Chapter 5,6,7 ....

Question 1

key theorists discovering the social organisation

Answer 1

Elton Mayo - seen as the founder of human relations, a key figure in the Hawthorne studies and one of the founders in OB
Fritz Roethlisberger and William Dickson - writers of the largest account of Hawthorne studies, comprises over 600 pages of detailed description of the research
Mary Parker Follett - alongside Lillian Gilbreth, key female early-management theorist; she was a political scientist, social work pioneer, speaker and advisor to leaders concerning the relations between workers and management
Daniel Bell - a key social theorist after World War II, wrote extensively about post-industrialisation and its impact on society, key critique of Mayo

Question 2

social organisation

Answer 2

underlying belief that the social relations between people are a key factor in shaping how people act in an organisation

Question 3

hawthorne studies

Answer 3

series of studies that ran from 1924 into the late 1930’s, widely credited with discovering the human side of organisation

Question 4

human relations

Answer 4

born out of Hawthorne studies, human relations aim to understand and prescribe changes in workplace behaviour based on the importance of group norms, communication and supervisory skill

Question 5

illumination

Answer 5

Tested how different levels of light impacted productivity

No clear correlation between lighting levels and output

Question 6

Relay I

Answer 6

Assessed the impact of rest periods on productivity, tested fatigue and monotony thesis
No clear correlation between rest periods and output, and fatigue and output

Question 7

Relay II

Answer 7

Tested effect of wage incentive on output with bonus

No notable increase in output from wage incentive but not sustained

Question 8

Mica splitting experiment

Answer 8

Duplicated relay assembly room, but with no bonus

Same pattern for first year then declined; output more to do with psychological issues than wage incentives

Question 9

interview programme

Answer 9

Link between morale and supervision, improvements in employee-supervisor relations and the attitude of staff
Workers often have obsessive and irrational views; social groups have powerful influence over the actions of individuals

Question 10

bank wiring observation

Answer 10

The role of the group in determining output

The informal group is key to impacting behaviour

Question 11

Background to Hawthorne studies:

Answer 11

It was a large factory near Chicago with over 30,000 employees
Required highly skilled labour to put together fiddly systems
Conducted by Elton Mayo, fullest account provided by Roethlisberger and Dickson

Question 12

Power of group norms:

Answer 12

Provide rues or standards of conduct group members most follow to fit in
Nobody dictates rules directly, often learnt when broken, subtle cues
If want to belong to group, must stick to group norm
Can provide stability to group by providing acceptable way to behave
Can be controlling, pressure to agree with view of group even if against personal views
Key findings of studies were informal group-controlled output and behaviour, often against individual and organisations interest

Question 13

Supervisor difficulty:

Answer 13

Bank wiring observation highlighted weakness of supervisor’s position
Relied on group’s goodwill, needed good relations
However, needed to keep costs low and production high
Group worked better under relaxed supervisor

Question 14

Implications of Hawthorne Studies

Answer 14

Discovery of ‘social person’ - underlying belief that people are governed by social needs rather than economic, contradicting Taylorism and other rational theories, explaining why employees stuck to norms.
Management can harness the power of the group - groups restrict output, Taylor’s solution was break power by individualising tasks, Hawthorne researchers said that increases efficiency but deprives them of sense of social belonging. Researchers saw the informal group could be used to aid production rather than stop it.
Harmony of interests between workers and managers - researchers claimed if group left by itself, naturally develop spontaneous social organisation with own values and objectives more in line with aims of management, strongly pushed by Mayo. Claimed people naturally strive for cooperation and harmony. Solved problem of Taylorism and Marxism, management and workers view not in conflict, organisations taking workers view into consideration increases productivity.
Nature of leadership needs to change - according to Mayo, managers need to change nature of group rather than individuals by listening to workers to achieve harmony and cooperation with workers.
Alternative view of human nature:

Question 15

Taylor and mayo

Answer 15

Taylor
Economic person
In rational best interest
Economically
Engineer
Mechanically fix with technical solutions
Worker laziness, physical condition
Individualise work
Managing every aspect of task, time and motion studies
Unrelated - employees told what to do and replaceable

Mayo
Social person
Irrational and governed by sentiment
Socially by belonging needs
Psychologist
Social engineer to get people working together
Power of informal organisation in creating norms to regulate behaviour
Collective collaboration
Gaining loyalty of group, shaping beliefs to work towards common goal
Inter-related - employees need to be satisfied to be productive

Question 16

claim 1 of Hawthorne studies: workers are naturally cooperative and harmonious and form groups spontaneously.

Answer 16

Studies based on discovery of social person. Mayo downplayed and ignored key findings to make interpretation. People selected to be cooperative and supervisors tried to make things run smooth. Went as far as replacing two uncooperative workers. Mayo ignored arguments between workers and managers. Increased productivity could be seen from stern discipline rather than cooperation.

