource Managers are evolving from the ?Old School? sideline player to the front line fighters. People have always been central to organizations, but their strategic importance is growing in today?s society.
Hersey, Paul, and Kenneth H. Blanchard. Management of organizational behavior: Utilizing human resources . Prentice-Hall, Inc, 1993.
To understand Engstrom’s issues of low morale as well as diminished employee productivity and quality, workplace analysis is fundamental. Using the human behavior perspective, this analysis focuses on existing workplace organizational issues and their root causes. Moreover, the paper discusses the impacts of poorly aligned and administered human behavior theories and concepts on these organizational issues.
The Humana organization has not achieved productivity just by motivating employees, but rather by their unique motivational theory they apply. The Human body uses the Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs theory of motivation (Healy, 2016).
The foundation of Maslow’s hierarchy or pyramid is basic physiological, then safety and security, belongingness, esteem, and self-actualization (Maslow, 1970). Maslow observed the work environment and determined employees are primarily concerned with the culture and structure of the work place meeting their needs (Bobic & Davis, 2003, p. 242). McGregor applied these needs to the work environment of the mid to late 1950’s (Bobic & Davis, 2003, p. 240). The result was a new era of management theory and practice which tapped the creative potential of the workforce (Bobic and Davis, 2003, p. 241).
In his work Application of the Maslow’s hierarchy of need theory, Dr. Nyameh Jerome states that it may be definitely linked to the complex organization of the contemporary workplace. He highlights a theory’s importance for organizational culture, human resource management, and employee’s performance and thoroughly examines its impact on them. From his perspective, every organization passes through lower stages of satisfying basic physiological and safety needs to the higher levels of social needs, self-esteem and self-actualization. He reveals the interconnection between individual needs and organizational goals, “at the third level of the Maslow’s hierarchy, social needs would correspond to the formation of organized roles within the organization into distinct units. The positive interaction of organizational culture and human resource management would result in self-esteem and self-actualization. It also implies that the organization through its employees has excelled and met their objectives, mission and vision statement, i.e. a stage that can be considered parallel to self-actualization. “(2013, p.
An organizational human resources department utilizes the hiring and firing process to meet the organization’s personnel needs. Organizational human resource departments are charged with the oversight of an organizations administration department. The practice of hiring and firing people is a process employer’s conducts on a daily basis. This process has to be done in a proper manner and not in haste. The implication that can occur from the improper hiring and firing process could and can have a positive or negative impact on an organization. Therefore, employers must carefully evaluate their decision to hire/fire individuals and its impact on the organizations’ workplace environment and others employees. Human Resource Management is important for an effective organization. In today’s organization, HRM is valuable to the organization because of increase legal complexities and its known for improvement in productivity. However, management should realize that poor human resource management could result in an outburst of hiring process followed by firing or layoffs. According to (Satterlee 2013, p. 194), “Hiring the best candidate who is also a good fit for the organization is crucial for the success of an organization, because a poor hiring decision will have repercussions across the entire organization”. Satterlee made a valid point because poor hiring could have an impact on the bottom line performance of the firm. In other words, HRM is the contributing factor to the success of the organization including motivating and maintain the staffs. The purpose to the motivation is to ensure that all employees grow to a full potential. According to (Sims 2006, p. 5), “HRM efforts are planned, systematic approaches to increasing organizati...
In business, the effectiveness of an organization rests on the ability of the management to interact with its employees and to motivate the wo...
Functionalism requires one to fulfil some social gaps and to establish and maintain social order of society and how all its parts are interrelated together. As human resource staff play the part that maintains social order, sociological theories would be necessary to take into consideration and should be applied into the everyday functions, this is necessary to ensure there is order, equality, productivity, harmony by ensuring both organisation and employees are heading towards the same direction.
Since the end of the 19th century, when factory manufacturing became widespread and the size of organisations increased, people have been looking for ways to motivate employees and improve productivity. A need for management ideas arise which lead to classical contributors such as Frederick Taylor and Henri Fayol generating management theories such as Taylor’ Scientific Management and Fayol’s Administrative Management. In the late 1920’s and early 1930’s the Hawthorne studies were conducted where Elton Mayo was the predominate figure and contributed to the Behavioural viewpoint. This brought about a Human Relations Movement which included Douglas McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y approach. Similarities and differences can be found between the theories due to the relevant time period they were implemented, the motives or goal of the theory and how they view organisations. However the use of contingency theory can help negate the dissimilarities which occur as it allows the relevant elements from each theory to be applied to specific situations.
The main purpose of Human Resource Management is to increase the effectiveness and contribution of employee’s attainment of organizational goals and objective (Youssef, C.). Many areas of HRM have been discussed in this course. Those areas are EEO and Affirmative action, Human resource planning, recruitment, and selection, Human resource development, compensation and benefits, safety and health, and employee and labor relations. All these categories have an impact on how an organization is managed. Although there are many things that impact a business, the most important thing about managing a business is selecting the right people to help the company succeed.