administrative thinkers
DESCRIPTION
A brief description of administrative thinkers who have contributed to the development of public administrationTRANSCRIPT
Chapter 1
Administration Organization Management
Lays down the object Combination of human and
material resources
Leads, guides and directs the
organization to accomplish the
object
Organization and Management
try to achieve that object
Systematic correlation between
the resources to achieve an
objective
Lays down the broad policies
for operation
Administration defines the
organization
Management uses the
organization
Specialisation
Specialization
Compromising
Organisation
ApproachestoPubAdAnalysis
Institutional Approach
Managerial Approach
Political Approach
Majorthemesofdifferentschools
Classicals Fayol, Taylor, Gulick‐Urwick, Weber,
1. Efficiency 2. Division of Work 3. Hierarchy 4. Authority 5. Economic Man
Follett <bridge between classical and behaviouralists
Human relations school 1. Social needs of man
within an organisation2. Different concept of
motivation 3. Relationship between
supervision, morale and productivity
MajorIdeas
Authority
Taylor
Fayol Responsibility and Authority should be commensurate
Gulick‐Urwick
Weber 3 types of authority: charismatic, traditiona, legal‐rational
Follett Authority as vested power; cannot be delegated; derived from the law of the situation
Mayo Authority should be based on social skills in securing cooperation rather than expertise
LocalSelfGovernment
Two tiers Panchayati Raj system is in existence in the States/UTs of Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman
and Diu, Goa, Lakshadweep, Manipur, Puducherry and Sikkim.
WoodrowWilson
Essay: The Study of Administration. <the essay marked the beginning of public
administration as a subject of enquiry>
The study of administration developed due to the increasing complexities of society, growing
functions of state and growth of governments on democratic lines.
Objective of administrative study
o The find out what the government can do and how can it do it efficiently
o To lay executive methods on stable principles
Administration is the most obvious part of government. It is government in action.
TaylorandScientificManagement
Taylor: Father of Scientific Management
o Books: A piece rate system, Shop Management, Art of Cutting Metals, Principles of
Scientific Management
Basic theme: Management is a true science and has its own laws and rules that have
universal applicability to all types of organizations
It was concerned with the application of scientific methods to managerial practices and
production processes. Focussed on shop floor organization.
Soldiering: Natural and systematic
o Tendency on the part of the workers to restrict the output
o Reduce soldiering to enhance efficiency
Three assumptions
o Application of scientific methods can improve organizational functioning
o A good worker accepts the orders of the management; he does not initiate action
o Every worker is an economic man
Object of management: Secure maximum prosperity for the employer, coupled with
maximum prosperity for each employee
Four Principles
o Develop science of work that replaces rule‐of‐thumb
o Scientific selection and training of the workers
o Cooperation between the management and workers
o Equal division of work and responsibility between the management and workers
Hence: science, not rule of thumb; harmony, not discord; cooperation, not individualism;
maximum output, not restricted output; development of each man to his greatest efficiency
and prosperity
SM involves complete mental revolution. <This is the essence of SM>
o On the part of the workers and the management as to their duties, towards their
work and others.
o Realize that mutual interests are not antagonistic. Both parties aim at increasing the
surplus
Techniques of SM
o Functional Foremanship: Worker is supervised and guided by eight functional
foreman
o Motion Study: Technique of standardization of work methods.
o Time Study: To determine the standard time for completion of work.
o Differential Piece Rate Plan: Workers are paid a low piece rate up to a standard, a
large bonus at the standard and a higher piece rate above the standard.
o Exception Principle: Set daily tasks. Reward for achieving targets and penalty for not
meeting it.
o Routing system, modern cost system etc.
Criticism
o Partial theory due to its concentration on the shop floor
o Mechanistic theory: neglected the human side.
o Underestimated and oversimplified human motivation to explain it in terms of
economic factors (monistic theory of motivation). Hawthorne experiments depicted
this flaw
o Physiological organization theory: sacrifice the initiative of worker, individual
freedom.
o Opposition from the labour unions (threat to unionism) as well as managers (loss in
discretion and increase in work).
o Increased monotony and resulted in the absence of skill variety
o Division of work leads to a) depersonalization b) may lead to automation of workers
Evaluation
o Pioneer of human beings at work
o First to apply quantitative techniques to study industrial management
o SM spread as a movement and had major impact on the growing reform and
economy movements in PA.
ClassicalTheorists
Fayol, Urwick, Gulick, Follet and others
Aka traditional theory, formal organization theory, mechanistic theory, structural theory,
administrative management theory and the management process school
While SM had focused only on the shop floor level, Classicals focused on the formal
organization structure as well as the process of administration (management). However, like
SM it advocates the concept of ‘economic man’
Characteristic features: Specialization, hierarchy, rationality, impersonality, order, structure,
economy and efficiency.
Division of labour is its central tenet.
Fayol(Functionalism)
Father of classical theory
Major theory: Functionalism
Book: General and Industrial Management. Essay: The Theory of Administration of the State
Fayol does not distinguish between business management and public administration
Notes
Elements of administration: POCCC
Planning
o Foresee and anticipate
o It enables separation of short‐run events from long‐range considerations
o Endows forethought to the operations
Organization
o To provide it with everything required for its functioning
o Two categories: Material organization and human organization
o Every organization has to perform certain managerial functions
Command
o It rests on certain personal qualities and knowledge of the general principle of
management
o For command, the manager should have a thorough knowledge of his personnel,
eliminate the incompetent, set a good example, conduct periodic audit, not become
engrossed in detail.
Coordination
o Harmonizing all activities and efforts
o Its aim is to keep the efforts of each department coincident with the overall aim of
the organization.
Control
o Objective is to obtain conformity with the plan adopted, the instruction issued and
principles established.
Six attributes of a manager: Physical, Mental, Moral, general education, special knowledge,
experience
He gives 14 principles of administration
Emphasised the need for systematic training in administration
Gangplank: the need for ‘level jumping’ in a hierarchical organization. Breaks the scalar
chain. Though Fayol stressing on formal organization, he is aware to the dangers of
conformity to hierarchy and formalism.
Taylor‐Fayol comparison: TMH 111
Criticisms
o Neglected the structural aspect while devoting considerable attention to functional
classification
o Narrow empirical base in developing his theory
o Unity of command may lead to strengthening of hierarchy and suppress the real
differences of outlook which are required for a dynamic and innovative organization
o Bernard and Simon: A managerial organization cannot be explained purely in terms
of a set of principles about formal organization structure.
o Human relations school: Fayol mostly ignored the social‐psychological or emotional
needs of the employees
Evaluation
o Tried to build a universal science of management
o Wrote extensively on the problems of public administration
o He made a systematic analysis of the process of management and administration
and advocated that management can and should be taught.
o He was a pioneer of the concept of viewing management as being made up of
functions <functionalism>
o An important part of his theory is that at the higher levels the proportion of
technical knowledge diminishes, but administrative skill and knowledge are of great
importance
o Fayol’s principles are widely used today in planning and developing company
organization structure. <especially unity of direction and unity of command>
o Fayol’s functional organization is still the best way to structure a small business
o He was not unaware of the human factor. He says that his rules are not rigid and can
be added and subtracted to.