Question 17

Claim 2: workers are more motivated by social needs than financial ones.

Answer 17

Work took place during 1930’s with major depression. Rational for workers to reduce output with economic security at the forefront of their concerns. Unemployment high, little social security and mass poverty. Hawthorne researchers dismissed economic reasons as irrational, however given context employees views could be seen as logical.

Question 18

Claim 3: the findings of the Hawthorne studies can be replicated in management practice.

Answer 18

Research subjects constantly observed with output recorded every 30 minutes. Hawthorne effect is the very act of observation changes behaviour. In the bank wiring experiment, they did not have a control group. Researchers made assumptions about workers early behaviour. Sample size very small. Results of findings influenced by researchers present and small sample size. Very large claims made on small amount of evidence.

Question 19

Claim 4: the research discovered the social person.

Answer 19

Rather than discovering the social person, both Roethlisberger and Mayo had long-held views about the importance of cooperation, harmony and the need for spontaneous forms of organisations. In the Hawthorne studies, rather than revealing a social person, the social person perspective was the lens through which the research findings were impersonated.

Question 20

Claim 5: the Hawthorne studies represent a progressive alternative to Taylorism.

Answer 20

While the studies present a more holistic view of human nature, critics say that Mayo and his colleagues did not challenge the fundamental assumptions of the capitalist working relationship; arguably it intensified it. Its aim was the psychological control of the workers. In taking this approach it even diverted attention away from a more democratic form of management.

Question 21

Summary of assumptions:

Answer 21

Studies represent substantial move towards humane form of management
Critics of studies and Mayo say that theories produced are a more subtle form of control
Mayo and colleagues selective in evidence, dismissed psychologised rational alternative perspectives held by employees, and rather changing management control they reinforced it. Rather than discovering through research the social side of organisation, these were Mayo’s long held beliefs it is thought.

Question 22

Funding of studies:

Answer 22

Funded by Rockefellers, highly influential and wealthy family in the US.
Mayo seen as a puppet for them, telling them what he thought they wanted to hear.
Because of Great Depression, capitalists scared workers would overthrow capitalism, wanted to find way of resolving conflict.
According to this view, Mayo used his scientific evidence to justify prejudices and interests of funders.
Studies put blame on irrational workers, not economic inequalities, something the funders liked.

Question 23

Key theorists managing groups and teams

Answer 23

Meredith Belbin - British management researcher best known for his classification of team roles.
Bruce Tuckman - American psychologist best known for his categorisation of stages of group formation
Jon Katzenbach and Douglas Smith - American management consultants and organisational theorists
Irving Janis - American social psychologist who pioneered the groupthink theory

Question 24

group

Answer 24

collection of people with common bonds but not a shared sense of purpose

Question 25

team

Answer 25

group who meet together with a common purpose and mutual interdependence

Question 26

groupthink

Answer 26

psychological phenomenon which limits the range of alternatives being considered because there is an overwhelming desire for consensus

Question 27

cohesiveness

Answer 27

where the group members feel bound together, often feeling as though they share a similar fate

Question 28

group dynamics

Answer 28

underlying process which shape the way group members react to each other

Question 29

difference between groups and teams

Answer 29

Groups exist when there is a commonality, but members do not necessarily work together for a common purpose
Team is seen as having a more specific purpose and function, they rely on each other, have a greater sense eon collective vision and are mutually accountable

Question 30

teams characteristics

Answer 30

Different types of teams placed in range of continuums including independent to interdependent continuum, formal to informal continuum, permanent-to-temporary continuum, physical to virtual continuum and domestic to multinational continuum.
Three types of teams, teams who do things, run things and recommend things.
Social loafing - describes people who, when working in groups, do not work hard because often unconsciously they rely on others to do the task.
Social facilitation - tendency that individuals have to work harder when being watched by others, especially on simple tasks
Camaraderie - sense of togetherness and bonding

Question 31

Benefits of teamwork to employees:

Answer 31

More meaningful work
Sharing responsibility 
Learning from others
Job enrichment/rotation
Feel part of a group
Increased motivation
Increased autonomy

Question 32

Benefits of teamwork to organisation:

Answer 32

Better problem solving and decision making due to wider range of skills
Transfer of skills and technical experience
Reduced dependency on individuals
Increased time utilisation
Faster decision making, increased commitment
Delegation of authority, increased responsibility

Question 33

Challenges of teamwork:

Answer 33

For employees - personality clashes, frustration of ideas, breakdown of trust if team performs poorly
For organisations - employees less productive, time-consuming practices, lack of shared identity and purpose if team performs poorly
Shirking/free-riding - an individual who does not pull their weight but is carried by other members of the group

