CONTRIBUTING DISCIPLINES TO ORGANISATINAL BEHAVIOUR

Psychology:

Psychology has perhaps the most influence on the field of organizational behavior because it is a science of behavior. Almost all aspects of behavior are studied by psychologist. Psychology deals with studying human behavior that seeks to measure, explain and sometimes change the behavior of humans and other animals. Psychologists primarily interested to predict the behavior of individuals to great extent by observing the dynamics of personal factors, environmental and situational factors. Those who have contributed and continue to add to the knowledge of OB are learning theorists, personality theorists, counseling psychologists and most important, industrial and organizational psychologist.

Some of the numerous areas of interest within the disciplines of psychology are:

• General Psychology
• Experimental Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Consumer Psychology
• Personality and Social Psychology
• Industrial Psychology
• Counseling Psychology
• Educational Psychology
• Consulting Psychology

Understanding Psychological principles and its models help significantly in gaining the knowledge of determinants of individual behavior such as learning process, motivation techniques, personality determinants and personality development, perceptual process and its implications, training process, leadership effectiveness, job satisfaction, individual decision making, performance appraisal , attitude measurement, employee selection, job design and work stress.

Learning is important in understanding organizational behavior because of the concepts and generalizations that have developed from it. Managers are more interested to seek solutions to the following key aspects:

• What are the causes of Behavior?
• What are the goals and purposes of particular Behavior?
• What are the roles of genetic and environmental factors on the formation of particular Behavior?
• What are the common values, attitudes and characteristics that are binding people together, though individuals differ from one another in personal values, personalities and attitudes?
• To what extent individuals identification or belongingness with others will help shape his or her behavior?
• To what extent social learning is associated to motivational level of individual?

All these generalizations are associated with learning, which occurs through out a person’s life. One of the most important attributes of psychology is the emphasis on the scientific study of behavior. Psychologists attempt to understand behavior on the basis of rational, demonstrable cause-effect relationships. Although learning and motivation are the main focus of psychology, the immediate applications to the field of organizational behavior are widespread. Basic knowledge of human behavior is important in work design, leadership, organizational design, communication, decision making, performance appraisal systems and reward programs. These issues are falling within the domain of organizational behavior.

Sociology:

The major focus of sociologists is on studying the social systems in which individuals fill their roles. The focus of attention is centered on group dynamics. They have made their greatest contribution to OB through their study of group behavior in organization, particularly formal and complex organizations. Sociological concepts, theories, models and techniques help significantly to understand better the group dynamics, organizational culture, formal organization theory and structure, organizational technology, bureaucracy, communications, power, conflict and inter-group behavior. Psychologists are primarily interested to focus their attention on the individual behavior.

Key concepts of Sociology:

Most sociologists today identify the discipline by using one of the three statements:

• Sociology deals with human interaction and this interaction is the key influencing factor among people in social settings.
• Sociology is a study of plural behavior. Two or more interacting persons constitute a plurality pattern of behavior.
• Sociology is the systematic study of social systems.

A social system is an operational social unit that is structured to serve a purpose. It consists of two or more persons of different status with different roles playing a part in a pattern that is sustained by a physical and cultural base. When analysising organizing as social system, the following elements exist:

• People or actors
• Acts or Behavior
• Ends or Goals
• Norms, rules, or regulation controlling conduct or behavior
• Beliefs held by people as actors
• Status and status relationships
• Authority or power to influence other actors
• Role expectations, role performances and role relationships.

There fore, organizations are viewed by sociologies as consists of a variety of people with different roles, status and degree of authority. The organization attempts to achieve certain generalized and specific objectives. To attain some of the abstract ends such as the development of company loyalty, the organization’s leaders appeal to the shared cultural base.

The discipline of sociology has been associated with the following characteristics of a science.

i) It is empirical: it is based on observation and reasoning, not on supernatural revelation, and its results are not speculative

ii) It is theoretical; I attempts to summaries complex observations in abstract, logically related propositions that purport to explain causal relationships in the subject matter.

iii) It is cumulative; theories build upon one another, new theories correcting, extending and refining the older ones.

iv) It is no ethical; the scientists do not ask whether particular social actions are good or bad; they seek merely to explain them.

Social Psychology

It has been defined as the scientific investigation of how the thoughts, feelings and behavior of individuals are influenced by the actual, imagined or implied presents of others. What makes social psychology social is that it deals with how people are affected by other people who are actually physically present or who are imagined to be present or even whose presence is implied.

In general sociology focuses on how groups, organizations, social categories and societies are organized, how they function, how they change. The unit of analysis is the group as a whole rather than the individuals who compose the group. Social Psychology deals with many of the same phenomenal but seeks to explain whole individual human interaction and human cognition influences culture and is influenced by culture. The unit of analysis is the individual within the group. In reality, some forms of sociology are closely related to social psychology.

Social Psychologists study an enormous range of topics including conformity, persuasion, power, influence, obedience, prejudice, discrimination, stereotyping, sexism and racism, small groups, social categories, inter-group behavior, crowd behavior, social conflict, social change, decision making etc. Among them the most important topics relevant to organizational behavior field are behavioral change, attitude change, communication, group process and group decision making. Social psychologists making significant contributions in measuring, understanding and changing attitudes, communication patterns they ways in which groups can satisfy individual needs and group decision making process.