GulickandUrwick
‘Papers on Science of Administration’ (1937) by G and U was a landmark in the classical
theory of administration.
They believed that it is possible to develop a science of administration based on principles
They synthesised the classical theory of organization which is also known as the
Administrative Management Theory
Importance of structure of organization
o They stressed on the importance of structure of organization in determining its
functioning <differed from Fayol>
o Urwick –“it is impossible for humanity to advance its knowledge of organization
unless the factor on structure is isolated from other considerations, however
artificial such isolation may appear.”
o Conceived of organization mainly as a designing process.
Principles of organization
o Gulick: Ten principles of organization:
Division of work or specialization (most important)
Bases of departmental organization
Coordination through hierarchy
Deliberate coordination
Coordination through committees
Decentralisation
Unity of command
Staff and line
Delegation
Span of control
o He said that division of work is the basis for organization
o Urwick: Eight principles of organization <notes>
o Later Urwick developed 29 principles
Executive functions / Functions of an administrator
o Gulick: POSDCORB
o Planning: Identification of activities and their prioritisation to reach the goals of the
organization
o Organization: looking at the structure of administration
o Staffing: Concerned with all aspects of personnel administration
o Directing: Orders issued by the managers to the subordinates
o Coordination: to secure cooperation and teamwork
o Reporting: Symbolizes upward flow of information to the executive
o Budgeting: Covers the entire field of financial administration
Theory of Departmentalisaton
o It addresses the issues of bases on which work may be divided and departments
created
o Gulick: 4 P
Purpose (function): Identify major functions and goals of organization and
create departments for each one of such functions
Process: All work based on similar process or skill should be grouped
together
Person (clientele): Members serving similar clientele should be grouped to
form a department
Place: All functions performed in a given area are clubbed together
Other features
o They did not favour organizations headed by plural bodies like committees but
consisting of a single top executive. Committee is like a corporation without ‘a soul
to be damned or a body to be kicked’.
o Staff principle: Born out of unity of leadership. The staff renders special and general
assistance to the leader.
o Delegation: Administrators should keep the requisite authority with them and
delegate the rest to their subordinates.
o Authority and responsibility should be coterminous, co‐equal and defined.
o Span of control: An official cannot effectively control simultaneously more than a
certain number of subordinates.
o In his later writings, Gulick emphasised the need to take human factor into account,
greater decentralisation in place of the present centralised and hierarchical
structure.
o Gulick also identified time as a crucial factor in organisations. Five aspects of time:
time as input, as output, as the flow of events, as a time gap between two or more
significant events, timing as a management policy.
Critical Estimate
o No universal validity of principles of administration
o Simon called the principles as homely proverbs, myths, slogans, inanities. For every
principle one can find an equally plausible and acceptable contradictory principle
o The bases of departmental organization are criticised on the basis that they are
incompatible with each other. There is an overlap between them and they are said
to be vague.
o Neglect of the human element in an organization
o They have shown concern only for the formal organization and totally neglected the
informal organizational process
o Dynamic nature of administration and the ever changing setting in which it functions
is not given adequate attention by the classical theorists.
o However, they captured the development of the field of public administration and
pointed to the importance of Pub Ad as a managerial, political, moral and ethical
concern. There cannot be any serious study of the science of administration without
reference to the principles of organization.
Mooney and Reiley in notes
MaxWeber
Weber’s name synonymous with bureaucracy
His theory of domination, leadership and legitimacy are important
Theory of authority
o Differentiates between authority, power and control <notes>
o Compared to power, authority is characterized by legitimacy
o “All administration means domination” (i.e. administration means exercise of
authority)
o Five essential components of authority: the rulers, the ruled, will of the ruler to
influence the conduct of ruled, evidence of the influence of the rulers in terms of
objective degree of command, evidence of the influence in terms of the subjective
acceptance
o An authority exists as long as it is accepted as legitimate by the ruled
Three pure types of legitimate authority <notes>
o Traditional: conformity with customs and personal arbitrariness are two
characteristics of traditional authority. Under this type of authority, the
administration becomes irrational as development of rational regulations is impeded
as there would be no staff with formal and technical training.
o Charismatic: Charisma and its acceptance forms the basis for legitimacy. The persons
who receive the commands obey the leader because they believe in his
extraordinary abilities rather than the stipulated rule or the dignity of a position.
o Legal‐Rational
Weber maintains that legal type of authority or domination alone is suitable for the modern
governments and he designed his model of bureaucracy keeping the legal‐rationality in
mind.
Bureaucracy forms the kernel of the administrative system under the legal‐rational authority
system
Characteristics of legal‐rational bureaucracy <notes>
Weber thought that this legal‐rational bureaucracy is technically superior to all other
administrative systems. Purely bureaucratic type of administrative organization is capable of
attaining the highest degree of efficiency
o Makes possible a high degree of calculability of results for the heads of the
organization.
o It is capable of application to all kinds of administrative tasks
o People once ruled by monocratic bureaucracy can never think of any other
alternative form of organisation.
Some important aspects of bureaucracy
o Impersonal Order: One of the most important ideas of the model is that ‘impersonal
order’ (depersonalisation) should orient the actions of the bureaucracy both in the
issuance of the commands to subordinates and their obedience to them.
o Rules: Continuous organisation of official functions bound by rules. Their rational
application, however, requires specialised training.
o Sphere of competence, Hierarchy, Personal and public funds, written documents
Criticisms
o Based on three points: the rationality in his model, suitability of the model to the
administrative requirements of different places and changing times, and whether
the model can attain maximum efficiency as visualised.
o Notes
Whyisbureaucracyhardtodestroy?