Question 34

Building a high performance, effective team:

Answer 34

Katzenbach and Smith say to become a high-performance team, group goes through four stages:
The pseudo-team - they have need to be team, not achieved it as not focused on collective performance, consequently there is a performance drop, less than sum of parts
The potential team - try to improve performance, need clarity on purpose, goals and approach to work, not established collective accountability, as effective as working group
The real team - big leap in productivity, small group with complementary skills, common purpose, members mutually accountable, K and S say key to achieving this is focus on performance rather than personal chemistry
The high-performance team - rare but highly productive, increased level of trust and commitment, interchangeable skills, ‘if one fails, we all fail’, deeper sense of purpose, fuller mutual accountability
For group to move to team, requires stronger bonds of cooperation, trust and interdependence in terms of task, knowledge and emotional needs.
To make an effective team, must find right people with technical skills, teamworking skills, commitment to each other and setting right environment.
Personality clashes, imbalance of personality traits can lead to failure of a team

Question 35

team roles

Answer 35

In order for team to function effectively, different roles must be fulfilled.
Meredith Belbin devised ‘Team Role Inventory in 2010, most popular theory.
Theory says every person has traits leading them to different roles
Each role has strengths and allowable weaknesses, covered by other roles
Critics say Belbin’s research based on little evidence
Questionnaires to discover role rely on self-reporting and are vague

Question 36

Social identity theory:

Answer 36

Personal identity - comprises personal and social beliefs
Group identity - comprises of benefits of belonging to a team
Individuals need to be deindividualised, group identity is primary, member of a team
Shifts outlook from my task to our task, feel psychologically intertwined with teams’ fate

Question 37

Tuckman’s stages of group formation:

Answer 37

Bruce Tuckman developed team formation model to high performance team
Said there were two key factors, interpersonal relationships and task orientation
Forming - members feel lost, apprehensive, uncertain, called orientation stage, look for ground rules and leader, team members polite, tentative and anxious
Storming - members become hostile, begin infighting, lack of unity, resistance to becoming group members, members defensive, negative, withdrawn
Norming - group norms and values emerge, group conflicts resolved, sense of togetherness, cohesive unit, members want group to exist, value harmony
Performing - group has bonded, interpersonal issues resolved, group matured, and structure accepted, focused on problem solving, mutual support
Adjourning - team dissolved due to task complete or members leaving
Effective team leader acts in telling manner during forming stage, sell team vision during storming stage, develops more participatory decision-making processes during norming stage, delegates during performing stage, leader moves from cop to coach.

Question 38

Developments of Tuckman’s model:

Answer 38

Rickards and Moger reduced model to three stages. Between each stage is a barrier. First barrier is interpersonal forces, where group develops norms, weak and most teams break. Once broken they establish group and work effectively. Second barrier is strong, must break out of conventional expectations to become high-performance team.
Ed Kur suggests teams have faces that constantly change, for example if a team has a bad experience. Five different faces:
Informing face - shared mindset
Forming face - clarifying mission
Storming face - confusion and anger with way things are
Norming face - group rules with focus on harmony
Performing face - team with high trust, energy and motivation
Tuckman says teams in organisations act differently to his model. Model idealised, weakness is simplicity, doesn’t represent what happens in reality. They act in a more muted way than his hypothesis suggests. In real life teams generally have more fluid membership, often more diverse, wide range of backgrounds, difficult to apply traditional group dynamic models to modern organisational life.

Question 39

Group dynamics:

Answer 39

The processes involved in interaction between group members, particular emphasis on tensions, conflicts and adjustments that occur.
GD theory says groups operate at two levels, task level which is work tasks group needs to complete, and group processes, underlying way group behaves.
Theorists claim group shaped by unconscious processes; Wilfred Bion developed three basic assumptions that shape the way the group acts:
Dependency - group aims for security, looks for leader to remove anxiety, leader seen as godlike
Flight/Fight - group tries to preserve itself at all costs, fights or runs away from common enemy, or group argues and falls apart, ignores other activities
Pairing - two people dominate group, group hopes they produce new leader to save them

Question 40

Decision making groups:

Answer 40

Often a formal collection of people where individuals from across organisation come together to make decisions on future direction of firm or to solve problems. Senior management team, staff team, committee.
Effectiveness depends on type of task, nature of the task, available resources, motivations of group, patterns group develops.
Research shows groups better making decisions due to wider variety of perspectives.
Conjunctive tasks, where everyone contributes, group as strong as weakest member.
Either discuss then decide by vote or consensus decision making, where everyone agrees on decision.