Anthropology

The main aim of anthropology is to acquire a better understanding of the relationship between the human being and the environment. Adaptations to surroundings constitute culture. The manner in which people view their environment is a part of culture. Culture includes those ideas shared by groups of individuals and languages by which these ideas are communicated. In essence, culture is a system of learned behavior. Their work on culture and environment has helped us to understand differences in fundamental values, attitudes and behavior among people in different countries and within different organizations. Much of our current understandings of organisatoinal culture, organization environments and differences between national cultures are the results of the work of anthropologists or those using their methodologies.

The world is the laboratory of anthropologists, and human beings must be studied in the natural habitant. Understanding the importance of studying man in natural settings over time enables one to grasp the range of anthropology. Familiarity within same of the cultural differences of employees can lead to a greater managerial objectivity and depth in the interpretation of behavior and performance. Anthropologists contribute to study the following aspects in organizational settings – comparative values, comparative attitudes, cross-cultural analysis between or among the employees.

Political Sciences:

Contributions of political scientist are significant to the understanding of behavior in organizations. Political scientists study the behavior of individuals and groups within a political environment. They contribute to understand the dynamics of power centers, structuring of conflict and conflict resolutions tactics, allocation of power and how people manipulate power for individual self interest. In a business field, organizations wanted to attain supremacy in their own field and indulge in politicking activities to gain maximum advantages by following certain tacks like Machiavellianism, coalition formation, malpractices etc. The knowledge of political science can be utilized to the study the behavior of employees, executives at micro as well as macro level.

Economics

Economics contributes organizational behavior to great extent in designing the organizational structure. Transaction cost economics influence the organization and its structure. Transaction costs economics implies costs components to make an exchange on the market. This transaction cost economics examines the extent to which the organization structure and size of an organisation varies in response to attempts to avoid market failures through minimising production and transaction costs within the constraints of human and environmental factors. Costs of transactions include both costs of market transactions and internal co-ordination. A transaction occurs when a good or service is transferred across a ‘technologically separable barrier” Transaction costs arise for three main reasons: They are as follows.

i) Uncertainty/Complexity: Due to incomplete information, limited skills, time, the transaction is highly complex and uncertain. Signing a meaningful market contract minimizes such uncertainty which increases transactions costs. Both sides have to spend time and money on agreeing ex ante conditions of the contract. Suitable organisation structural relationships will facilitate to meet this objective.

ii) Opportunism (seeking self-interest or exploiting situation-cheating others):

If there are large number of sellers, the chances of being exploited is relatively diminished – market mechanism controls transaction costs. If small number of players exist in the market, opportunism becomes more difficult to control due to dependency on seller. Creating legal contract or developing liaison with buyers can help minimise this problem – a cost is paid to minimise exploitations. When faced with opportunism, there are three possible organisational design: they are as follows: a) Market co-ordination b ) Hierarchies-Organisation co-ordination and c) Hybrid –Network Structure

iii) Asset Specificity (Creating special assets to provide a special good or service):

Developing specific human or physical assets to provide special good or service which cannot be redeployed for other purposes. The higher the degree of asset specificity, the higher the potential transaction costs because of post contractual opportunism. Designing suitable organisational structure – Inter-firm networks or hierarchies will help to control this type of transaction cost

Economic Pressures determine the suitable structure either through markets, hybrid network structures or hierarchy to organise transactions effectively. Failure to organize in the appropriate way will lead to the firm being deselected by the market. As environment is so dynamic, organization must respond to change its structure. Shifts from large firm hierarchies to networks or to market relations are in terms of changing conditions of the economising function.

Conclusion:

The behavioral sciences have had a significant impact on the field of organizational behavior. They have provided a reference that encourages the use of the scientific method. Some of the more generally agreed upon influences of behavioral science on organizational behavior are:

·         the systematic use of theories and theory building to explain behavior

·         An empirical base to study individuals, group, and organization.

·         The increased use of rigorous research methods

·         Less use of arm chair speculation in reaching managerial decisions

·         Efforts to communicate theories, research and ideas to practicing managers as well as members of the field.

Challenges and Opportunities of Organizational Behavior

The following are some of the significant problems:

• Improving People Skills
• Improving Quality and Productivity
• Managing Workforce Diversity
• Responding to Globalization
• Empowering People
• Coping with Temporariness
• Stimulating Innovation and Change
• Emergence of the e-organization
• Improving Ethical Behavior

Improving People Skills:

Technological changes, structural changes, environmental changes are accelerated at a faster rate in business field. Unless employees and executives are equipped to possess the required skills to adapt those changes, the achievement of the targeted goals cannot be achieved in time. There two different categories of skills – managerial skills and technical skills. Some of the managerial skills include listening skills, motivating skills, planning and organizing skills, leading skills, problem solving skill, decision making skills etc.

These skills can be enhanced by organizing a series of training and development programmes, career development programmes, induction and socialization etc.

