Chapter 15

Theories of Organizational Behavior and

Leadership

Introduction

• Theories are used in management not to mirror reality but to help explain it. (Mintzberg, 1989)

• Theories have a unique history and yet the principles and processes of each theory have remained consistent in application over time.

Classical Organization Theory: Frederick Winslow Taylor

• First addressed his views of management in The Principles of Scientific Management (1911).

• He analyzed each steel worker’s task in relationship to the tools used, the design of the tools, and how they were used.

• He believed there was one best way to accomplish each task and that it could be measured scientifically.

Frederick Winslow Taylor : The Principles of Scientific Management

• Taylor believed that a manager’s job was to scientifically determine the best way to do a job, to select the best employee, to train the employee, and to share responsibility for the results with the workers.

• This stepwise management practice became known as “Taylorism.”

• The first author to develop a complete administrative theory.

• In the early 1900s, Fayol suggested that management consists of 14 basic but flexible human principles.

• He recognized that management is universal and he is credited with initiating a move that focuses on management of the entire organization.

Henri Fayol: The General Principles of Administration

Max Weber: Bureaucratic Theory

• Weber extended Taylor’s theories and believed in the value of a hierarchical structure.

• He recognized the specialization and the necessity of the division of labor.

• He defined bureaucracy as “the means of carrying ‘community action’ over into rationally ordered “societal action.”

Neoclassical Organizational Theories

• In 1924, researchers undertook a study at the Hawthorne plant with the purpose of determining the “relation of quality and quantity of illumination to efficiency in industry.” This became known as the Hawthorne Study.

• Two major functions were identified: the production of a product and the satisfaction among the workers.

The Economy of Incentives• Chester Barnard (1938) came to view workers

as having social, behavioral, and psychological dimensions.

• Barnard argued that organizations cannot operate if individuals do not communicate and are not willing to contribute to common goals.

• Other aspects of his work focused on fair treatment of workers and humane leadership.

The Proverbs of Administration

• Herbert Simon proposed that administrative science can be theoretical and practical.

• He viewed the behaviors of human beings in groups as the sociology of administration.

• He proposed that the science of administration, “consists of proportions of how men would behave if they wished their activity to result in the greatest attainment of administrative objectives with scarce means.”

Modern Organization Theories

• Contingency theorists consider conflict to be inescapable and to be actively managed.

• Lawrence and Lorsch considered organizations to be social systems complete with individual behaviors, internal characteristics, external conditions, and environmental uncertainty.

• Fred Fiedler’s contingency model proposed group performance was based on a balance between the leader’s style and level of control.

Organizational Configuration Framework

• Henry Mintzberg found that the following six skills were essential for managers:– Performing a great quantity of work– Completing fragmented and brief activities– Preferring issues that are current and specific– Working with organization and outside contacts– Preferring verbal media– Ability to control his or her own affairs

General Systems Theory

• Ludwig von Bertalanffy introduced general systems theory in the late 1950s.

• The central theme in his work is that nonlinear relationships may exist between variables. As a consequence, a small change in one variable may cause a significant change in another.

• Kurt Lewin outlined a model for change used by industry in the 1940s.

• He describes change as a driving force that pushes people toward change, while they use a restraining force to push back the change.

• Peter Drucker built on this work and was convinced that organizations that do not embrace change will not survive.

Change Theory

• Douglas McGregor based Theory X on the belief that the average person dislikes work and tries to avoid it.

• Theory Y is based on several assumptions of human nature including that the average person can see and accept responsibility under proper conditions.

Theories X, Y, and Z (1 of 2)

• Theory X includes the assumption that lower-order needs in Maslow’s hierarchy govern behavior, and theory Y includes the assumption that human behavior is governed by higher-order needs.

• Theory Z, developed by William Ouchi, emphasizes trust, loyalty, and commitment among employees.

Theories X, Y, and Z (2 of 2)

Conclusion• Each organization has its own culture, structure,

and environment (internal and external) in which it operates.

• No one theory fits all situations.• Modern viewpoints utilize individual and

discipline-wide approaches to nursing science.• Product and people are of equal importance and

that organizations must plan and operate with both in mind.