Classical Theories

Bureaucracy

Developed by Taylor as a concept of industrial engineering then refined by Max Weber, the bureaucracy is a concept of management where the work is done by emphasizing on specialization to increase efficiency, which is achieved by dividing work among departments and the operations are controlled by rules and regulations. The overall organization is represented in to a hierarchy of duties and responsibilities and has a very formal relationship structure.

Key characteristics of Bureaucracy are

Hierarchy :- the overall organizational structure is in lresponsibilities and authority
Division of work :- the work is divided in to specialized job and for each specialized job one department is there, where the job is further broken down in to more simple tasks, each employee is expected to perform only routine and well defined task, it was assumed that if a person will keep on doing one thing routinely then he will develop specialization to perform that task, so efficiency will be increased
Rules, regulations and procedures: - all the work and behavior is controlled through set of rules and regulations, by implementation of these rules and regulations it was expected to achieve better control and consistency of the performance.
Recording:- extensive use of written documents or records have to be kept, each instruction, decision, activity or any other communication has to be recorded and files for such records have to be maintained for future reference.
Interpersonal Relationship: - Bureaucracy emphasized on the formal structure of relationship which is based on the levels of hierarchy and departmentalization, hence informal interpersonal relationships were discouraged and emphasis was on to follow rules and regulation in maintaining the interpersonal relationship among people.
Administration: - Bureaucracy encouraged administrative class, a section in the organization responsible for coordinating work, giving instructions and evaluating performance, there selection was based on their merit and experience, and their powers were greater as compared to others and enjoy maximum authority.
Centralization: - the bureaucracy works on the principles of centralization which means the authority is allocated to very few people in the organization and empowerment of employees was negligible, the employees were expected to perform a task which is being instructed to them and not make any decision even for his own work.
System of supervision and subordination:- strict supervision is maintained and concept of subordination which means the employees below a particular level in the hierarchy has to follow the instructions given from above.
Unity of command: - formal structure of command was given, every employee is entitled to follow the instruction of his own senior only and require the work only assigned to him.
Application of consistent and complete rules (company manual):- all activities and decisions were undertaken according to rules given by the company, any kind of administrative decision, disciplinary action or execution of work is regulated by these rules.
Assign work and hire personnel based on competence and experience :- the work is assigned on the basis of strict rules and regulation devised by the organization, the person has to fulfill the requirements of qualification and experience of the position before being placed on the job.

Advantages of Bureaucracy

Specialization:- one of the advantages of bureaucracy is specialization, bureaucracy is based on the division of work among departments where the work is broken down into simpler tasks performed by an employee, the employee perform the same task on a daily basis which make him master of that particular work which improves efficiency and reduce errors, so bureaucracy enhances the skill of the employee and make him special in performing his task. Due to specialization the work is done in less time and is free form defects.
Rationality:- Each function, activity, decision in the organization is done on the basis of rules and regulations, these rules and regulation is common for and known to people, hence people know what is expected from them, what role they have to play and what is their level in the hierarchy. This brings logical structuring of activities brings about orderly execution of tasks.
Predictability:- the bureaucracy enhances predictability as everything is performed according to set rules and has formal structuring hence there is no chance of confusion, as every activity or task is formalized we can predict the outcome with great certainty e.g if the promotion is given after completion of 3 yrs of service, then employees who has completed the tenure of 3 yrs can be certain that his promotion will be done.
Democracy:- the rules and regulations are formulated according to the general consensus of the management which is arrived after consideration of the majority of the employees, once these rules and regulations were set they are religiously followed which results in to a democratic structure where the decisions are made on the basis of majority view.
Stability:- the bureaucracy brings stability and this stability and specialization acts as a competency for the company, such management is suitable where efficiency is required in a stable business environment.