Implications for Managers: Designing an effective performance appraisal system with built-in training facilities will help upgrade the skills of the employees to cope up the demands of the external environment. The lower level cadre in management is required to possess more of technical skills. As they move towards upward direction, their roles will be remarkably changed and expected to have more of human relations and conceptual skills.

Improving Quality and Productivity:

Quality is the extent to which the customers or users believe the product or service surpasses their needs and expectations. For example, a customer who purchases an automobile has certain expectation, one of which is that the automobile engine will start when it is turned on. If the engine fails to start, the customer’s expectations will not have been met and the customer will perceive the quality of the car as poor. Deming defined quality as a predictable degree of uniformity and dependability, at low cost and suited to the market. Juran defined it as fitness for use. The key dimensions of quality as follows.

• Performance: Primary operating characteristics of a product such as signal coverage, audio quality, display quality etc.
• Features: Secondary characteristics, added features, such as calculators, and alarm clock features in hand phone
• Conformance: Meeting specifications or industry standards, workmanship of the degree to which a product’s design or operating characteristics match preestablished standards
• Reliability: The probability of a product’s failing within t a specified period of time
• Durability: It is a measure of product’s life having both economic and technical dimension
• Services: Resolution of problem and complaints, ease of repair
• Response: Human to human interface, such as the courtesy of the dealer
• Aesthetics: Sensory characteristics such exterior finish
• Reputations: Past performance and other intangibles, such as being ranked first.

More and more managers are confronting to meet the challenges to fulfill the specific requirements of customers. In order to improve quality and productivity, they are implementing programs like total quality management and reengineering programs that require extensive employee involvement.

Total Quality Management (TQM): It is a philosophy of management that is driven by the constant attainment of customer satisfaction through the continuous improvement of all organizational process. The component of TQM are (a) intense focus of the customer

(b) concern for continual improvement (c) improvement in the quality of everything the organization does (d) accurate measurement and (e) empowerment of employees.

Reengineering: This refers to discrete initiatives that are intended to achieve radically redesigned and improved work process in a bounded time frame. Business Process Reengineering employees a structural methodology that reduces work process to their essential composite activist and provides cost performance matrices to facilitate a business case for dramatic improvements. Both functional and cross-functional processes are evaluated through workflow analysis and activity based costing. In many cases, the application of new technology and industries best practices will enable quantum improvement in an organization’s cost and performance.

Implications for Managers: Today’s managers understand that any efforts to improve quality and productivity must influence their employees. These employees will not only be a major force in carrying out changes, but increasingly will participate actively in planning those changes. Managers will put maximum effort in meeting the customer’s requirements by involving everyone from all the levels and across all functions. Regular communications (both formally and informally) with all the staff at all levels is must.

Two way communications at all levels must be promoted. Identifying training needs and relating them with individual capabilities and requirements is must. Top management’s participation and commitment and a culture of continuous improvement must be established.

Managing Workforce Diversity:

This refers to employing different categories of employees who are heterogeneous in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, relation, community, physically disadvantaged, homosexuals, elderly people etc. The primary reason to employ heterogeneous category of employees is to tap the talents and potentialities, harnessing the innovativeness, obtaining synergetic effect among the divorce workforce. In general, employees wanted to retain their individual and cultural identity, values and life styles even though they are working in the same organization with common rules and regulations. The major challenge for organizations is to become more accommodating to diverse groups of people by addressing their different life styles, family needs and work styles.

Implications for Managers: Managers have to shift their philosophy from treating everyone alike to recognizing individual differences and responding to those differences in ways that will ensure employee retention and greater productivity while, at the same time not discriminating. If work force diversity is managed more effectively, the management is likely to acquire more benefits such as creativity and innovation as well as improving decision making skills by providing different perspectives on problems. If diversity is not managed properly and showed biases to favor only a few categories of employees, there is potential for higher turnover, more difficulty in communicating and more interpersonal conflicts.

Responding to Globalization:

Today’s business is mostly market driven; wherever the demands exist irrespective of distance, locations, climatic conditions, the business operations are expanded to gain their market share and to remain in the top rank etc. Business operations are no longer restricted to a particular locality or region. Company’s products or services are spreading across the nations using mass communication, internet, faster transportation etc. An Australian wine producer now sells more wine through the Internet than through outlets across the country. More than 95% of Nokia hand phones are being sold outside of their home country Finland. Japanese cars are being sold in different parts of globe. Sri Lankan tea is exported to many cities across the globe. Executives of Multinational Corporation are very mobile and move from one subsidiary to another more frequently.

Implications for Managers: Globalization affects a managerial skills in at least two ways: i) an Expatriate manager have to manage a workforce that is likely to have very different needs, aspirations and attitudes from the ones that they are used to manage in their home countries. ii) Understanding the culture of local people and how it has shaped them and accordingly learn to adapt ones management style to these differences is very critical for the success of business operations. One of the main personality traits required for expatriate managers is to have sensitivity to understand the individual differences among people and exhibit tolerance to it.