No person inside or outside the organisation can influence the system of bureaucracy for his
personal or vested interests
With features like hierarchy, rule boundedness and impersonal order, the bureaucracy
becomes like an orderly machine with its routine march which is unshakable and unalterable
Thus no single influence is entertained from inside or outside
Hence hardest to destroy
DetailedcriticismofWeber
Grounds of criticism
1. Dysfunctional aspects
2. Ill effects on human resource
3. Unsuitability to complex environment
4. Conceptual flaws in very mental map of bureaucracy
5. Usurpative tendencies
Dysfunctionalaspects
Victor Thomson
o Bureau pathologies: because of exaggerated focus on hierarchy and rule
boundedness
o Ends means reversal: rules become more important than goals
Robert Merton
o Dysfunctional consequences: detrimental due to overemphasis on structural
features
o Goal displacement: instrumental values become terminal values
o Trained incapacity: trained to become incapable by the overemphasis on rules and
norms
Philip Selznick
o Goal displacement: fixation on internal problems causes gd
Alvin Gouldner
o Goal distortion
o Bureaucratic apathy: an attitude of apathy and indifference whereby the
functionaries stop exercising their discretion and start working to rule
o Also because want to avoid mistakes. Hence don’t take initiative
Thorstein Veblen
o Trained incapacity due to the type of socialisation
o From creative and innovative to rule bound and rigid
Michael Crozier
o Officials refuse to learn from their mistakes: Bureaucratic phenomenon
Parkinson
o Parkinson’s law
Peter principle
Behavioralilleffects
Bureaucracy neglects the human side of the enterprise
Bernard
Argyris
o Maturity immaturity; incongruence
March Simon
o Excessive concern for formalism
o Impersonality detrimental to team spirit
Coercion from superior’s side and apathy from the sub‐ordinate’s side
File pushing behaviour
UnsuitabletoComplexenvironment
Robert Presthus
o Model might not be applicable to developing countries
Non ecological model
Riggs
Clause Offe
o Systematic Rationality and Organisational rationality
o Organisational rationality must give way to systematic rationality
o S R is a modified form of pure legal rationality
Usurpativetendencies
Minister knows less
Alfred Diamant
o Weber had noted that power interests of bureaucracy can harm political leadership
David Beethem
o Inherent tendency in bureaucracy to exceed the role of an instrument and to usurp
the goal setting role which actually belongs to the political leadership
Problemswiththemodelitself
Peter Blau
o A priori theory/model
Fredrich
o Ideal type is an oxymoron
Suggestedreforms
1. Collegiality
2. Separation of powers
3. Amateur Administration
4. Representation
5. Direct democracy
Three point of views of bureaucracy
Types of bureaucracy
F M Marx Merle Fainsod
Guardian Bureaucracy Representative
Caste B State Party Dominated
Patronage B Military Dominated
Merit B Ruler Dominated
Ruling Bureaucracy
PostWeberianDevelopment
Various defects with Weber’s model
Led to further research
Important developments
o Public Choice Approach
o Critical Perspective
o NPM
o CPA
o DA
Perspectives of
bureaucracy
Structural
Behavioural
Achievement of purpose
MaryParkerFollett(DynamicAdministration)
Regarded as a bridge between the classical approach and the behavioural‐human relations
approach to organisation.
Viewed organisation as a social system and administration as a social process
Brought out the human dimension of organisation
Books: The Speaker of the House of Representatives, The New State, Creative Experience,
Dynamic Administration
Accords high importance to the problems of conflict in organisations
o Constructive Conflict
o Conflicts should be regarded as a normal process in any activity of an organisation
by which socially valuable differences register themselves for the enrichment of all
concerned.
o Because of individual differences conflict is unavoidable in human organisations
o One should make use of it for constructive purposes
Ways of resolving a conflict
o Domination: victory of one side over another. The easiest way. But does not address
the cause of conflict; it may resurface
o Compromise: Each side gives up a little. Widely accepted method
o Integration: Two desires are integrated and neither side needs to sacrifice its
desires.
Integration preferred over compromise
o Integration creates something new, leads to invention and to the emergence of new
values
o Goes to the root of the problem and puts an end to the conflict permanently
Bases of Integration: Three Steps
o First step towards integration is to bring the differences into the open; Identify and
understand the real issues involved in a conflict
o Break up the demands into constituent parts; involves examination of symbols
o Anticipation of conflict; and prepare for response. Two types of responses: circular
and linear. Circular behaviour as the basis of integration is the key to constructive
conflict
Obstacles to integration
o Notes
Giving Orders
o 4 steps: Conscious attitude, Responsible attitude, Experimental attitude, Result
attitude
o Issuing orders is very difficult
o The employer should consider the ways and means of forming the ‘habits’ among
the employees to ensure acceptance of the orders
o Response to the orders depends upon the place and circumstances under which
orders are given. Strength of favourable response is inversely proportional to the
distance that the order travels
o The manner of giving orders is equally important. Tyrannical and overbearing
conduct of officials is an important reason for many a controversy.
o The solution is to depersonalise the orders
Depersonalising Orders
o Involves a study of the problems to discover the ‘law of the situation’ and obeying
orders.
o One should not give orders to another, but both should agree to take orders from
the situation
o Depersonalising orders, however, does not mean that one should not exercise
authority. It only means exercising the authority of the situation.
o Orders must always be integral to the situation
Power, authority and control
o Power as “the ability to make things happen, to be a causal agent, to initiate
change”
Power‐over and power‐with
Reduce power‐over with functional utility. In FU each has functions and one
should also have the authority and responsibility which goes on with that
function
Power can never be delegated or handed out as it is a result of knowledge
and ability. But we can create conditions for the development of power
o Authority
Is vested power – the right to develop and exercise power
Functional authority
Responsibility also flows from function and situation
o Control
She believes in fact‐control rather than man‐control and in correlated‐
control than superimposed control
Planning and coordination [Four principles of organisation]
o Coordination as the reciprocal relating of all factors in a situation
o Coordination by direct control
o Coordination in the early stages
o Coordination as a continuing process
Leadership: notes
Criticism
o Ignored the social nature or the processes involved in the management of
organisation
o Did not interpret social content of organisation scientifically
o Not a systematic thinker; hard to find a thread of consistency
o She did not gain stature as an administrative thinker because
Did not have the institutional base to facilitate a secure position
Ideology of cooperation, negotiation, conflict resolution and consensus were
not in sync with the world during her professional life
Evaluation
o Her ideas convince everyone about the validity and justification of multidimensional
focus of her universalistic approach
o Urwick – ‘her conceptions were ahead of her time’
o Drucker – ‘The Prophet of Management’
EltonMayo(HumanRelations)
Father of Human Relations theory
Most famous for his Hawthorne studies
Based on extensive studies he concluded that the workers’ productivity is not the result of
working conditions but the result of emotional response of the workers to the work
performed.