Disadvantages of Bureaucracy

Rigidity:- the rigidity comes to bureaucracy as a fact that this management style is too formal, and the process of bringing changes in the rules and regulations is too tedious which makes this style of management rigid, because of this such management style can not respond to changing business environment .
Impersonality:- Due to strict adherence of rules and regulations and extreme form of formalization such management style ignore the human quotient of the organization i,e. organization ignore the needs and limitations of people, and all the decisions are taken based on the rules only, this makes the organization more of mechanical in its dealing.
Displacement of the organization objectives:- Due to extreme emphasis on the specialization of once job, the people working in a department is so engrossed in focusing on his departmental targets that they forget the prime objective of the organization hence a synchronization between the functioning of every department is missing which leads to non fulfillment of organization objective.
Compartmentalization of Work :- Due to strict rules and regulations the employees are prevented to perform any other task apart from being assigned which he is capable to perform, this leads to differences in department and discourages employees to perform better and learn new skills. e.g. a person who is working on a machine if not assigned a job of conducting repair work of the machine, he will have to call the worker from maintenance department even if he can do the repair by himself. This not only stop the working unnecessarily for longer duration it de motivate the employee in increasing his skill set.
Centralization and Empire building: - the managers at the higher rung try to enhance their powers and status by adding more people , space, physical facilities this leads to wastages of resources. This also leads to more rigidity in the management.
Red Tapism :- Under the bureaucracy the rules and regulations guide the activities and each activities have to be authorized by higher level and for each authorization or communication have to be recorded this lead to slowing down of work as for even minor issues there has to be formal communication from lower level to upper level for approval and then the approval has to travel through the formal channels to the actual authority, this communication takes a very long time which withholds the work and the performance of the organization.

Frederick W Taylor’s Scientific Management

Scientific management is a concept first devised by Frederick W Taylor based on his analysis of time and motion study conducted at the Midvale and Bethlehem Steel Companies in Pennsylvania. F W Taylor is considered the father of scientific management, which is an approach based on scientific study of work to bring efficiency.

According to Taylor the inefficiency in workers is because of the following reasons

Deceptive belief that a material increase in the output of each man or each machine in the trade would throw people out of work
Defective management systems, which made it necessary for each workman to soldier, or work slowly to protect his own best interests
Inefficient rule of thumb methods, which were almost universal in all trades, which cost much wasted effort

Secondly there were no effective work standards, workers had no incentives to produce more and workers were assigned jobs unrelated to their abilities and aptitude and there is a conflicting situation between the workers and the staff.

According to Taylor the work should not be done in casual manner but worker should take work more seriously, he conducted various experiments at Bethlehem Steel Plant which were related to time and motion study where attempts were made to find appropriate timing and best methods of doing a thing. He selected a Pennsylvanian Dutchman named Schmidt (real name Henry Nolle) and calculated that Schmidt could load 47 tons a day rather than the usual 12½ tons, by offering him an increase in pay of $ 1.85 per day instead of the usual pay of $ 1. 15 per day, the Taylor used variable methods of handling and loading the pig iron and also used variable methods of ergonomics to find out the maximum amount of productivity.

Such precise calculations of productivity, he believed, meant that workers would know exactly what was expected of them and that managers would know exactly how much should be produced. It also meant that more accurate piecework rates could be set with more reliable bonuses and penalties.

He made careful experiments to determine the best way of performing each operation and the amount of time it required, analyzing the materials, tools, and work sequence and establishing a clear division of labor between management and workers.

Such an approach anticipated the rise of reductionism the belief that if a problem can be reduced to its smallest component, and that component understood, then it is possible to comprehend the whole.

Such experiments laid the groundwork for the principles of scientific management which were first published in 1911. These included time studies, standardization of tools and implements, standardization of work methods etc.

Basics of Scientific Management

According to Taylor each task must be scientifically designed so that the old rule of thumb methods can be replaced with scientifically developed methods. Taylor taught that there was one and only one method of work that maximized efficiency. "And this one best method and best implementation can only be discovered or developed through scientific study and analysis... This involves the gradual substitution of science for 'rule of thumb' throughout the mechanical arts."

Workers must be selected on the basis of scientific management which means they should be made aware of the methods of doing work and trained to perform the task as prescribed; it will significantly improve the productivity.

Bring together the scientifically designed jobs and workers ( having the required training and aptitude) so that there will be match between them.

The work should be divided between the management and worker, and should have a close cooperation.

Scientific Task Planning

According to this concept of scientific management theory, we should analyze each task or activity to define a scientific method of doing it, and also calculate the amount of work an average worker can perform, this is known as fair day’s work, it is the responsibility of the management to decide what to do, how to do, when to do, where to do and by whom to be done.

And there should be standardization of all the parts of doing a thing

Standardization

Scientific management advocated the concepts of standardization where by conducting work study (time study, motion study, method study and fatigue study) we can find out the best practice of doing a thing, which can act as the basis of performance evaluation, this standardization can be applied to process, material, time, product and working conditions etc. having standardization will allow to do the work more consistently.