Empowering People

The main issue is delegating more power and responsibility to the lower level cadre of employees and assigning more freedom to make choices about their schedules, operations, procedures and the method of solving their work-related problems. Encouraging the employees to participate in work related decision will sizably enhance their commitment at work. Empowerment is defined as putting employees in charge of what they do by eliciting some sort of ownership in them. Managers are doing considerably further by allowing employees full control of their work. An increasing number of organizations are using self-managed teams, where workers operate largely without boss. Due to the implementation of empowerment concepts across all the levels, the relationship between managers and the employees is reshaped. Managers will act as coaches, advisors, sponsors, facilitators and help their subordinates to do their task with minimal guidance.

Implications for Manager: The executive must learn to delegate their tasks to the subordinates and make them more responsible in their work. And in so doing, managers have to learn how to give up control and employees have to learn how to take responsibility for their work and make appropriate decision. If all the employees are empowered, it drastically changes the type of leadership styles, power relationships, the way work is designed and the way organizations are structured.

Coping with ‘Temporariness”

In recent times, the Product life cycles are slimming, the methods of operations are improving, and fashions are changing very fast. In those days, the managers needed to introduce major change programs once or twice a decade. Today, change is an ongoing activity for most managers. The concept of continuous improvement implies constant change. In yester years, there used to be a long period of stability and occasionally interrupted by short period of change, but at present the change process is an ongoing activity due to competitiveness in developing new products and services with better features. Everyone in the organization faces today is one of permanent temporariness. The actual jobs that workers perform are in a permanent state of flux. So, workers need to continually update their knowledge and skills to perform new job requirements.

Implications for Manager: Managers and employees must learn to cope with temporariness. They have to learn to live with flexibility, spontaneity, and unpredictability. The knowledge of Organizational Behavior will help understand better the current state of a work world of continual change, the methods of overcoming resistance to change process, the ways of creating a better organizational culture that facilitates change process etc.

Stimulating Innovation and Change

Today’s successful organizations must foster innovation and be proficient in the art of change; otherwise they will become candidates for extinction in due course of time and vanished from their field of business. Victory will go to those organizations that maintain flexibility, continually improve their quality, and beat the competition to the market place with a constant stream of innovative products and services. For example, Compaq succeeded by creating more powerful personal computers for the same or less money than IBNM or Apple, and by putting their products to market quicker than the bigger competitors. Amazon.com is putting a lot of independent bookstores out of business as it proves you can successfully sell books from an Internet website.

Implications for Managers: Some of the basic functions of business are being displaced due to the advent of a new systems and procedures. For example – books are being sold only through internet. Internet selling an organization’s employees can be the impetus for innovation and change; otherwise they can be a major hindrance. The challenge for managers is to stimulate employee creativity and tolerance for change.

Emergence of E-Organization

E- Commerce: It refers to the business operations involving electronic mode of transactions. It encompasses presenting products on websites and filling order. The vast majority of articles and media attention given to using the Internet in business are directed at on-line shopping. In this process, the marketing and selling of goods and services are being carried out over the Internet. In e-commerce, the following activities are being taken place quite often - the tremendous numbers of people who are shopping on the Internet, business houses are setting up websites where they can sell goods, conducting the following transactions such as getting paid and fulfilling orders. It is a dramatic change in the way a company relates to its customers. At present e-commerce is exploding. Globally, e-commerce spending was increasing at a tremendous rate from US$ 111 billion in 1999 to US$ 1.3 trillion by 2003.

E-business: It refers to the full breadth of activities included in a successful Internet based enterprise. As such, e-commerce is a subset of e-business. E-business includes developing strategies for running Internet-based companies, creating integrated supply chains, collaborating with partners to electronically coordinate design and production, identifying a different kind of leader to run a ‘virtual’ business, finding skilled people to build and operate intranets and websites, and running the back room or the administrative side. E-business includes the creation of new markets and customers, but it’s also concerned with the optimum ways to combine Computers, the Web and Application Software. A sizable number of multinational corporations are selling goods and services via the Internet.

Growth rate of e-business: The application of Internet operations are initially covers a small part of the business. At this point, their e-commerce operations are secondary to their traditional business. An increasingly popular application of e-business is merely using the Internet to better manage an ongoing business. Later, there are millions of firms that are now selling anything over the Internet, but they are using e-business applications to improve communications with internal and external stakeholders and to better perform traditional business functions. Some companies are putting maximum effort in improving its internal efficiency and providing support to its wide-reaching dealer network and to on-line sellers by crating a shared and integrated network. The companies wanted to make creasing

E-Organizations: This embraces e-commerce and e-business. State and central governments, municipal corporations are using the Internet for extending all the public utility services more efficiently through internet.

Implications for Managers: The employees must acquire skills, knowledge, attitudes in learning new technology, overcoming any resistance

Improving Ethical behavior:

The complexity in business operations is forcing the workforce to face ethical dilemmas, where they are required to define right and wrong conduct in order to complete their assigned activities. For example, Should the employees of chemical company blow the whistle if they uncover the discharging its untreated effluents into the river are polluting its water resources? Do managers give an inflated performance evaluation to an employee they like, knowing that such an evaluation could save that employee’s job? The ground rules governing the constituents of good ethical behavior has not been clearly defined. Differentiating right things from wrong behavior has become more blurred. Following unethical practices have become a common practice such as successful executives who use insider information for personal financial gain, employees in competitor business participating in massive cover-ups of defective products etc.