Hawthorne effect
Emphasised group behaviour and dynamics in industrial organisation greatly influence the
productivity of the worker
Importance of informal groups in organisation
Evaluation
o He was a pioneer in understanding the problems of the industrial labour from an
angle different from the traditional approach of scientific management era
o Examined human relations in organisations, employee‐employer relations, stability
of the labour, supervision etc of industrial workers
o Hawthorne studies have become historic and landmark
o His work paved the way for adequate communication system between the lower
rungs of the organisation and the higher levels
o In nutshell, the significance of Hawthorne investigations by Mayo was in discovering
the informal organisation, which it is now realised, exists in all organisations.
Classicals vs Human Relation: Table on page 132 TMH
ChesterBernard(Functionsofexecutive)
Father of the social system school
Books: The functions of the executive
Formal Organisation as a system of human cooperation
o Individuals constrained by factors of the total situation for cooperation
o Limiting factors: Biological (most imp), physical and social
o To overcome limitations: Cooperative social action
o Builds his theory of organisation with the basic premise that individuals must
cooperate
Why should an individual contribute his activities to the operations of any organisation?
o Bernard strongly disapproves the concept of economic man
o Theory of contribution‐satisfaction equilibrium
o Contributions are possible only when it is advantageous to individuals in terms of
personal satisfaction. So there must be some incentives/inducements.
Identifies 4 specific inducements
o Material inducements: money, things or physical conditions
o Personal non‐material opportunities: distinction, prestige and personal power
o Desirable physical conditions of work
o Ideal benefactions: respect, pride etc
Maintains that economic rewards are ineffective beyond the subsistence level
He feels that the primary function of the executive is to handle the economy of incentives
within an organisation
Organisations can be formal or informal
Formal organisation: system of consciously coordinated activities or forces of two or more
persons
o Three elements: communications, willingness to serve and common purpose
o Willingness implies surrender of personal conduct and depersonalisation of personal
action
o Purpose is necessary for cooperation. There are cooperative and subjective aspects
of purpose
o A purpose shall secure cooperation as long as there is no serious divergence
between the contributor’s subjective understanding of that purpose and its object
o Distinction between organisation purpose and individual motive
o The accomplishment of a common purpose through the persons contributing
towards it can be achieved only through ‘communication’
o Four characteristics of formal organisations: systems, depersonalisation,
specialisation and informal organisations.
Informal Organisations
o Individuals in the organisation continuously interact based on their personal
relationships rather than organisational purpose. Because of the continuous nature
of interactions, relations become systematised and they result into what are called
‘informal organisations’.
o Informal Organisation: The aggregate of personal contacts and interactions and the
associated grouping of people.
o Functions: Communication, maintenance of cohesiveness through regulating the
willingness to learn and the ability of the objective authority, and maintenance of
the feeling of personal integrity, self‐respect and independent choice
o Both formal and informal organisation are necessary for each other’s proper
functioning
Theory of Authority
o Introduces ‘acceptance’ as the basis of authority
o Four conditions to be satisfied for authority to be accepted
When the communication is understood
Consistency with the organisational purpose
Compatibility with personal interests
Physical and mental ability to comply
o Orders will be accepted when:
Above four conditions are satisfied
Orders fall within the ‘zone of indifference’
When the group influences the individual resulting in the stability of the
zone of indifference
o The principle of good executive conduct is that the orders that cannot be obeyed
should not be issued.
If such issue is necessary, then the group must be persuaded or offered
inducements
o Zone of indifference: The orders in this zone are unquestionably acceptable. The
zone will vary depending upon the inducements offered and the burdens and
sacrifices made by the individuals in the organisation.
o The fiction of superior authority is needed because
It enables the individual to delegate upward or to the organisation,
responsibility for what is an organisation decision
The fiction drives home the point that what is at stake is for the good of the
organisation.
o A superior is not an authority. Authority is of the organisation.
o Authority is imputed to communications from superiors if they are consistent and
are credited to the positions: Authority of position and authority of leadership
o Authority depends on the cooperation of subordinates and the system of
communication in the organisation. Principles of communication <in notes>
Responsibility <minor point>
o It is the most important function of the executive
o Definition: the power of a particular private code of morals to control the conduct of
the individuals in the presence of strong contrary desires or impulses
o Executive actions are always conditioned by the concepts of morality
o Large organisations cannot be operated unless responsibility is delegated.
Decision‐making
o Decisions as acts of individuals which are the result of deliberation, calculation and
thought involving the ordering of means to ends
o Decision‐making in organisations is a specialised process
o Two types of decisions
Personal: taken outside the organisation based on incentives organisations
offer. Need not be logical
Organisational: relate to organisational purpose, information‐based, logical
and can be delegated
Executive functions
o Define purpose and objectives at all levels
The purpose of the organisation must be accepted by all the contributors to
the system
Assumption of responsibility and delegation of authority are crucial aspects
of the functions of the executive
Purpose, objective and direction get redefined at every level
o Establish and maintain a system of communication in the organisation
Defining scheme of organisation
Maintaining a personnel system
Securing an informal organisation
o Obtain efforts and services from subordinates to achieve purpose
Two main aspects: bringing of persons into cooperative relationship with the
organisation, and eliciting services after they have been brought into that
relationship
Done by providing incentives, deterrents, supervision, control, education
and training
Leadership is critical to achieve cooperation
Criticism
o Abstractness of the presentation
o Not given full descriptive or prescriptive attention to the process of formulation of
purpose
o His theory of authority understates the role of objective authority and gives an
impression that individuals will have an option to accept or reject authority in an
organisation.
Evaluation
o Elucidated cooperation as a basic necessity of human life and the cause of human
development
o Presented the complexity of organisation processes
o Decision theory and zone of indifference important
o Role of informal organisations
o Dismantles the concept of ‘economic man’
o Combines the science of organisation with the art of organising
HerbertSimon
Researched on a wide variety of fields in social sciences and computer science
Books: Administrative Behaviour, Organisation, Public Administration, Human Problem
Solving
Administrative Science
o Sought to develop a science of administration and made human decision‐making as
the central theme of his studies
o Decision making as a process of drawing conclusions from premises
o Equated administration with decision making
o Recommended empirical approach to the study of administration as opposed to
principles approach
o Efficiency and economy as criteria for administrative effectiveness
o Methodology of logical positivism
o Disapproved policy‐administration dichotomy
Proposed fact‐value dichotomy
o Two types of administrative sciences: Pure and Practical
Critique of classical theory
o Narrowness and sterility of traditional approach
o Principles of administration as proverbs and myths
o For every principle, an opposite principle exists
o Description of the administrative situation is first required to come out with any kind
of principles
o The reason for the ambiguity classical principles is the ‘inadequate’ diagnosis of
situations and definitions of terms and lack of detailed research into real situations.