Functional Foremanship

Scientific management theory advocated the concept of functional foremanship, Taylor concentrated on improving the performance of foreman who actually supervise the work this role in the factory set-up. He identified a list of qualities of a good foreman/supervisor and found that no single person could fit them all. Hence the concept of functional foremanship was developed which is group of eight persons. Taylor advocated separation of planning and execution functions. Under the factory manager there was a planning in charge and a production in charge. Under planning in charge four personnel namely instruction card clerk, route clerk, time and cost clerk and a disciplinarian worked. These four personnel would draft instructions for the workers, specify the route of production, prepare time and cost sheet and ensure discipline respectively. Under Production in charge, personnel who would work were speed boss, gang boss, repair boss and inspector. These respectively were responsible for timely and accurate completion of job, keeping machines and tools etc., ready for operation by workers, ensure proper working condition of machines and tools and check the quality of work. Functional foremanship is an extension of the principle of division of work and specialization to the shop floor. Each worker will have to take orders from these eight foremen in the related process or function of production. Foremen should have intelligence, education, tact, grit, judgment, special knowledge, manual dexterity, and energy, honesty and good health. Since all these qualities could not be found in a single person so Taylor proposed eight specialists. Each specialist is to be assigned work according to her/his qualities.

Method Study

The objective of method study is to find out one best way of doing the job. There are various methods of doing the job. To determine the best way there are several parameters. Right from procurement of raw materials till the final product is delivered to the customer every activity is part of method study. Taylor devised the concept of assembly line by using method study

Motion study

Motion study refers to the study of movements like lifting; putting objects, sitting and changing positions etc. this study also deals with ergonomics of doing a thing under this study u nnecessary movements are sought to be eliminated so that it takes less time to complete the job efficiently. For example, Taylor and his associate Frank Gailberth were able to reduce motions in brick layering from 18 to just 5. Taylor demonstrated that productivity increased to about four times by this process.

Time study

It determines the standard time taken to perform a well-defined job. Time measuring devices like stop watches are used for each element of task. The standard time is fixed for the whole of the task by taking several readings. The method of time study will depend upon volume and frequency of the task, the cycle time of the operation and time measurement costs. The objective of time study is to determine the number of workers to be employed; frame suitable incentive schemes and determine labor costs.

Fatigue study

Fatigue study seeks to determine the amount and frequency of rest intervals in completing a task. A person is bound to feel tired physically and mentally while working and if rest time is not provided while working. The rest intervals will help to regain stamina to work again with the same capacity. This result in increased productivity. The rest timing and frequency is decided on the basis of long working hours, doing unsuitable work etc even having uncordial relations with supervisor, or unsuitable working condition will also cause more fatigue hence such hindrances should also be eliminated.

Differential Piece Rate System

To motivate worker Taylor advocated differential piece wage system. He wanted to differentiate between efficient and inefficient workers. The standard time and other parameters should be determined on the basis of the work study. The workers can then be classified as efficient or inefficient on the basis of these standards. He wanted to reward efficient workers. In this scheme a worker who completes the normal work gets the wages at higher rate per piece than a worker who fails to complete the same within the time limit set by management, so he introduced different rate of wage payment for those who performed above standard and for those who performed below standard. For example, it is determined that standard output per worker per day is 100 units and those who made standard or more than standard will get Rs. 10per unit and those below will get Rs. 9 per unit. Now an efficient worker making 110 units will get Rs10/ unit or total of Rs. 1100 per day whereas a worker who makes 90 units will get 9×90 = Rs. 810 per day. According to Taylor, the difference between the wages should be enough for the inefficient worker to be motivated to perform better.

Henry Fayol (1841-1925)

Henri Fayol, known as the father of modern management theory was a French engineer and later director of mines, for coal and iron combine of Commentry Fourchambault, where he spent his entire career, joined as a junior executive 1860 and by 1888 become director. The company was near bankruptcy and he had transformed it into a financially strong organization, he was little unknown outside France until the late 40s when Constance Storrs published her translation of Fayol's 1916 “Administration Industrielle et Generale ". In it he described and classified administrative management roles and processes from it he became recognized and referenced by others in the growing discourse about management. He is frequently seen as a key, early contributor to a classical or administrative management school of thought (even though he himself would never have recognised such a "school").

His analysis about administration was entirely built on his personal observation and experience of what worked well in terms of organization. His aspiration for an "administrative science" sought a consistent set of principles that all organizations must apply in order to run properly.