Implications for Managers: Managers must evolve code of ethics to guide employees through ethical dilemmas. Organizing seminars, workshops, training programs will help improve ethical behavior of employees. Retaining consultants, lawyers, voluntary service organizations to assist the company in dealing with ethical issues will ensure positive ethical behavior. Managers need to create an ethically healthy climate for his employees where they can do their work productively and confront a minimal degree of ambiguity regarding what constitutes right and wrong behavior.

Basic Approaches of Organisational Behavior

i) An Interdisciplinary Approach: It is integrating many disciplines. It integrates social sciences and other disciplines that can contribute to the Organizational Behavior. It draws from these disciplines any ideas that will improve the relationships between people and organization. Its interdisciplinary nature is similar to that of medicine, which applies physical, biological and social science into a workable medical practice. Organizations must have people, and people working toward goals must have organizations, so it is desirable to treat the two as a working unit.

ii) Scientific Management Approach: The fundamental concern of the scientific management school was to increase the efficiency of the worker basically through good job design and appropriate training of the workers. Taylor is the father of the scientific management movement and he developed many ides to increase organizational efficiency. Taylor showed that through proper job design, worker selection, employee training and incentives, productivity can be increased. The scientific management school advocated that efficiency can be attainted by finding the right methods to get the job done, through specialization on the job, by planning and scheduling, by using standard operating mechanisms, establishing standard times to do the job, by proper selection and training of personnel and through wage incentives.

iii) A Human Resources (Supportive) Approach: It is developmental approach concerned with the growth and development of people toward higher levels of competency creativity and fulfillment, because people are the central resource in any organizations and any society. It helps people grow in self-control and responsibility and then it tries to create a climate in which all employees may contribute to the limits of their improved abilities. It is assumed that expanded capabilities and opportunities for people will lead directly to improvements in operating effectiveness. Work satisfaction will be a direct result when employees make fuller use of their capabilities. Essentially, the human resources approach means that better people achieve better results.

iv) A Contingency Approach: Traditional management relies on one basic principle – there is one best way of managing things and these things can be applied across the board in all the instances. The situational effect will be totally ignored in this traditional management. Situations are much more complex than first perceived and the different variables may require different behavior which means that different environments required different behavior for effectiveness. Each situation much be analyzed carefully to determine the significant variables that exist in order to establish the kinds of practices that will be more effective.

Contingency theorist argues that the external environment and several aspects of the internal environment govern the structure of the organization and the process of management. Effective management will vary in different situations depending on the individual and groups in the organization, the nature of jobs, technology, the type of environment facing the organization and its structure. For example, if the employees are highly matured and willing to take more responsibility, the managers can follow delegating style and give full freedom to their employees. If the employees are not so matured and avoid taking any responsibility, the managers must follow directing style. Depends upon the situation, that is, employees level of maturity, managers will adopt different style of leadership to ensure more successful results.

v) A Systems Approach: This implies that organization consists of many inter related and inter dependent elements affecting one another in order to achieve the overall results. Conceptually a system implies that there are a multitude of variables in organization and that each of them affects all the others in complex relationships. An event that appears to affect one individual or one department actually may have significant influences elsewhere in the organization. Systems theorists describe the organization as “open to its external environment”, receiving certain inputs from the environment such as human resources, raw materials etc, and engaging in various operations to transform those raw materials into a finished products and finally turning out the “outputs” in its final form to be sent to the environment. The organization, since it is open to the environment, also receives feedback from the environment and takes corrective action as necessary.

Key Elements of Organisational Behavior

The key elements in organizational behavior are people, structure, technology and the external elements in which the organization operates. When people join together in an organization to accomplish an objective, some kind of infrastructure is required. People also use technology to help get the job done, so there is an interaction of people, structure and technology. In addition, these elements are influenced by the external environment, and they influence it. Each o f the four elements o f organizational behavior will be considered briefly.

People

People make up the internal social system of the organization. They consist of individuals and groups, and large groups as well as small ones. People are the living, thinking, feelings beings who created the organizations. It exists to achieve their objectives. Organizations exist to serve people. People do not exist to serve organizations. The work force is one of the critical resources t hat need to be managed. In managing human resources, managers have to deal with:

• Individual employee who are expected to perform the tasks allotted to them
• Dyadic relationships such as superior-subordinate interactions
• Groups who work as teams and have the responsibility for getting the job done,
• People out side the organization system such as customers and government officials

Structure

Structure defines the official relationships of people in organizations. Different jobs are required to accomplish all of an organization’s activities. There are managers and employees, accountants and assemblers. These people have to be related in some structural way so that their work can be effective. The main structure relates to power and to duties. For example, one person has authority to make decisions that affect the work of other people.

