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OSA June 2021
Question 1 (25 Marks)
1. According to the extract, employees as one of the most important capital of the enterprise require
special treatment in order to achieve the company's objectives and goals. Based on this, argue in
favour of the Human Relations Approach as the most suited management approach that will enable
special treatment of employees in order to achieve the company's objectives and goals.
Your argument should include the following:
1.1 A brief explanation of the human relations approach and its contributors (10 marks)
1.2 Relevant argument in favour of why it is the most suited approach. (15 marks)
Ans: 1.1
Behavioural Science Theory combines elements of psychology, sociology, and anthropology to provide
a scientific basis for understanding employee behaviour. It examines why employees are motivated by
specific factors, such as social needs, conflicts, and self-actualization. It recognizes individuality and
the need for managers to be sociable. The behavioural approach is unique from the human relations
theory in that it emphasizes leadership as a determining factor in management success. It presents an
increased focus on group relationships and group behaviour in organizational effectiveness. The
objective of behavioural science is the ability to predict future employee behaviours. (Gordon, 2022)
Based on the above it can be noted that:
The Behavioural and Human Relations Approach focuses on the needs and requirements of the
employee‟s life. Eg. Basic needs such as, food, shelter, security, etc…….
It emerged in part in reaction to the unrealistic slave element of the Classical Approach.
Mary Parker Follett, Elton Mayo and Douglas McGregor are recognized as having made significant
contributions to the Behavioural & Human Relations Approach.
Mary Parker Follett:
, Mary Parker Follett was touted as one of the first management theorists to give recognition to the
importance of involving workers in solving problems and that management is a dynamic, not static,
process. She defined management as “getting things done through people” and noted that: (i) people
closest to the action make the best decisions; (ii) subordinates should be involved in the decision-
making process; (iii) coordination is vital to effective management; (iv) communication between
managers and employers improves decisions; and (v) managers should find ways to resolve the
interdepartmental conflict.
Elton Mayo:
One of the most prominent behavioural theorists is Elton Mayo and his ground breaking study of
Western Electric Company‟s Hawthorne Plant in Chicago which he conducted with Fritz Roethlisberger
and William Dickson between 1924 and 1933. During the course of Mayo‟s studies, he managed to
switch the focus of attention away from the individual and physical considerations to the importance of
groups at work requiring sociological and psychological consideration. Some of his major findings
included: (i) workers thought and acted not as individuals but as a group; (ii) workers should sacrifice
their self-interest in the face of group pressure; (iii) money is not the sole motivator; (iv) supervisors
have significant influence on output; (v) the social world of the adult is patterned around work activity;
(vi) the need for recognition, security and sense of belonging is more important in determining workers‟
morale and productivity than the physical conditions under which he works; (vii) a complaint is not
necessarily an objective recital of facts.
Douglas McGregor:
Douglas McGregor was noted for his Theory X and Theory Y assumptions concerning two different
types of workers which he described in his book “The Human Side of Enterprise”, published in 1960.
Theory X depicts the average human being as having an inherent dislike of work and will avoid it if he
can. Therefore, most people must be controlled and threatened before they will work hard enough, and
that they prefer to be directed, dislikes responsibility and desires security above everything. This is the
so-called „stick and carrot‟ philosophy of management. Theory Y on the other hand postulates that the
expenditure of physical and mental effort in work is as natural as play or rest, and that control and
punishment are not the only ways to make people work because man will direct himself if he is
committed to the aims of the organisation. (Evolution of Management Theories, 2022)
Note: The above are just some arguments that students may use but their response does not
necessarily need to be limited to the above.
Ans: 1.2
It focuses on the employees‟ social needs
It is employee oriented
It is humane
It focuses on the needs of workers
It focuses on the development of people management skills
It is people centred
It involves paying attention to the worker
They can also use the arguments forwarded by the contributors to substantiate their argument.
Their argument should show how special treatment of employees will result in a company's
achievement of its objectives and goals
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