The behavioral management theory had a profound influence on management by focusing on understanding the human dimensions of work. It is also called human relations movement as behavioral theorists focused on managing productivity by understanding factors of worker motivation like their needs and expectations, personality, attitudes, values, group behavior, conflict, and group dynamics. It advocated the use of psychological techniques to motivate employees.
The behavioral school of management emphasized what the classical theorists ignored which is the human element of the workplace. While classical theorists only viewed the organization from a production perspective, the behavioral theorists also focused their study on an individual’s attitudes, behaviors, and group dynamics in the workplace culture.
Hawthorne Studies
The behavioral approach emerged primarily as an outcome of the Hawthrone studies. Many Parke Follet, Elton Mayo, and his associates, Abraham Maslow, Douglas MCgradgor, and Chris Angyris were the major contributors to this school. As part of these studies, the researchers concluded that the workers worked harder because they thought that they were being monitored individually.
This study established the behavioral change that happened due to an awareness of being observed, resulting in active compliance with the supposed wishes of researchers, because of special attention received, or positive response to the stimulus being introduced.
Elton Mayo's experiments showed an increase in worker productivity was produced by the psychological stimulus of being singled out, involved, and made to feel important. Researchers hypothesized that choosing one's own coworkers, working as a group, being treated as special, and having a sympathetic supervisor were the real reasons for the productivity increase.
One interpretation was that "the six individuals became a team and the team gave itself wholeheartedly and spontaneously to cooperation in the experiment. Hawthorne Effect can be summarized as “Employees will respond positively to any novel change in a work environment like better illumination, clean work stations, relocating workstations, etc. Employees are more productive because they know they are being studied.
These findings made Mayo and Roethlisberger conclude that a leader has not only to plan, decide, organize, lead, and control but also consider the human element. This includes the social needs of being together and being recognized for the work interaction of the group members with each other and their wellbeing. A good leader ought to keep the above aspects in his style of working with people and supervising their work.
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
Abraham H Maslow (1908-1970), the psychologist, theorized that people were motivated by a hierarchy of needs. Maslow (1943) focused on human needs. Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a motivational theory that explains that people are motivated by five basic categories of human needs. These needs are physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization.
His theory rested on three assumptions:
According to Maslow, once needs at a specific level have been satisfied, they no longer act as motivators of behaviors. Then the individual strives to fulfill needs at the next level. Managers who accepted Maslow's hierarchy of needs attempted to change their management practices so that employees' needs could be satisfied.
This theory established the principle that a leader's behaviors can be conditioned in a manner that one can have a specific response to specific stimuli. The behavioral theory promotes the value of leadership styles with an emphasis on concern for people and collaboration. It promotes participative decision making and team development by supporting individual needs and aligning individual and group objectives.
It helps managers evaluate and understand how their behavioral style as a manager affects their relationship with the team and promotes commitment and contribution towards organizational goals. This theory helps managers find the right balance between different styles of leadership, and helps them decide how to behave as a leader, depending on concerns for people and for productivity.
Hawthorne Studies - Leadership
The Hawthorne studies were conducted on workers at the Hawthorne plant of the Western Electric Company by Elton Mayo and Fritz Roethlisberger in the 1920s. This study established the behavioral change that happened due to an awareness of being observed, resulting in active compliance with the supposed wishes of researchers, because of special attention received, or positive response to the stimulus being introduced.
Have you ever resonated that there seem to be as many different ways to lead people as there have been great leaders? When we recall the success of Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Abraham Lincoln, Napoleon Bonaparte to Steve Jobs and Jack Welch, we also notice that they all used different approaches that were suitable to their specific situations and circumstances. Over the last century, researchers and psychologists have developed simple ways to describe the “Styles of leadership” and in this section, we will explore these commonly known leadership styles.
Emergent leadership occurs when a group member is not appointed or elected as leader, but rather that person steps up as the leader over time within-group interactions. Have you ever faced challenges in getting accepted into your new role of position as a leader? Groups don't automatically accept a new "boss" as a leader. Emergent leadership is what you must do when taking over a new group. Learn more about emergent leadership.
Management Principles by Fayol
Henri Fayol (1849-1925), a French industrialist and a prominent European management theorist, developed a general theory of management. Fayol outlined the fourteen principles of management.
Administrative Theory by Fayol
The administrative theory of management is focused on principles that could be used by managers to coordinate the internal activities of organizations. The most prominent of the administrative theorists was Henri Fayol. Fayol observed a work stoppage and judged it to be a management failure. He believed that organizational managerial practices are important for driving predictability and efficiency in organizations.
McClelland's Theory of Needs is a human motivation theory which states that an individual's specific needs are acquired over time through our culture and life experiences. As per the three needs theory, these acquired needs significantly influence the behavior of an individual. The three main driving motivators are the needs for achievement, affiliation, and power.
Max Weber gave the theory of Bureaucratic Management in 1915. Bureaucracy is a specific form of organization defined by complexity, division of labor, professional management, and hierarchical management control. Weber's theory has two essential elements - organizational hierarchy and rules-based management. Weber made a distinction between authority and power and advocated that authority must be given to the most competent and qualified people.
Managers have to perform many roles in an organization, and how they handle various situations will depend on their style of management. Management styles are the characteristic ways, of making decisions relating to subordinates. These are the strategies, efforts, or direction used by the manager, to create an efficient workplace, to achieve organizational goals. A management style is the method of leadership used by a manager.
The ten most important qualities that define a good leader are self-awareness, interpersonal and communication skills, ethical values, organizational consciousness, self-confidence, adaptability and flexibility, imagination and creativity, focus & result-orientation, continuous self-development and accountability and ownership for his actions. These ten qualities of leadership every good leader should possess to a certain extent and must continually strive to develop them.
Leadership has been defined in different ways by different sets of scholars. In very simple terms leadership can be defined as the skill of a person to influence an individual or a group for achievement of a goal in a given situation. One can use different dimensions and perspectives to define leadership. Through the evolution of leadership thought, leadership has been defined in various ways discussed here.
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