Some of the key concepts of organization structure are listed as below:

• Hierarchy of Authority: This refers to the distribution of authority among organizational positions and authority grants the position holder certain rights including right to give direction to others and the right to punish and reward.
• Division of Labor: This refers to the distribution of responsibilities and the way in which activities are divided up and assigned to different members of the organization is considered to be an element of the social structure.
• Span of Control: This refers to the total number of subordinates over whom a manager has authority
• Specialization: This refers to the number of specialities performed within the organization.
• Standardization: It refers to the existence of procedures for regularly recurring events or activities
• Formalization: This refers to the extent to which rules, procedures, and communications are written down
• Centralization: This refers to the concentration of authority to make decision.
• Complexity: This refers to both vertical differentiation and horizontal differentiation. Vertical differentiation: outlines number of hierarchical levels; horizontal differentiation highlights the number of units within the organization (e.g departments, divisions)

Organizations can be structured as relatively rigid, formalized systems or as relatively loose, flexible systems. Thus the structure of the organizations can range on a continuum of high rigidity to high flexibility. There are two broad categories of organization: i) Mechanistic form of organization ii) Organic form of Organization

Mechanistic form of Organisation

It is characterized by high levels of complexity, formalization and centralization. A highly mechanistic system is characterized by centralized decision making at the top, a rigid hierarchy of authority, well but narrowly defined job responsibilities especially at lower levels, and extensive rules and regulations which are explicitly make known to employees through written documents. In mechanistic organization, labor is divided and subdivided into many highly specialized tasks (high complexity), workers are granted limited discretion in performing theirs tasks and rules and procedures are carefully defined (high formalization); and there is limited participation in decision making which tends to be conducted at the highest levels of management high centralization.

Organic form of Organisation

A highly organic system is characterized by decentralized decision-making which allows people directly involved with the job to make their own decisions, very few levels in the hierarchy with flexible authority and reporting patters, loosely defined job responsibilities for members, and very few written rules and regulations. It is relatively simple, informal and decentralized. Compared with mechanistic organizations, employees in organic organizations, such as design firms or research labs, tend to be more generalist in their orientation.

 Jobs and Tasks

Job refers to the sum total of an individual’s assignment at the workplace. Tasks refer to the various activities that need to be performed to get the job done. The nature of tasks, it’s executives by various individuals, nature of interdependence and inter-relatedness, group activities etc have implication for organizational effectiveness. Thus the jobs and tasks have to be designed and managed properly.

Core Job Characteristics: There are five job characteristics which are central to providing potential motivation to workers. They are: Skill variety, Task identity, Task significance, Autonomy, and Feedback from the job itself.

• Task Variety: This denotes the extent to which any particularly job utilizes a range of skills, abilities and talents of the employees. If number of different skills is used by the employee on the job, the job is going to provide challenge and growth experience to the workers.
• Task Identity: This indicates the extent to which the job involves a ‘whole’ and identifiable piece of work. If the job involves the whole components (eg – painting a portrait), then the individual can identify with the ultimate creation turned out by him and derive pride and satisfaction from having done a good job.
• Task significance: This refers to the meaningfulness or significance of the impact that a job has on the lives of others – both inside and outsider of the organization. If what one does has an impact on the well being of others, the job becomes psychologically rewarding to he person who performs it.
• Autonomy: This refers to the extent to which the job provides an employee the freedom, independent and discretion to schedule work and make decision and formulate the procedures to get the job done without interference from others. The greater the degree of autonomy, the more the person doing the job feels in control.
• Feedback from the Job itself: This indicates the extent to which the person who is working on the job can assess whether they are doing things right or wrong even as they are performing the job. That is, the job itself is stimulating one and enjoyable.

Job Design: Jobs can be designed to range from highly simple to highly complex tasks in terms of the use of the workers skill. Some of the job design options are as follows:

• Job Simplification: The jobs are broken down into very small parts as in the assembly line operations where a fragmented task is repeatedly done over and over again by the same individual.
• Job Rotation: This involves moving employees among different tasks over a period of time. Management does not have to bother with combining tasks, but at the same time, the workers do not get bored with doing one simple task over several years. The employee is periodically rotated from one job to another within the work setting
• Job Enlargement: This involves simply adding more tasks to the job so that the workers have a variety of simple tasks to perform rather than doing just one task repetitively. Two or more tasks are combined and the individual does the combined tasks altogether.
• Job Enrichment: This offers a greater challenge to the workers because it requires the use of variety of skills possessed by them. This involves building in motivating factors into the job, giving the workers more responsibility and control over work, and offering learning opportunities for the individual on the job.

Technology

Organizations have technologies for transforming inputs and outputs. These technologies consist of physical objects, activities and process, knowledge, all of which are brought to bear on raw materials labor and capital inputs during a transformation process. The core technology is that set of productive components most directly associated with the transformation process, for example, production or assembly line in manufacturing firm. Technology provides the physical and economic resources with which people work. They cannot accomplish much with their bare hands, so they build buildings, design machines, create work processes and assemble resources. The technology that results has a significant influence on working relationships. An assembly line is not the same as a research laboratory, and a steel mill does not h ave the same working conditions as a hospital. The great benefit of technology is that it allows people to do more and better work, but it also restricts people in various ways. It has costs as well as benefits.

Classification of Technology:

Thomson classified technology into three categories: Long-linked technology, Mediating Technology and Intensive Technology.