F. W. Taylor published "The Principles of Scientific Management" in the USA in 1911, and Fayol in 1916 examined the nature of management and administration on the basis of his French mining organization experiences.

According to scientific management Fayol classified the business operation into six major activities

Technical – Production

Commercial – Buying and selling

Financial – Use of capital

Security- protection of property and safety

Accounting – keeping records of financial transactions

Managerial

According to Fayol the management should perform he following five functions

· To Forecast & Plan – to forecast about future, define objectives and formulate plans of action to achieve these objectives.

· To organize - mobilize material, human resources other resources of the organization to implement the required plan.

· To Command- to give instruction and direction to employees so as to maintain activity among the personnel to achieve desired goals

· To co-ordinate- to harmonize and bind together the activities and efforts of the organization to achieve the set goals.

· To control- monitor to see that everything occurs in conformity with plan

These five management functions are still the basis of management functions today.

For organisational design and effective administration. Henry Fayol had also given fourteen principles known as Henry Fayol’s 14 Principles of Management. According to him these principles can be applied in all types, functions, levels and sizes of organizations.

· Division of labor.

According to this principle of work should be allocated among people this will lead to specialization as the employees will be able to concentrate on their activities and will enhance skills and understandings, resulting in to more work focus and efficiency.

· Authority with corresponding responsibility

According to this principle there should be equity in the responsibilities allocated to person and authority required to carry out these out these responsibilities, any inequality will lead to failure. Authority is the right to given instruction and power to obtain obedience. A manager should not only have official authourity he should also have personal authority in terms of intelligence, experience etc so any individual to whom the authority is given must be competent to bear the responsibility as well.

· Discipline

According to this principle employees must obey and respect the rules that govern the organization, good discipline is the result of effective leadership. There has to be a clear understanding between management and workers regarding the organization’s rule and the judicious use of disciplinary actions for violations of the rules. Good discipline brings out harmony between management and the worker which results in to better coordination and predictability.

· Unity of command.

According to this principle the employee should report only to one superior and receive instructions from him only, this prevents unnecessary confusion and indiscipline, reporting to two or more superiors will result in conflicts in instruction and dilution of authority.

· Unity of direction.

According to this principle there should be one manager for one plan, so only one person should head all the activities having same objective.

· Subordination of individual interest to the general interest.

According to this principle the organizational interests take precedence than the personal interests of employee, the managers should sacrifice their personal interests for the achievement of the organizational interests so that each employee learn from the manager, to give precedence to organizational interest.

· Remuneration of personal

The compensation or remuneration should be fair to employee and the employer, so as to give satisfaction to both the staff and the firm, even a profit sharing can be done but only for the managers only.

· Centralization

According to this the manager should retain the final responsibility but also give enough authority to subordinate to do their job properly, Fayol stated that there should be proportionate division of authority but the manager should bear the overall responsibility of the work.

· Scalar chain or line of authority.

The scalar chain of command of reporting relationships from top executive to the ordinary shop operative or driver needs to be sensible, clear and understood. In case the chain creates communication slow down, cross communication can be permitted, if consensus by all parties and superiors are there and they are informed.

· Order

Everything in the organization should be in order, place for everything and everything at its place, a place for everyone and every one in his place.

· Equity

Equity, fairness and a sense of justice "should “pervade the organization - in principle and practice. The application of equity requires good sense, experience and good nature for soliciting loyalty and devotion from subordinates.

· Stability of tenure.

Time is needed for the employee to adapt to his/her work and perform it effectively. Stability of tenure promotes loyalty to the organization, its purposes and values. Management should implement practices which foster long term commitment of people, lack of stability can effect the fortunes of the company.

· Initiative

Employees must be encouraged to think through to implement a plan of action, even though some mistakes may result, the opportunity to perform independently is an essential component of employee growth and development. At all levels of the organizational structure, zeal, enthusiasm and energy are enabled by people having the scope for personal initiative.

· Esprit de corps

Unity is strength; organization should promote team spirit which will give the organization a sense of unity.

These principles were taken as universal principles of management and till date have importance in undertstanding the concepts of management, Fayol stated that any one could learn these principles and apply successfully in the management of any enterprise.

Fayol also defined a list of managerial skills which a manager should acquire in order to become more effective. These include skills like Physical health, mental ability, morality, Educational competence, technical skills, Experience.

