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MN10001: People & Organisations 1 Lecture Notes
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- University Of Bath (UoB)
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Week 1: Introduction and work designRequired reading: Chapter 14
What is an organization? (What are its characteristics?)
Organizational behavior — the study of the structure and management of organizations, their
environments and the actions and interactions of their individual members and
groups
● People sharing a common goal
● Controlled performance (setting performance standards, measuring performance, compare, take
necessary corrective action)
● An organization does not necessarily have to be a corporation
● Does not have to be profit driven
○ E.g. NGOs such as Greenpeace are organizations however are non-profit
Largest (private) organizations in the world (as of 2015)
1. Walmart (US) — 2.10 million employees
2. McDonalds — 1.9 million employees
Management throughout throughout history
Organizational ideas and thoughts have been in place for a long time….
● In 2000 BC there is evidence of hierarchies in China with which the government kept records
● In 400 BC Plato noted that specialization can increase productivity
Scientific Management / Taylorism
How it started
● Founded by Frederick Taylor
● Formed the backbone of modern management
● Between 1880 and 1910 the US underwent major and rapid industrialization
● The workers in the new factories came from agricultural regions of America and were immigrants
from Europe. They had no or few experience and skills doing factory work
● Scientific management offered a solution
Characteristics
● Aimed to maximize efficiency
● High degree of specialization
● Monetary incentives to motivate workers
● Short repetitive work cycles
Modern day examples
1
, ● Call centers
○ There is a lot of pressure and work is at a high pace
○ High level of task fragmentation — most operators are trained to deal with just one section of
incoming phone queries
● Front-line workers at fast food chains (McDonaldization)
○ Working tills have a script that they repeat over and over again to every new customer
● Assembly lines
○ Workers manufacture the same parts
Advantages
1. Increased productivity (but only in the short run)
2. Minimizes costs (as no money is spent on creating a nice working environment and mentally
challenging the employees)
Disadvantages
1. Risk of overspecialization → see the Braverman deskilling thesis below
2. Burnout — doing the same thing over and over again leads to boredom and a loss of productivity
3. Alienation — workers may become alienated from their coworkers
4. Assumes money is the primary motivation for work, however research has shown this is false and that
good communication between employees and their coworkers and managers, and recognition are
equally or more important
5. Decreased productivity in the long run
Braverman deskilling thesis
1. Organizational deskilling
a. Taylor separated task conception and task execution resulting in workers no longer planning
their work or solving their problems since this was no dealt by managerial staff
2. Technical deskilling
a. Machinery resulted in the loss of traditional craftsmanship skills
Digital Taylorism?
● New technology has allowed companies to for instance use drones to measure the of building sites
● However measuring everything and everyone constantly robs employees of the pleasure of doing
their jobs
Fordism
● Term coined by Henry Ford
● Fordism is the application of Taylorism
● He made use of single-purpose machines
● The “farm boy” operators did not have to be skilled, the skill was incorporated within the machine
2
, ● He invented assembly lines. This meant that the cars were moving past the men rather than the
men moving past the car. This reduced the amount of time that it took to create one car
(efficiency)
His legacy
1. He created what came to be defined as the characteristics of mass production
2. He raised people’s standard of living
a. Having shown that something as complicated as a motor car could be built using the techniques
of mass production, manufacturers realized that you could use those same techniques to
manufacture simpler products such as radios, washing machines, refrigerators, vacuum
cleaners.
b. This lead to mass consumption, giving more people access to more goods than ever before in
human history, resulting in the standard of living of Americans skyrocketing
Criticisms of Fordism
● Same as criticisms of Taylorism
Counter-argument:
● There was an insufficient number of skilled workers to begin with and Ford simply redesigned
the jobs so that the existing pre-industrial labor force could cope with them
Human Relations movement
● Came about, in part, as a result of criticisms of scientific management
● The human relations movement focuses on issues including:
1. Communication and informal relationships → it turns out that the most common reason
workers leave their jobs is because of conflicts between them and coworkers, as well as
managers
2. Employee motivation
Advantages
● Increased productivity in the long run — employees are not burned out and feel motivated so
productivity is increased and less mistakes are made
Disadvantages
● Decreased productivity in the short run
○ It is time-consuming as it take time to get every employee’s opinion on situations rather than
the manager making them on his own and make sure all employees are challenged
○ It is costly to make the workplace a more fun place
Case Study #1: Human relations at Google
According to former HR director at Google, Liane Hornsey:
● Google’s company culture is centered around creating a vibrant and creative atmosphere
3
, ● Candy-filled jars, free canteen rooms, and game rooms are only a few components of its
workspaces
● Fostering of social relations between employees and managers through occasional dress-down days
— reduces alienation
● However this comes at a cost: feeding Google’s nearly 90,000 employees costs hundreds of millions
of dollars a year. However the free food allows workers to bond with one another over lunch for
instance, promoting new relationships and this makes employees more happy
Case Study #2: Human relations at Apple
● Provides opportunities for personal and professional growth
● The Apple Fellows program recognizes employees who have demonstrated outstanding work ethic
and contribution. These employees are then appointed as leaders, effectively motivating them to work
harder because they feel that they are valued
● Apple promotes its employees to move between different departments within the company. This
way employees are immensely knowledgeable on the different activities going on within the company
and are equipped to tackle the “next big thing” — helps prevent burnout and boredom
Human Resource Management (HRM)
HRM — The development of policies which enhance the quality of working life and high performance of
employees
Various policies include:
1. Work-life balance
2. Equitable pay
3. Job security
4. Team working
The Bath model of HRM
For people to perform beyond the minimum requirements of a job three factors are necessary, AMO:
1. Ability
a. Organizations should hire employees that are capable
b. Organizations should also provide the proper on-the-job training
2. Motivation
3. Opportunity
a. You may have the ability and motivation to do your job, but if your supervisor prevents you
from sharing ideas with colleagues and insists on a “standard procedure,” then you will
probably not go the “extra mile”
b. This is because you won’t feel appreciated and you will feel as though your voice isn’t heard
● The outcome should also be that they exert positive discretionary behavior
Evidence-based management
4
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