o The missing factor, he says, is correct decision‐making
Decision‐making
o Organisation as a structure of decision‐makers
o Decisions are made at all levels of the organisation
o Each decision is based on a number of premises and Simon focuses his attention on
how these premises are determined
These premises pertain to the decision maker’s preferences, social
conditioning, and communications he receives from component units of the
organisation
Decision making involved three phases
o Intelligence activity: finding occasions for decision‐making
o Design activity: finding possible courses of action
o Choice activity: choosing among courses of action
Fact and Value in decision making
o One must exclude value judgments and concentrate on facts, adopt precise
definition of terms, apply rigorous analysis, and test factual statements or postulates
about administration
o Every decision consists of a logical combination of fact and value propositions
o Mixed issue of fact and value impinge on administration complicating the decision
process
o To bring out the difference between fact and value, the means‐ends distinction is
used
In so far as decisions lead to the selection of final goals, they may be treated
as ‘value judgments’ and in so far as the decisions relate to implementation
of such goals, they may be treated as factual judgments
o Behaviour in an organisation is intendedly rational in character, adjusted to the
goals that have been erected
Rationality in Decision‐Making
o Rationality requires a total knowledge and anticipation of the consequences that will
follow each choice. It also requires a choice from among all possible alternative
behaviours
o Rationality in terms of means‐ends construct. If appropriate means are chosen to
reach desired ends, the decision is rational
o Simon sums up the inherent problems of means‐ends analysis
Ends through a particular behaviour alternative are incompletely or
incorrectly stated through the failure to consider alternative ends through
alternative behaviour
In actual situations a complete separation of means from ends is usually
impossible
The means‐end terminology tends to obscure the role of time element in
decision‐making
o Different types of rationality: objective, subjective, conscious, deliberate,
organisational, personal
o Disputes the concept of total rationality in administrative behaviour. Human
behaviour is neither totally rational nor totally non‐rational. It involves bounded
rationality
o From optimising decisions to satisficing decisions
Model of decision making
o From economic man to administrative man
o As administrative man cannot perceive all possible alternatives and consequences,
he instead of arriving at optimal solutions, is satisfied with satisficing solutions.
o Makes his choices using a simple picture of the situation and takes into account just
a few of the factors he regards as more relevant
Types of decisions
o Programmed and Non‐programmed
o Programmed: repetitive and routine. Decisions based on established practices
o Non‐programmed: novel and unstructured and have to be tackled independently.
o The main difference between these two types is that in the case of programmed the
organisation provides the alternatives through routines and in the case of non‐
programmed the organisation only provides the parameters for the search
procedures
o It is possible to construct mathematical models to make decisions.
Organisational Influences: internal and External
o Internal influence through establishing in the employees attitudes and habits which
lead him to desired decisions. Achieved through organisation loyalty, concern with
efficiency and training
o External influence involves imposing on the employee decisions reached elsewhere
in the organisation. Achieved through authority and advisory and informational
services. These are listed below
o Authority: accepted in the zone of acceptance
o Organisational loyalties: fulfils the function of making individuals in the organisation
confine themselves to their tasks instead of probing into the basics of the problems
o Advice and information: Collecting dependable information and proper utilisation of
it ensures greater effectiveness in decision making
o Training: An efficient training programme would facilitate greater discretion to the
individual in decision‐making.
Administrative efficiency
o An administrator should be guided by the criterion of efficiency
o Efficiency dictates the choice of alternative, which produces the largest results for
the given application of resources
o When resources, costs and objectives are variable, decisions cannot be taken purely
on the basis of efficiency criteria. However, when these are given, efficiency
becomes the controlling factor of administrative choice.
o In his later writings, Simon downplays efficiency. He applies it only to the lower level
decisions, as higher level decisions do not lend themselves to measurement and
comparability.
o Refer notes as well
Criticism
o Relegated social, political, economic and cultural factors into the background
o Exclusion of value premises would steer the study of public administration to
mechanical, routine and less important aspects
o Simon’s idea of fact‐based administrative theory is more relevant to business
administration than public administration
o Bernard criticism of Simon: did not take into account the enormous amount of
uncertainty involved in most decisions; did not pay sufficient attention to the
processes of communication within organisations
o Simon’s analysis assumes that administration plays a similar role in all societies
o Efficiency need not be the only goal of administration because there is a whole
range of other major categories of organisational purposes
o His theory of decision‐making is extremely general. It does not provide details to
guide the organisation planners.
Argyris’ critique of Simon
o Excludes variables like interpersonal relations, need for self‐actualisation, etc that
are central to organisation behaviour
o Simon’s theory would have no place for self‐actualising individuals
o Simon emphasises the importance of authority strcutures
Evaluation
o Provided insights into the interaction between decision‐making process and
administrative behaviour
o Major contribution. Stimulated further research.
BehaviouralApproachorNewManagementSchool:McGregor,Argyris,
Likert
DouglasMcGregor
Demonstrated the unrealistic and limiting assumptions of traditional theories of
management concerning human nature and the control of human behaviour in an
organisational setting
Proved that reliance on authority as the primary means of control in industry leads to
resistance, restriction of output and indifference to organisation objectives.
Book: The Human Side of the Enterprise, The Professional Manager
The main question he addressed in ‘The Human Side..’ was whether successful managers are
born or made
He says “the theoretical assumptions which the management holds about controlling human
resources determine the whole character of the enterprise”
‘Every managerial act rests on a theory’
All control is selective adaption. Managerial control should not be violative of human nature
if it has to be effective.
“We can improve our control only if we recognize that control consists in selective
adaptation to human nature rather than in attempting to make human nature conform to
our wishes”
Control in human affairs can be viewed as an integration of human behaviour either
through coercive compulsion or through motivational self‐control
Theory X: The coercive compulsions
o Traditional view of direction and control. Carrot and stick theory.
o Average human being has an inherent dislike for work and will try to avoid it
o Hence, most people must be corrected, controlled and threatened with punishment
to get them to achieve organisational objective
o Average human being prefers to be directed, wishes to avoid responsibility, has little
ambition and wants security above all
‘So long as the assumptions of Theory X continue to influence managerial strategy, we will
fail to discover, let alone utilise the potentialities of the average human being.’
Command and control environment relies on lower needs for motivation
Theory Y: Assumptions of integration and self‐control
o Engaging in physical or mental effort is as natural as play or rest
o Mass exercises, self‐direction and self‐control can be shown by people to achieve
objectives
o Commitment to objectives is a function of the awards associated with their
achievement
o Avg human being can learn not only to accept but also to seek responsibility
o Creativity and ingenuity is widely, not narrowly, distributed in the problem
o Conditions of modern industrial life lead to only partial utilisation of the intellectual
potentialities of a human being
Theory Y points to the fact that the limits on human collaboration in the organisational
setting are not limits on human behaviour but of management ingenuity in discovering how
to realise the potential of human resources
The central principle implicit in Theory Y is that integration of behaviour is the key process in
management
The concept of integration and self‐control demands that the needs of the individual and
that of the organisation should be recognised.