• Long linked Technology: In this, tasks are broken into a number of sequential and interdependent steps, where the outputs of one unit become the input of the next. (eg. Assembly line) this facilitates to have high volume of output and efficiency. This technology calls for mechanistic structures with high levels of specialization, standardization and formalization.
• Mediating Technology: This links different parties who need to be brought together in a direct or indirect way (eg. Banks – use mediating technology to lend money to borrowers by taking money from depositors)
• Intensive Technology: It is used when a group of specialists are brought together to solve complex problems using a variety of technologies (eg. Hospital – parties are treated with the help of experts drawn from different fields of specialization). Coordination of the different activities is achieved in the system primarily through mutual adjustment among those engaged in solving the problem in the different units. Organic structures would fit in this system using intensive technology.

 Environment

All organizations operate within an external environment. A single organization does not exist alone. It is part of a larger system that contains thousand of other elements. All these mutually influence each other in a complex system that becomes the life style of the people. Individual organization, such as a factory or school cannot escape from being influenced by this external environment. It influences the attitudes of people, affects working conditions, and provides competition for resources and power. Every organization interacts with other members of its environment. The interactions allow the organization t o acquire raw material, hire employees, secure capital, obtain knowledge, and build, lease or buy facilities and equipment. Since the organization process a product or service for consumption by the environment, it will also interact with its customers. Other environmental actions, who regulate or over see these exchanges, interact with the organization as well (distributors, advertising agencies, trade associations, government of the countries in which business is conducted)

Two Distinct Sets of Environment:

i) Specific Environment: This includes the suppliers, customers, competitors, governments’ agencies, employees, unions, political parties etc.

ii) General Environment: It includes the economic, political, cultural, technological and social factors in which the organization embedded. Organizations are embedded in an environment within which they operate. Some of the external factors may be completely beyond the control of the organization to change, such as the cultural, social or economic, or governmental aspects. However, many of the other factors such as sizing up the market, being in tune with the technological changes takes place, being a step ahead of competition, or stocking up and buffering supplies when certain materials are likely to be in short supply, are all within the control of the organization. Effectively managing these situations, however, requires constant and close vigilance, adaptability to changes, and being able to manage problematical situations through good decisions making. Those organizations which are proactive (that is, watchful and take action before crisis situations occur) and can manage their external environment are more effective than those that are reactive (that is, caught off guard and wake up after facing the crises situation) and are unable to cope effectively.

Fit between Environment and Structure: Firms facing a fast changing or turbulent external environment were very effective when they had more organic structures which provided flexibility for quick changes to be make within the internal environment of the system. Similarly, firms which operated in a relatively stable external environment were very effective when they had more mechanistic structures. This mechanistic structure allowed the system to operate in a predictable manner since authority, responsibility, procedures, and rules were clearly specified.

F W Taylor

F W Taylor - (1856 - 1915), USA- The Scientific Management School

Taylorism involved breaking down the components of manual tasks in manufacturing environments, timing each movement ('time and motion' studies) so that there could be a proven best way to perform each task. Thus employees could be trained to be 'first class' within their job. This type of management was particularly relevant to performance drives e.g 'Action On' projects.

This was a rigid system where every task became discrete and specialized. It is fair to suggest that this is unlikely to be of value to the NHS with the Modernisation agenda suggesting that we should have a flexible workforce.

Key points about Taylor, who is credited with what we now call 'Taylorism':

• he was in the scientific management school
• his emphases were on efficiency and productivity
• but he ignored many of the human aspects of employment

For the managers, scientific management required them to:

• develop a science for each operation to replace opinion and rule of thumb
• determine accurately from the science the correct time and methods for each job (time and motion studies)
• set up a suitable organisation to take all responsibility from the workers except that of the actual job performance
• select and train the workers (in the manner described above)
• accept that management itself be governed by the science deployed for each operation and surrender its arbitrary powers over the workers, i.e. cooperate with them.

For the workers, scientific management required them to:

• stop worrying about the divisions of the fruits of production between wages and profits.
• share in the prosperity of the firm by working in the correct way and receiving wage increases.
• give up their idea of time wasting and co-operate with the management in developing the science
• accept that management would be responsible for determining what was done and how
• agree to be trained in new methods where applicable

The benefits (mainly for the management) arising from scientific management can be summarised as follows:

• its rational approach to the organisational work enables tasks and procedures to be measured with a considerable degree of accuracy
• measurement of paths and processes provide useful information on which to base improvements in working methods, plant design, etc
• improving work methods brought enormous increases in productivity
• it enabled employees to be paid by results and to take advantage of incentive payments
• it stimulated management into adopting a more positive role in leadership at shop floor level.
• it contributed to major improvements in physical working conditions for employees
• it provided the formation for modern work studies

The drawbacks were mainly for the workers:

• it reduced the worker's role to that of a rigid adherence to methods and procedures over which he/she had no discretion
• it led to increased fragmentation of work due to its emphasis on divisional labour
• it generated an economically based approach to the motivation of employees by linking pay to geared outputs
• it put the planning and control of workplace activities exclusively in the hands of the managers
• it ruled out any realistic bargaining about wage rates since every job was measured and rated 'scientifically'

Therefore, in summary, while the scientific management technique has been employed to increase productivity and efficiency both in private and public services, it has also had the disadvantages of ignoring many of the human aspects of employment. This led to the creation of boring repetitive jobs with the introduction of systems for tight control and the alienation of shop floor employees from their managers.

