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 …show more content…
In the Hawthorne studies productivity increased and Mayo credited this to teamwork by stating “What actually happened was that six individuals became a team and the team gave itself wholeheartedly and spontaneously to cooperation in the experiment. The consequence was that they felt themselves to be participating freely and without afterthought, and were happy in the knowledge that they were working without coercion from above or limitation from below.” (Mayo, 1933, p 46). These theories differ greater as Mayo theory is based on the belief that workers are motivated by social factors and these social needs need to be satisfied for workers to be productive while Taylor’s theory is based on the belief that workers are mostly motivated by monetary means. Taylor believes “what workmen want from their employees beyond anything else is high wages (Taylor, 1947, p22) and thought “men will not work at their best unless assured a good liberal increase, which much be permanent” (Taylor, 1947, p26). Taylor theory suggests that to the best way to motivate employees is to increase their wages when they have achieved the desire outcome. However while these theories are seemingly different Mayo’s approach focused on the conditions under which the work was done, but just like Taylor it disregarded the task itself and the nature of the job as a factor of motivation and job satisfaction. Hence, the two theories try to satisfy workers needs to improve their
Behavioral Management Theory is the understanding and response of employee needs to enforce motivation. This theory guides management in a better understanding of the human aspect. It involves management to treat employees as important resources in the workforce. The goal is to raise productivity and to do this by motivating employees. Motivating employees can involve incentives like employee bonuses, promotions, and the collection and redeeming of points for rewards. As the management takes interest in employees, it makes them feel like an important part of the puzzle, and in turn motivates employees to work harder. Like in most cases, if the employees are satisfied and working conditions are good, productivity raises automatically. A theorist by the name of Mayo Hawthorne devised an experiment that allowed a group of telephone line workers to be separated and observed in a private room. The controlled group of employees increased greatly in productivity. This brought the human relations movement that involved management spending time, showing interest, and rewarding employees to increase productivity. Employees felt management was
Elton Mayo- is considered the pioneer of the human relations approach to improve levels of productivity and satisfaction. This approach was first highlighted by the improvements known as Hawthrone Experiments. The Hawthorne studies centered on how workers reacted to actions of management, how variations in physical working conditions affected output, and how social interactions among workers affected job performance (Milakovich and Gordon, 2013). A number of experiments were conducted on the workers to find out the impact of different situations on their efficiency. Mayo advocated for the understanding of personnel problems in the context of growth of science and technology. He wanted the management to understand the problems of workers and make efforts to compensation them. As such, the Mayo’s research established the human relations school of organization theory, which stressed the social and
In the past, managers considered workers as machinery that could be bought and sold easily. To increase production, workers were subjected to long hours, miserable wages and undesirable working conditions. The welfare of workers and their need were disregarded. The Hawthorne studies helped in shaping transformations in many areas of human relations and brought about radical changes in organizational behavior.
One difference between the motivational theories of Frederick Winslow Taylor's Scientific Management and Elton Mayo's human relations perspective as illustrated by the Hawthorne Studies is
This paper analyzes five great management theorists: F. W. Taylor, Max Weber, Mary Parker Follett, and Douglas McGregor. Each theorist will be compared by four management functions: planning, organizing, leading, and controlling as detailed in the textbook: The Essentials of Contemporary Management-Sixth Edition from Gareth Jones and Jennifer M. George. We begin by discussing commerce prior the industrial revolution and then we define the key management functions, followed by an examination of each theorist, applying a template of analysis and critique.
The nineteenth century was a time ripe with progress and hope due to booming industrialization. As organizations and workforces grew, people looked for ways to increase their productivity and profit margins. New ideas were needed to satisfy both business owners and their employees and as such, along came theorists such as Marx or other contributors like Frederick Taylor and Elton Mayo. Taylor produced a management style coined Scientific Management whereas Mayo took a slightly different route and conducted the Hawthorne studies. Over the years theorists such as Marx, with his wildly popular theory about alienation in the workplace, have shaped our view of how management should be conducted in
Compare and contrast the management theories of Frederick Taylor, Henri Fayol, Elton Mayo and Douglas McGregor. In what sense(s) are these theories similar and/or compatible? In what sense(s) are these theories dissimilar and/or incompatible? How would a contingency theorist reconcile the points of dissimilarity and/or incompatibility between these approaches?