McGregor calls Theory Y an open invitation to innovation
Management by integration and self‐control does not tack any new set of duties on top of
the existing managerial load. Rather it is just a different way of fulfilling responsibilities
Scanlon Plan
o Was a philosophy of management, by Lesiaur, based on theoretical assumptions
entirely consistent with Theory Y
o Was found that Scanlon companies performed better
Participation, which grows out of the assumptions of Theory Y, offers substantial
opportunities for ego‐satisfaction of the workers or subordinates and hence effects
motivation towards organisational objectives
Relevance of Theory Y to line‐staff relationship
o All managers have both line and staff responsibilities
o Theory Y stresses on the teamwork at each level
o Helps in improving line‐staff collaboration
o Theory Y can contribute to the fullest development of the potentialities of the
employees in their respective roles, which they can fill the best
The concept of transactional influence
o The management of differences or building a managerial team is not a simple matter
of managerial powers or controls
o When certain social elements as trust and mutual support are present, there is no
need for concern about power equalisation or the loss of responsibility and status in
managerial hierarchy
Education of managers. Organisation reality is a matter of perception and world view of the
individual.
Working through differences
o Three ways to deal with differences
Divide and rule
Suppression of differences
Working through differences
o The third one should be used so that the interplay between members may yield to
innovation, commitment and decisions and strengthening of relationships within the
group
Evaluation
o He was interpreted as advocating Theory Y as a new and superior ethic. He only
wanted managers to investigate these two sets of beliefs and develop management
strategies that made sense in a context
o Impracticality and over‐generalisation
o Some criticised his ideas as being tough on the weaker members of society, those
who need guidance and who are not necessarily self‐starters
o Made decision‐makers realize the potential for collaboration, inherent in human
nature and human resources
o Theory X & Y are analytical tools of reference through which managerial behaviour
can be analysed, studied, predicted and corrected
o His writings represent a mine of ideas from which the theorists of management and
managers can learn strategies
o Participative management
ChrisArgyris
Argyris’ researches relate to four areas:
o Impact of formal organisational structures, control systems and management on
individuals
o Organisational change, particularly executive behaviour
o Role of social scientist as a researcher and actor
o Individual and organisational learning
Many books: Personality and Organisation, Organisation and Innovation
He focuses on the individual’s relationship to the organisation and the conflict between the
individual’s social and psychological needs and the exigencies of the organisation
Pioneer in the application of the T‐group technique
The formal organisation
o There is an incongruence between the needs of a mature personality and the
requirements of a formal organisation
o This leads to situations in which: employees have minimal control over their work,
they are expected to passive and dependent, they have short‐time perspective and
are induced to perfect some shallow tasks repeatedly
o Incongruence increases as:
Employees become more mature
Formal structure is made more clear‐cut
One goes down the line of command
o Creates in an individual feelings of failure and frustration, short‐term perspective
and conflict
o It fails to satisfy the higher‐order needs of the employees
The individual adapts by either leaving the organisation, climbing up the organisational
ladder, or becoming apathetic. He also seeks group sanction for this. Informal groups are
organised to perpetuate these adaptations
Pressure oriented directive leadership compounds these faults of the formal organisation
Strategies for organisational development
o Organisation should provide an environment for the development of the personal
and psychological maturity of the individual
o Aim at improving the interpersonal competence of the employees
o Transform the traditional pyramidal structure of the organisation
o Techniques for programmed learning aimed at individual change should be
introduced
These strategies can be applied through the procedures mentioned below
Maturity‐Immaturity theory. The process of maturity from the immature stage consists of
seven components
o Infant passivity to adult activity
o Dependence to relative independence
o From limited behaviour to much different behaviour
o From erratic, shallow, brief interests to more stable, deeper interests
o Short‐term to long term perspective
o From a subordinate social position to an equal or superordinate social position
o From lack of self‐awareness to self‐awareness and self‐control
If the organisation inhibits any of the above it causes frustration and demoralisation of the
employees
Since the employees of organisations are adults, they should be treated as mature
individuals who are capable of accepting responsibility, pursuing long‐term interests and
concerned about the fulfilment of higher order needs
The accent in organisational change strategies should be upon meeting the needs of mature
individuals and providing opportunities to arouse and utilise their full psychological energy.
Improving interpersonal competence
o Interpersonal competence refers to the ability to deal effectively with an
environment populated by other human beings
o Three requirements for the development of interpersonal competence:
Self‐acceptance <degree to which a person values himself positively>
Confirmation <reality testing of one’s own self‐image>
Essentiality <opportunity to utilise the central abilities and express his
central needs>
Organisational Structures of the new system
o The Pyramidal Structure
Should be used in the performance of routine operations
o Modified formal structure
Similar to Likert’s link‐pin concept. Enables a subordinate to be a member of
the superior’s decisional unit
o Power according to functional contribution
Each employee has equal opportunity to be provided information, power
and controls, depending on his potential contribution to the problem
o The Matrix organisation
Each individual has equal power and responsibility. He has unlimited
opportunities to influence the nature of the core activities.
Removes superior‐subordinate relationship and substitutes for them
individual self‐discipline
Project teams are created to solve specific problems
o Executive education in the matrix organisation would focus on system effectiveness.
The matrix structure enables jobs to be enlarged. ‘Enlargement’ also means to
expand the use of the individual’s intellectual and interpersonal abilities
Techniques of programmed learning
o T‐group or sensitivity training to improve the personal effectiveness of employees
o T‐group technique consists of a laboratory programme designed to provide
opportunities for individual employees to expose their behaviour, give and receive
feedback, experiment with new behaviour and develop awareness and acceptance
of self and sensitivity to the personalities of others
o Such sessions enable participants to forget hierarchical identities and develop
distributive leadership and consensual decision‐making
Organisational Learning
o Organisations also learn through the experience and actions of individuals
o Organisational learning occurs when members act as learning agents for the
organisation, responding to the changes in the internal and external environments
o Single and double‐loop learning
o Single loop: individuals respond to errors by modifying strategies and assumptions
within the organisational norms
o Double loop: learning response to detected error takes the form of joint inquiry into
organisational norms per se and resolves the inconsistency and makes new norms
which can be realised effectively.