Taylorism prevailed in the '30s through to the early '60s - and in many organisations considerably later than this. Peters and Waterman in the 70s/80 and Senge late '80s/early '90s led us towards what we now call 'systems thinking' where the rights and potential wider contributions of employees received considerably greater emphasis.

Henri Fayol

Henri Fayol (1841 - 1925), France

 

1.Division of work	Reduces the span of attention or effort for any one person or group. Develops practice and familiarity
2. Authority	The right to give an order. Should not be considered without reference to responsibility
3. Discipline	Outward marks of respect in accordance with formal or informal agreements between firm and its employees
4. Unity of command	One man superior
5. Unity of direction	One head and one plan for a group of activities with the same objective
6. Subordination of individual interests to the general interest	The interests of one individual or one group should not prevail over the general good. This is a difficult area of management
7. Remuneration	Pay should be fair to both the employee and the firm
8. Centralisation	Is always present to a greater or less extent, depending on the size of the company and quality of its managers
9. Scalar chain	The line of authority from top to bottom of the organisation
10. Order	A place for everything and everything in its place; the right man in the right place
11. Equity	A combination of kindliness and justice towards the employees
12. Stability of tenure of personnel	Employees need to be given time to settle into their jobs, even though this may be a lengthy period in the case of the managers
13. Initiative	Within the limits of authority and discipline, all levels of staff should be encouraged to show initiative
14. Esprit de corps	Harmony is a great strength to an organisation; teamwork should be encouraged

Advantages

• Fayol was the first person to actually give a definition of management which is generally familiar today namely 'forecast and plan, to organise, to command, to co-ordinate and to control'.
• Fayol also gave much of the basic terminology and concepts, which would be elaborated upon by future researchers, such as division of labour, scalar chain, unity of command and centralization.

Disadvantages

• Fayol was describing the structure of formal organizations.
• Absence of attention to issues such as individual versus general interest, remuneration and equity suggest that Fayol saw the employer as paternalistic and by definition working in the employee's interest.
• Fayol does mention the issues relating to the sensitivity of a patients needs, such as initiative and 'esprit de corps', he saw them as issues in the context of rational organisational structure and not in terms of adapting structures and changing people's behaviour to achieve the best fit between the organisation and its customers.
• Many of these principles have been absorbed into modern day organisations, but they were not designed to cope with conditions of rapid change and issues of employee participation in the decision making process of organisations, such as are current today in the early 21st century.
  
  

6 Most Overrated Management Concepts

Making a company successful requires, above all, clear thinking.

Unfortunately, there are dozens of management concepts that, far from making success easier, tend to encourage fuzzy ideas and bad decisions.

Here are a few of my favorites. Make sure you're not falling into any of these traps:

1. Consensus

Managers often strive to reach consensus among groups and individuals before any important decision is made. That sounds reasonable (hey, it's the "wisdom of crowds"), but in practice consensus drives weak decisions.

Strong decisions--the ones that create powerful futures--entail cutting away other options, and that generally means disappointing somebody. Consensus favors what's bland over what's innovative, what's safe over what's risky, and the status quo over carpe diem.

2. Customer Focus

If you focus on the customer, you'll be better able to satisfy the customer's needs, right?  Well, not really. "Focusing" on the customer is viewing the situation from your own perspective as a vendor. What's really required is the ability to listen to and absorb what the customer is saying and project yourself into the customer's shoes.

Understanding a customer is not so much a visual act (like using a microscope) as a passive act: It involves rapport, empathy, and imagination.

3. Brainstorming

Getting people together to bounce ideas off one another (in a supportive environment) sounds like a great idea. Until you actually try making it work, that is. Creativity is not a group process, and great ideas do not emerge out of dumb, half-baked ones.

What's more, no matter how supportive the environment, people know they'll be judged on the quality of their contributions. That's why brainstorming usually creates nothing more than a dull drizzle.

4. Rightsizing

Rightsizing is a weasel word intended to make mass firings seem as if they're strategic. The real truth is that big layoffs are always the result of lousy management. Though it's sometimes necessary to make staffing changes, well-run companies with farsighted management never require such drastic surgery. So let's stop using jargon that hides the fact that management failed.

5. Human Resources

The problem with calling humans "resources" is that you just dehumanized them into objects. The term puts human beings conceptually in the same bucket as raw materials on the factory floor or the network wires inside the wall. It ignores the fact that people are complicated and multifaceted, and that getting them to work together requires treating them as individuals rather than as plug-and-play commodities.

6. Leadership

Before he died, the management visionary Peter Drucker pinned the excesses of corporate America on the bloated concept of leadership. He believed businesses have more than enough leaders; what they really need are competent managers who can do the hard work of decision making, planning, and coaching.

In my experience, the typical business leader is like the leader of a marching band--he waves a stick while other people do the work.

Needless to say, feel free to leave a comment if you disagree.