Limitations of the Administrative theory of Henry Fayol

Although considered as father of Modern management his theory of administrative management is criticized on following

Lack of empirical evidence:- the theory is criticized that it is not a result of empirical data analysis and is purely based on the experience of one person only.

Neglect of people:- the theory emphasized only the organizational rules and people are considered as passive factor, the behavior of people can be changed by incentives and organization’s rules.

Considered as pro management thought :- the theory is also criticized on the grounds that it only emphasized about what managers should know and do rather than a general understanding of managerial behavior, it does not provide clear guidelines for how, when and where the principles can be applied.

False Assumption:- the theory is also criticized on the fact that assuming that these principles can be applied at all the organizations is false, as it does not recognize the differences of objective, work, situations faced by the organization. Similarly only authority vested in managers can control employees. Managers have to act differently in different situations, which depend on the varying factors of internal environment and external of the business.

Historical Significance: - the theory is valid only for the past as the current business environment is entirely different from the time when the theory was propounded. Hence the significance of the theory is minimal.

Limitations of the Scientific Management Theory

The theory is seen as an exploitive tool in the hand of management

The theory stated to find out standardization of doing things and targets were set, it also emphasized on the differential piece rate system the objectives were to increase the productivity and improve the economic lot of the workers but in actual sense the benefits reaped by the enterprise were not actually shared by the workers, so it become a tool only to set higher parameters of productivity but wages were not modified in proportionate manner.

Lack of people orientation: - This theory standardized the tasks, so there was no room of flexibility for the people at work, they were considered as a tool of operation only performing standard work in a standard process. The workers were expected to repeat the same operation daily in a mechanical way this lead to high demotivation, due to boredom and monotony. The efforts of people are severely neglected.

Unoriginal work

Some experts like Hoagland felt that contribution expressed by such theory is exaggerated and a lie for which he gave the references of the Taylor’s own notes and works.

The theory is unrealistic in nature

Some experts term this theory as unrealistic in nature as it states that motivation of employees can be improved by economical incentives it completely ignored the fact that people also require to fulfill their social, ego needs etc which also motivates them a lot.

The theory is considered undemocratic

This theory segments the worker in two categories one doing planning and other executing, so one segment is entirely doing the more creative, thinking and decision making tasks and the other lot is only following and not applying any knowledge which creates a divide among employees.

The theory is considered Un psychological

The theory is considered as in psychological because it lacks accurate information

about how the wages will be calculated or how worker’s efficiency will be calculated

or what are the parameters on which the workers will be evaluated to find suitability

of the job.

Theory is considered anti social

It is considered anti social due to the fact it treats the employees as a factor of production only doing work mechanically, some experts claims it aims at excluding the average workman from the field of work as far as possible.

Neo Classical Theories of Management

Principles of the neoclassical approach

By the year 1920 – 1930 the theories in management started emerging that was the result of incompleteness and narrow perspective of them; classical approach stressed the formal organization. It was more of mechanistic system and ignored major aspects of human nature. In contrast, the neoclassical approach introduced an informal organization structure.

The neo classical theories were also known as human relations theory and included the insights form behavioral science like psychology, sociology and anthropology. Elton Mayo was also the researcher who conducted the Hawthorne experiments in the Western Electric Company from 1924 to 1933. These experiments became the basis of this theory.

The Hawthorne Experiments and the Hawthorne Effect

Illumination Studies, 1924 -1927

The Hawthorne experiments begin with a sequence of illumination tests from 1924 to 1927, set out to determine the effects of lighting on worker efficiency in three separate manufacturing departments. The intensity of light under which one group was systematically varied (known as test group) and whiles the light intensity at control group was held constant. Accounts of the study revealed that the productivity kept on increasing in the both the situations, even there is increase in productivity when light intensity was reduced in the test group this lead to the conclusion that there is no significant correlation between productivity and light levels. The results prompted researchers to investigate other factors affecting worker output.

Relay Assembly Test Room Experiments, 1927-1929

The next experiments begin in 1927 focused on the relay assembly department, where the electromagnetic switches that made telephone connections possible were produced. The manufacture of relays required the repetitive assembly of pins, springs, armatures, insulators, coils, and screws. For the experiment a small group of workers were placed in a separate room and a number of factors were changed, like wages of the test group was increased, the workers were allowed to chose their own rest timings, and their suggestions were also considered in changes, surprisingly the productivity increased in both the test and the control group even when there is no change in the control group.