Douglas McGregor, (1906–1964) was a Management professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management and president of Antioch College from 1948 to 1954. He also taught at the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta . His 1960 book, “The Human Side of Enterprise” had a profound influence on workplace practices. In the book he identified an approach of creating an environment where employees are motivated via authoritative direction, control or integration, and self-control, which he called Theory X and Theory Y, respectively. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_McGregor)
Douglas McGregor was a management professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management. He introduced a new motivational theory in his book ‘The Human Side of Enterprise’, stating that all workers were divided into two groups: Theory X and Theory Y. Theory X workers were lazy, irrational and unreliable, and were only motivated by money and threatened by punishment. Theory Y workers were able to seek and accept responsibilities and fulfil any goals given.
Scientific Management Theory by Frederick W. Taylor – Throughout the industrial world employees are the large part of the organisation and Fundamental interests of employees are necessarily aggressive. So as a manager it is necessary to arrange mutual relations with employees so their interests become identical. In case of any single individual the greatest prosperity can exist only when that individual has reached his highest state of efficiency and that is, when he is turning out his largest daily output (Frederick Winslow Taylor, 2007).
George Elton Mayo is credited with founding the human relations movement. Mayo conducted an experiment in the 1920’s and 1930’s know as the Hawthorne study. Two of the main aspects of the study centered around illumination in the work place and varying levels of break time and work hours (Wickström, 2000). The illumination study consisted of four different experiments over the course of three years. In each experiement, there was a control group and a study group. In the varying studies, the researchers experimented with varying levels of light and varying sequences of increasing and decreasing the level of light (“Hawthorne effect”). Throughout the experiments, researchers would often find patterns of increased productivity, leading them to believe that they had
There are a number of management theories that have changed the management business environment in the twentieth century. The theories have assisted managers to come up with better ways of management and organization of people. Managers have been able to increase profits, reduce costs and maximize efficiency. The purpose of this essay is to compare and contrast the contributions of scientific management and the human relations movement to the modern management. This essay will use Frederick Winslow Taylor’s theory on scientific management and Elton Mayo’s human relations theory. These two movements have been proven to increase productivity in the workplace (Mullins, 2005).
Profit maximisation is a key objective for private firms, and the desire to fulfil such interests through potential improvements in efficiency, led to a number of organizational theories being developed in the early 20th century. Scientific Management otherwise known as Taylorism, was advocated by Frederick Taylor (1911), whose philosophy maintained that through the specialization of labour, improving managerial organization and the implementation of the results from “Time and Motion” studies, maximum efficiency could be attained. Elton Mayo (1924), considered as the founder of the Human Relations Movement, concluded that it is humans deep rooted aspirations to be valued within a team and by management that actually has a greater influence on the productivity of employees. On this basis, this essay will argue that because Human Relations takes into account the social and informal factors of the workplace, it is more relevant to the modern business society.
10. McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y • Taught psychology at MIT. • At Antioch College, McGregor found that his classroom teaching of human relations did not always work in practice. • From these experiences, his ideas evolve and lead him to recognize the influence of assumptions we make about people and our managerial style. Content Theories of Motivation McGregor‟s Theory X and Theory Y – Theory X • Assumes that workers have little ambition, dislike work, avoid responsibility, and require close supervision. – Theory Y • Assumes that workers can exercise self- direction, desire responsibility, and like to work. – Motivation is maximized by participative decision making, interesting jobs, and good group relations.
In the field of management a person must manage a certain number of employees, and the optimal number is between 5 and 7 persons. These employees come from all different walks of life and each one of them has a different perspective on life and especially work. Some of these employees may have a positive attitude and are able to accomplish their work without being directed. Therefore, these type of employees would fall under theory y. On the other hand, employees that express more of a negative attitude toward work and accomplishing goals on their own are theory x employees. These two theories of employees are what managers need to focus on because these two very different types of employees need to be managed in very different ways.