Criticism: 3 categories
o Benign view of man in relation to the organisation; concept of self‐actualisation
seems utopian
o Antipathy to authority
o Some key propositions of his methodology
No empirical support to the assertion that people are opposed to authority
Goal of self‐actualization as a universal goal has been questioned
Conclusion
o His objective is to build healthier organisations and to raise the quality of life in
them
o Some of the propositions are normative and lack empirical validity
o Importance contribution in the realm of interpersonal competence
RensisLikert
Known for his studies on organisation and analysis of management styles
Developed the Likert’s Scale and the Linking Pin Model
Books: New Patterns of Management, The Human Organisation, New Ways of Managing
Conflict
Tries to answer the question why do some managers get better results than others by
comparing the supervisory styles
Classifies supervisors into two categories: job‐centered and employee‐centered
Job Centered
o Their primary concern is to ensure performance of assigned tasks and maintenance
of prescribed standards
Employee Centered
o Primarily concerned with the human aspects of their subordinates and effective
team building for high task performance
Effective supervision is an adaptive and relative process
o It needs constant adaptation to the background values, expectations and
interpersonal skills between subordinates, peers and superiors
Supportive Relationships
o Based on his assessment of managers of high performance, he proposed the
principle of supportive relationships as an organising principle
o Leadership and other processes should be such that an individual should have a
maximum probability in all interactions and all relationships with the organisation.
Each member will view the experience as supportive and one which builds and
maintains his sense of personal worth and importance
o He conceives of an interaction‐influence system to maximise skills, resources and
motivation of individuals at different levels of the organisation
o The interaction‐influence system would facilitate integration of organisational and
managerial processes such as coordination, communication, decision‐making,
direction etc
An ideal interaction‐influence system would have the following characteristics
o Members will find personal values, goals reflected in the organisation
o Every member would be identified with the objectives of the organisation
o Spontaneous and accurate information flows
o Every member can exert his influence on decisions and actions of the organisation
Linking Pin Model
o This model can remove the hurdles found in traditional hierarchies and facilitate the
growth of interaction‐influence system
o Each member of an organisation has a twin role in two overlapping groups
o He is a member of a higher‐level group and leader of a lower‐level group
o Likert reinforces upward orientation with horizontal linkages
o Multiple linkages provide additional channels to share information and influence.
They become the link pins to hold the organisation together.
o No overlapping workgroups should exist than are absolutely necessary to perform
the linking process
Management systems 1‐4
o Exploitative‐authoritative, benevolent‐authoritative, consultative, and participative
o They are not isolated categories but blend into one another
o Two dimensions of these systems
Type of authority or control
Operating characteristics of the organisation and the motivational forces
used
o His four systems describe the relationship, involvement and roles between
management and subordinates in industrial settings
Exploitative‐authoritative system 1
o Goal setting and decision‐making by the top management and communications flow
downwards
o No subordinate participation – not trusted – abide by decisions – organisation focus
on completing the work – use of fear, threats – no teamwork
Benevolent‐authoritative System 2
o Decisions made by top management. But employees are motivated through rewards
rather than fear and threats
o flow of information from subordinates to managers but restricted – more rewards
than system 1 – marginal autonomy of employees
Consultative System 3
o Involvement in decision process of employees – consulted by management even
though management takes major decisions – greater flow of information from Sub
to Mgmt
o Partly trust subs – use both rewards and involvement of employees – foster more
responsibility – moderate teamwork
Participative System 4
o Complete confidence and trust in the employees, open communication flows and
the employees participation in the decision process.
o Subordinates freely express their views – teamwork – collective responsibility for
organisational goals – rewards
o Three basic concepts: supportive relationships, group decision making and methods
of supervision, high performance goals for the organisation.
o Considered to be the most productive and ideal
o Expected to result in better production, higher motivation and more profit than the
other systems
The operational characteristics of one system cannot be grafted abruptly to another
o In each system communication and motivation processes will be tailor‐made to fit
their unique decision making style
System 1: low performance units; System 4: High performance units
Emphasises the need to recognize the monetary value of human resources in organisations
Science based management
o Need to monitor the state of the organisation and its internal management system
at periodic intervals or stages of growth
o Use of mathematics and statistics can help in this measurement
Applications of System 4
o Validity of system‐4 for realizing high performance goals
o Uncoordinated and piecemeal efforts such as team building, job enrichment,
sensitivity training, participative decision‐making and management by objectives will
not pay high dividends unless they are integrated into an overall strategy of
changing the management system.
o He mentions four characteristics that a management system should possess to guide
the efforts for human resource development. System 4, he says, fulfils all four
specifications.
o Using survey feedback method, Likert proposes an organisational improvement
cycle comprising of five steps <in book>
o Improve the causal variables. Intervening variables and end‐results will then
improve
o However, he is aware of the problems involved in adapting System 4 to all
organisations. Actual realisation of system‐4 conditions of management depends on
the complex interplay of factors and forces at work in real organisation life.
Managing conflicts
o Conflict ‘as the active striving for one’s own preferred outcome, which if attained,
precludes the attainment by other of their own preferred outcome, thereby
producing hostility’
o Two kinds of conflicts; substantive and affective.
o Substantive: rooted in the substance of the task.
o Affective: derived from the emotional, affective aspects of interpersonal relations.
Evaluation
o Criticised for lack of contextual sensitivity
o Linking pin model: slows down the process of decision‐making
o Advantage of LPM: fosters the upward and horizontal linkage in contrast to the only
downward orientation of classical structure and strengthens the cross‐functional
linkages in complex organisations.
o But how do we push management systems 1 and 2 towards 3 to 4?
o System 4 structures and processes help to resolve conflict constructively instead of
suppressing them
o System 4 holds out prospects of development of advanced form of human
organisation.
o Likert’s most important contribution to management thought and practice is his
systematic analysis of good management practices and extending their frontiers of
knowledge and application.
Differences between system 1 and 4
System 1 System 4
Steep Hierarchical Structure Overlapping structures
Centralised Decision making Group decision processes
Top down communication Open and authentic three way communication (up, down and lateral)
Tight supervision Adaptive supervision
Man to man rather than group to group relations Cross‐functional linkages
Performance under pressure Individuals and workgroups with a high degree of achievement and motivation
Low degree of employee motivation
TheoriesofMotivation
AbrahamMaslow(Hierarchyofneeds)
Psychologist. Tried to understand human behaviour through psychoanalysis
Father of humanistic psychology
Books: Motivation and Personality, A Theory of Human Motivation, The Psychology of
Science
Human behaviour is a reflection of their conscious and unconscious goals
<Maslow’s theory is not synonymous with behaviour theory, the motivations are only one
class of determinants of behaviour. >
He took human needs as the basis of human behaviour
Need Hierarchy
o All human actions are outcomes of several unfulfilled needs and motives.
o Maslow’s theory is based on the idea of prepotency of needs
o Developed a scale in which at one end are lower order needs like physiological
needs and at the other end higher order needs like self‐actualisation. In between
there are middle order needs
o Each lower order need once satisfied gives way for an unfulfilled higher order need.