The above two experiments shown that apart from changing the factors there is something else which helped the increase in the productivity even when the factors for control group were held constant, this conclusion lead to the concept of Hawthorne Effect.

The increase in the productivity in the control is attributed the special treatment and attention which the workers got due to the experiment, this special attention and treatment was concluded to be the factor to increase of the productivity. They workers were allowed to participate in decision making about work changes, and were not subject to usual restrictions, the result of such attention and special treatment caused stimulating feeling of pride and belongingness which resulted in to increase in the productivity. This increase in worker’s performance by providing attention and allowing them to participate is known as Hawthorne effect.

Bank Wiring Room Experiment

The final Hawthorne experiment was conducted studying 14 male workers assigned to the Bank Wiring room. These men were engaged in the assembly of terminal banks used in telephone exchanges. The employees were paid the regular wages depending on the efficiency rating plus the bonus based on average group effort. The objective was to study the dynamics of the group when incentive pay was introduced. It was expected that the high performing individuals will bring pressure on the less efficient workers in an attempt to increase output and thus take the advantage of group incentive plans but in the finding nothing happened. The work group had established a work “norm” – a shared expectation about how much work should be performed in a day and stuck to it, regardless of pay. It was concluded that work group norms, beliefs and sentiments had a greater impact in the influencing individual behavior as compared to the economic benefits given by the management.

Elton Mayo came to the following conclusions as a result of the study:

The aptitudes of individuals are imperfect predictors of job performance. Although they give some indication of the physical and mental potential of the individual, the amount produced is strongly influenced by social factors.
Informal organization affects productivity. The researchers discovered a group life among the workers. The studies also showed that the relations that supervisors develop with workers tend to influence the manner in which the workers carry out directives.
Work-group norms affect productivity. The Hawthorne researchers were not the first to recognize that work groups tend to arrive at norms of what is "a fair day's work." However, they provided the best systematic description and interpretation of this phenomenon.
The workplace is a social system. The researchers came to view the workplace as a social system made up of interdependent parts. The worker is a person whose attitudes and effectiveness are conditioned by social demands from both inside and outside the work plant. Informal group within the work plant exercise strong social controls over the work habits and attitudes of the individual worker.
The need for recognition, security and sense of belonging is more important in determining workers' morale and productivity than the physical conditions under which he works.

The major finding of the study was that almost regardless of the experimental manipulation, worker production seemed to continually improve. One reasonable conclusion is that the workers were happy to receive attention from the researchers who expressed an interest in them. Originally, the study was expected to last one year, but since the findings were inexplicable when the researchers tried to relate the worker's efficiency to manipulated physical conditions, the project was incrementally extended to five years.

Individual

An individual is not a mechanical tool but a distinct social being, with aspirations beyond mere fulfillment of a few economic and security works. Individuals differ from each other in pursuing these desires. Thus, an individual should be recognized as interacting with social and economic factors.

Work group

The neoclassical approach highlighted the social facets of work groups or informal organizations that operate within a formal organization. The concept of 'group' and its synergistic benefits were considered important.

Participative management

Participative management or decision making permits workers to participate in the decision making process. This was a new form of management to ensure increases in productivity.

Work Environment

Management should create conducive and positive work environment where people are able to achieve organizational goals along with the personal goals. A positive environment can be created when goals are clear and understood by employees, incentive schemes are properly used to improve performance, decisions are timely and participation is there, conflicts are considered and resolved openly, the work itself is interesting and growth oriented.

Leadership

The leader should be a competent enough to be flexible to various personalities and situations, he should be able to create a pleasant work climate where strict control is absent and employees are allowed to participate in decision making process.

Criticism of Neo Classical Theory

Unrealistic

The critics of the Neo Classical Theory said that by allowing the workers to develop loyalties toward organization they will only think about self interests, and by preaching collaboration instead of competition will lead to decreased efficiencies, interest in human relationship is stated as sentimentality and unrealistic desire to make everyone happy, it was considered impractical solution to bring harmony between management and the worker.

Lack of empirical validity

The theory is criticized on the grounds of weaknesses in design, analysis, and interpretation. Consistency between data and conclusions drawn is also not found, the experiments were carried out on only one group and not any sample group which can be used to generalize the interpretations.

Narrow Approach

The theory is also criticized on the grounds that there is overemphasis on the psychological aspects and the structural and technical aspects were neglected, it also overlooks the economic dimension of work satisfaction, the motivation factor by economical benefits was undermined.

