Human Organizational Theory

                   Humanistic organizational Theory
It was a step in the direction of humanizing organizations

                 Elton mayo
His hawthorne  Plant experiment constitute the origin of humanistic theory. The experiment constitute the origin of humanistic theory. The experiment was carried out at western electric chicago.
The purpose of the experiment was to determine the effect of lighting on productivity.
When mayo and his colleagues divided workers  into control and experimental group and varied lighting, heat , rest time , pay scales and room temperature for experimental group making no change for the control group, they found that improved conditions resulted in higher productivity in the experimental group. Unexpectedly too, there was a rise in productivity in the control group whose condition remained unchanged.
The findings showed that the special attention given to the workers had a favourable effect on productivity. They found that a worker’s attitude of mind was among the most crucial factors in obtaining a high level of output. People tend to work better if they are part of a compatible group.
When they feel or are given the feeling that they matter.
Mayo therefore concluded that the logical or economic factors are less important than the emotions in management.

The assumptions about the nature of man and his needs.
All organizations strive to achieve stated objectives through people. This makes people the most important resource available to management. Most individuals join organizations in order to achieve some of their personal goals. The human resource is a complex one. People are hardly the same and there is no average person. Unless the com[plexity and individuality of people are clearly understood, the generalization about motivation, leadership and communication may be misapplied by managers.
In order to understand the complexity of people and their need, several assumptions have been developed.

(1) The assumption that every man is a rational economic being.
This assumption was made by edgar H. Scheirn who stated that people are primarily motivated by economic incentives and as  incentives are controlled by orgaizations, people are then passive and they  are manipulated, motivated and controlled by organizations.
Adam smith said man is an economic man who acts in his self interest all the time.
Alfred marshall- uses the measuring rod of money as an indicator of the human psychological desires. These economic models cannot fully explain the nature of man since psychological and social nature of man are ignored so because of this, we have othe assuptions like:


(2) Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
Abraham maslow highlighted different types of human motivation through his hierarchy of need.
In the hieracrchy, maslow believed that as one need is satisfied, the need at the next higher level emerges. He provided the framework for the reason why people work and what management should appreciate in any given individual
His 5 level of needs are:

1. Psychological needs.: Consistent hunger, food, need for shelter, clothing, rest, taste, sleepiness and sexual desires. They are very basic needs crucial to life
2. Safety needs: Made up of job security, peace and protection. Safety from protection of danger, retrenchment and loss of job.
3. Love needs: Embraces the need for belonging to others, the need to associate with others and to be accepted by others. Everyone wants to be needed, loved, cherished, recognized, approved of etc.
4. Esteem needs: Made up of achievement, self confidence, status, respect and recognition as well as prestige, and ego boosting.
5. Self actualisation: Includes the realisation of one’s potentials for continued self development and the need to do what one is best suited for. It is the level in which you can become everything you are capable of becoming

According to maslow, a thorough understanding of these needs would help management in tackling individual worker’s problems and get individuals well motivated.



(3) Douglas Mcgregors’s theory of x and y.
Theory x assumptions are:
1) An average human being has an inherent dislike for work and will avoid it if he can.
2) Because people dislike work, they must be coerced, controlled, directed and threatened with punishment to get them put efforts towards the achievement of orgaization objectives.



3) Average human beings wish to avoid responsibility, prefer to be directed, hav relatively little ambition and want security above all.
 


Theory y assumptions are:
1) The expenditure of physical and mental efforts in work is ans natural as play or rest.
2) External control and threat of punishment are not the only means for bringing about efforts towards the orgaizational objectives. People will exercise self direction and self control in the service of objectives to which they are committed.
3) Commitment to objectives is a function of the rewards associated with their achievement
4) Under proper conditions average human beings learn not to accept but to seek responsibility
5). The capacity to exercise a relatively high degree of imagination, ingenuity and creativity in the solution of organizational problems is widely and not narrowly distributed in the population.
6) Under the conditions of modern industrial life, the intellectual potentials  of  the average human beings are only partially utilized.

Theory X is pessimistic, rigid and conservative.
Theory y is optimistic and dynamic





              Herzbergs two factor (Hygiene – motivator) theory
1)  The maintenance hygiene factors or dissatisfactiion eliminators
Company policy & administration
Supervision
Working conditions
Interpersonal relations
Salaries
Status
Job security
Personal life.

They are more relevant to maintenance seekers. They prevent dissatisfaction but cannot motivate people though motivation cannot be effective without them. Their satisfaction does not lead to improvement in the output.
They are also called environmental factors.



2) The satisfiers, motivators or job content factors.
Achievement
Recognition
Challenging wortk
Advancement
Gowth on the job
They are more relevant to growth seekers. Their existence yield a sense of satisfaction, when they are satisfied, individuals are encouraged to grow and develop maturely. They therefore raise their overall ability and performance.


The use of this two factor motivation theory is that it focuses the attention of managers upon the importance of job content factors since they are the factors that motivate people to achieve corporate goals.




Victor H. Vroom’s preference (Valence) Expectancy Theory
His theory states that an employee’s motivation to perform effectively is determined by 2 variables:
1. The effort- reward probability (i.e expectancy) m& e x v, where m = motivation, e = expectancy, v= value of outcome. And
2.The reward value (or valence)

 

The effort reward probability means the individual person’s subjective probability that if he directs a given reward or positive outcome.
The reward value means the value of the reward or outcome that the individual thinks he will obtain by performing effectively.
So an individuals reward or outcome now, is the result of the multiplication of the effort- reward probability and the value of the reward itself.
In order to determine an individual’s motivation for a reward therefore, the value of that rewar and the effort- reward probability are combined multiplicatively . e.g in a company where promotion is only obtained through hard work, for a worker to be motivated for promotion the worker must both value the promotion and see the relationship between his efforts and promotion.

David Mcclelland’s need theory of motivation
His theory states that  human beings have 3 basic motivational needs:
1. power
2. Affiliation
3. Achievement
Power need: expressed in a strong desire to change or alter the course of an event
The affiliation need: The desire for love and group approval
The achievement need: The twin desire to succeed and not to fail.

Chris Argyris Immaturity- Maturity theory
Argyris believes that human personality develops from immaturity. For managers to lead effectively and for surbodinates to develop greater interests in the goals of an enterprise, workers should be provided with a climate in which they can mature. He presented a continuum in which a number of key changes take place thus:

a) Immaturity
Passivity, Dependende, behave in few ways, erratic shallow interest, short term perspective, surbodinate position,lack of self awareness

b) Maturity


Activity, independence, behave in many ways, deeper interest, long term perspective, superior/ equal position
Awareness and control over self.






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