A satisfied need no longer motivates a person
o Fulfilment of lower order need is a precondition for a higher order need to surface.
Physiological needs
o Biological needs like hunger, thirst, sex etc
o Once physiological needs are satisfied, humans look for social needs
Security needs
o Next goal (after physiological needs) is safety, security, stability, and protection.
o Preference for a rhythm and routine in daily life
o < expressed in people’s preference for a job with tenure and protection, desire for
saving bank account, insurance etc>
Belongingness and Love needs
o Craving for affectionate relationships and a place of belongingness with his/her
people
o This need for love is not synonymous with sex which may be studied at a
physiological level
Esteem needs
o Desire for respect and recognition from society, work place, family and friendship.
o Can be divided into: achievement needs and recognition needs.
o Achievement needs: self confidence, strength and independence
o Recognition needs: respect, recognition in society, attention, desire to be an
important person
The above four needs are deficit needs or D needs. Deficiency motivation occurs when we
lack something and attempt to meet that deficiency. He also calls these needs as ‘survival
needs’
Self‐actualisation needs
o Highest need in the hierarchy of needs
o Directed towards searching the meaning and purpose of life.
o The desire for self‐fulfillment, actualisation and living a meaningful life is reflected in
this need.
o The specific form of this need differs from person to person
o These are also called B needs or being needs in contrast to the D needs.
Some further characteristics of basic needs
o Hierarchy is not as rigid as implied. There is scope for deviations
o A person may sacrifice a lower order need for a certain period of time to satisfy his
higher need and vice versa.
o Emergence of a particular need, after satisfaction of a lower order need is not
sudden but a gradual phenomenon
o Need areas are more often unconscious than conscious
o Basic needs and desires are the same irrespective of the societies and cultures they
live in.
o Human behaviour is multi‐motivated needs as such cannot explain all human
behaviour.
Other thoughts in his writings
o Peak experiences
Exciting moments in life involving feelings of happiness, well‐being and an
awareness of transcendental knowledge of higher truth.
All human beings are capable of peak experiences
o Eupsychian Management
Organisations should be designed in such a way that employees can satisfy
their safety, love and self‐actualisation needs.
Criticism
o Criticised mainly on grounds of methodology. Drawing inferences from lives of few
individuals
o Sophistication and validity of his research data and the order of hierarchy of needs
are also questioned
o Self‐actualisation concept is vague, imprecise and too general
o Overall attempts to establish evidence of Maslow’s hierarchy have failed <study by
Wabha and Birdwell>
o Michael Nash: Theories of Herzberg and Maslow are “Major Wrong Theories”
o His theory cannot be turned into a practical guide for managers who are trying to
make people productive.
o Ignored environmental factors like schooling and personal support that can facilitate
or impede self‐actualisation.
Significance
o One of the pioneers in personality theory
o Has had tremendous impact on modern management approach to motivation
o Led to further research in the area of motivation
FrederickHerzberg
Renowned psychologist and pioneer of job enrichment concept
Books: The Motivation to Work, The Managerial Choice, Work and the Nature of Man
Studies on Motivation
o All individuals have two sets of needs viz. To avoid pain and to grow psychologically
o The motivation‐hygiene theory grew out of the studies he conducted on about 203
accountants and engineers
o He sought to identify: the events which resulted in marked improvement in
individual’s job satisfaction; and events that have led to marked reduction in job
satisfaction
o Study based on ‘critical incidents’
Hygiene Factors Motivation Factors
Company policy and administration Achievement
Supervision Recognition
Salary Work itself
Interpersonal relations Responsibility
Working conditions Advancement
Two factor theory
o Satisfiers: the factors associated with the growth and the task content of the job
o Dissatisfiers: factors associated with pain avoidance and context/surroundings of the job
o Satisfiers perform the role of motivators in hob o Hygiene factors, such as working conditions, company administration, salary,
supervisory relations, and benefits and services are envisioned as environmental elements that have little or no relationships to the motivation of specific job‐related behaviour
o The motivation factors determine how a worker feels about his job, whereas hygiene
factors only determine how a worker feels about his company or organisation in general.
o An employee is either dissatisfied or not dissatisfied (neutral) with hygiene factors
(maintenance factors), and he is either satisfied or not satisfied (neutral) with
motivational factors (growth factors).
o Hygiene factors must be adequate, or employees will not be attracted to an
organisation. But when employed, manipulating hygiene factors cannot motivate a
worker to do a better job.
o Dissatisfiers only produce short‐term changes in human attitudes and satisfiers produce
long term attitudes.
o The motivation and hygiene factors are separate and distinct and they are not opposite
or obverse of each other.
Three key principles of the theory
o Factors involved in producing job satisfaction are separate and distinct from the factors
that lead to job dissatisfaction
o Satisfaction and dissatisfaction are discrete feelings. The opposite of satisfaction on the
job is not dissatisfaction; it is no job satisfaction
o The motivators have a much long‐lasting effect on sustaining no satisfaction than
hygiene factors have on preventing dissatisfaction.
Hygiene and Motivation Seekers
o Chart on page 177, P&P
o To an organisation, it is easy to motivate through fear of hygiene deprivation than to
motivate in terms of achievement and actualising the goals
o Such a policy would be injurious to the long‐term interests of the organisation. Hence it
is desirable to focus emphasis on motivating the people
o For this, Herzberg suggests job enrichment and vertical overloading as important means
Job enrichment
o ‘the art of reshaping jobs’
o The term designates a technique used by managers to maximize in individual workers
the internal motivation to work, which is the true source of job satisfaction.
o Job should have sufficient challenge to utilize full ability of the employee; employees
showing increasing level of ability should be given increasing levels of responsibility
o Changing job content
Job loading
o Horizontal loading (mere job enlargement) cannot motivate. Only ‘vertical loading’ (job
enrichment can.
Herzberg describes a ten‐step process for job enrichment. <pg 179 P&P)
Pg 180. The process of job enrichment
Criticisms
o Criticised for adopting an industrial engineering approach
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Promotion/PerformanceAppraisal
Seniority or merit as the basis for promotion?
Demerits of the seniority principle
o The principle of seniority assumes that all members of a particular grade are equally
fit for promotion. Such an assumption may do not much harm in the lower grades of
the service; but it cannot be generally accepted when dealing with promotion in or
to the top grades.
Merits of the seniority principle
o Its operation is very nearly automatic and it avoids the need for making invidious
distinctions between one person and another
In the higher grades of the service considerations of fitness must have precedence over the
claim of seniority.