The happiness factor of productivity

The theory states that happy employees will be productive employees, but it is the nature of man, secondly it failed to show any consistent relationship between being happy and being more productive.

Overemphasize on group norms

The theory overemphasize the role of group norms, it states that group determines the targets for individuals, and individuals are ready to sacrifice their targets under group pressure further there is no certainty that groups will always be instrumental in delivering satisfaction to members.

Behavioral Science Approach to Management

Behaviorism is “the study in humans and animals of externally observable behavioral responses as functions of environmental stimuli. The mental state is either generally ignored or redefined in stimulus/response terms. The behavioral approach views the enterprise as a social organism, where people come to work for the fulfillment of organizational and personal objectives, it is termed as behavioral sciences approach as it adopts a multi-dimensional and inter-disciplinary study of employees behavior applying principles from behavioral sciences like psychology, sociology and anthropology. The objective is not only to study, but to predict the future behavior of employees and to find out ways to modify it also. Motivation, leadership, communication, group dynamics and participative management are inbuilt in this approach, as means of securing better employee performance and willing efforts towards contributions to the accepted goals of the organization.

The contributions of Burrhus F. Skinner, Abraham H. Maslow and Douglas McGregor,F. Fiedler, V. Vroom, F. Hertzberg, E. Locke, D. McClelland, R. Hackman, J. Pfeffer, K. Thomas and C. Perrow resulted in the development of this theory.

Skinner (1971) had given the theory of “operant conditioning.” In this theory humans (and animals) will respond to particular stimuli and will modify their behavior because of it. This stimuli could be either reinforcing (keep turning up to work and pay keeps getting deposited in your bank account) or aversive (punishment.) the manager can use reinforcement techniques to change the people behavior.

Abraham Maslow developed the need hierarchy theory where he had explained that people are motivated by different needs like the physiological needs, security and safety needs, social needs, esteem needs and self actualization needs, the people desire to fulfill their higher order need will motivate them. Once a need is being fulfilled the individual seeks to fulfill other needs in the hierarchy, so once say social needs are being fulfilled the individual will seek to fulfill the esteem needs which becomes his motivation factor. So the management can find out what can motivate a person and then plan accordingly.

McGregor’s contribution to behavioral science was the development of a Theory X and Theory Y dichotomy. Theory X and Theory Y are two approaches to the categorization of people and a management response based on this categorization. McGregor’s Theory X is based on a series of assumptions that people generally do not want to work for an employer/s, while Theory Y assumptions are that people are willing and do want to work, given the right environment. The right environment is considered to be made up of; good conditions, the linking of individual effort with organizational objectives, intrinsic awards for achievement, time for learning and responsibility acceptance, capacity to exercise imagination, ingenuity and creativity and the trust to allow intellectual potential and complex problem-solving to be realized. McGregor understood that some of Theory Y is difficult to realize, such that management is more likely to follow a Theory X approach. The Theory X approach means employees are given strict instructions, left no room for independent thought and are commensurately rewarded or punished for carrying out the assigned task in the assigned manner. Proponents of Theory Y, including McGregor himself, prefer to see organizational goals discussed in an open forum so that employees can gain a better understanding of what is to be achieved, allowing the possibility for innovation in solving problems and attaining goals.

Some other points of the behavioral theory are people like doing work as they like doing any other activity but if they are a participant in decision making then the commitment will be better.

People don’t require extreme supervision they can exercise self control, self direction and creative by nature.

Manager’s job is to unlock the potential of employees in the service of the organization. He should create a healthy environment wherein all subordinates can contribute to the best of their capacities; the environment should provide a healthful, safe, comfortable and convenient place to work. Manager should allow freedom to employees in some matters concerning their work and they must be encouraged to participate fully in all important matters. Job satisfaction will improve when the potentials of employees are used to fulfill the organization objectives.

Criticism of Behavioral Science Approach to Management

The theory is criticized on various grounds like the following

Motivation factor

The theory is criticized on the fact that each individual may have different motivational needs and each need influence him differently so how can all be motivated equally.

Compatibility of Goals

The theory stated that there is compatibility between individual and organizational goals, but in reality individual’s desire to be autonomous and creative can be conflicting to the organizational goals.

Non human aspects

The theory only focuses on the human relation and behavior aspects but ignores the non human aspects of management like method, technology and structure etc.

One best Approach

The theory is criticized on the fact that it also focused on only one factor of manager and ignored the other.