Question 41

Dangers of a close team:

Answer 41

Over-conformity can stifle creativity and growth. Shared basic assumptions mean alternative viewpoints not debated, ignoring opportunities and risks. Collective beliefs and delusions lead to outside evidence ignored or interpreted to suit groups mindset.
Risk-shift phenomenon - members make more risky decisions as feel more secure and responsibility spread across team.
Groupthink is when someone thinks the group is making a wrong decision and says nothing. Occurs when powerful social pressures put upon group members to think a certain way or not voice concerns. Groups tend to minimise conflict and avoid exploring alternative options, stick to decisions group made even if turn out wrong. Result of groupthink is members analyse few options, fail to consider cost of decisions, don’t listen to experts, don’t think how opponents might react.

Question 42

groupthink characteristics

Answer 42

Janis developed this theory and argued groupthink has following characteristics:
Illusion of invulnerability
Construction of rationales to avoid warnings and negative feedback
Belief in inherent morality of their group
Stereotypical view of the enemy
Pressure on opponents
Self-censorship
Illusion of unanimity/consensus
Tendency to become mindguards

Question 43

how to overcome groupthink

Answer 43

Janis recommends these to overcome groupthink:
Encouraging critical evaluation in every member
Encouraging an impartial stance to create open-mindedness
Evaluation groups for decisions
Discuss decisions with outsiders
Inviting experts to question decisions
Considering rivals reactions to decision
Second chance meetings to air doubts
Dividing into two group and return to discuss different perspectives

Question 44

Does teamwork produce increased freedom:

Answer 44

The greater skill level team has the more freedom they have
Even low-level skill team has freedom, job rotation and enrichment. Can be involved in recommending changes although recommending team makes decision.
Strong level empowerment achieved by employees forming quality circles, a group of workers who come together, often under supervision of a leader, to identify, analyse and solve organisational problems.
Interdisciplinary team or multifunctioning team is a team that is comprised of people coming from different disciplines. This approach can produce a wider perspective and knowledge but can also produce greater conflict.
Empowered (process by which workers given greater power and autonomy) or self-managed teams have increased autonomy and skills levels.

Question 45

Is teamwork a way of enhancing control?

Answer 45

There are claims teamwork doesn’t equalise balance between members, and some members have more power like surgeons and medical staff.
Also claimed that self-managed teams can result in downsizing by removing layers of management and making team take on their responsibilities.
On the surface self-managing teams represent shift of power from manager to workers but is in fact more subtle form of control through self-discipline.
Experienced staff felt like unpaid supervisors, unexperienced felt like constantly watched, stronger iron cage from discipline of team rather than bureaucracy.
Responsible autonomy - shifting responsibility from mangers shoulders to workers.
Teamwork changes outlook of employees, management change way employees work and think with teamwork.

Question 46

key theorists organisational culture

Answer 46

Tom Peters and Robert Waterman - popular management writers and consultants, spearheaded interest in organisational culture as a management resource. Argued organisations need strong culture to be successful.
Edgar Schein - provided one of the first models for organisational culture. Model presents organisational culture at three levels which are progressively harder to access, believes culture influenced by founder and leader, and following ten step programme culture can be changed.
Charles Handy - business guru and writer, developed typology that proposes four types of culture.
Linda Smircich - sees culture as something organisation has or is.
Hugh Willmott - critical management theorist, argues there is dark side of organisational culture, form of slavery and control.

Question 47

organisational culture

Answer 47

collective behaviour exhibited by members of an organisation, often seen as comprising values, beliefs, practices, history and traditions.

Question 48

cultural typology

Answer 48

classification of the type of culture.

Question 49

Cultural change

Answer 49

often driven by management or consultants with the intention of making the organisation more productive, sees culture as possession management can control.

Question 50

What is organisational culture:

Answer 50

Culture is the system of such publicly and collectively accepted meanings operating for a given group at a given time.
The collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of an organisation from another.
There is no consensus on what it is, how it operates or its importance.
1982 ‘In Search of Excellence’ published by Peters and Waterman, making organisational behaviour become a buzzword. Book claimed excellent companies had strong set of shared values putting customer at heart of the operation. Successful firms defined by strong unified cultures, said doubted firm could be excellent without clarity of values.

Question 51

Strong cultures and strong performance:

Answer 51

Management consultants claim getting the right culture increases productivity.
Occurs due to increased staff motivation, commitment, reduced conflict, enhanced smooth running, higher levels of productivity, quality and efficiency.
Claims that visionary companies outperform non-visionary, increases in employees’ productive hours.

Question 52

A new way of managing organisations:

Answer 52

Organisational culture had a of hype, seen as way of bringing American dominance back after ascendance of Japanese companies. Managing through culture and values was a more innovative way of managing.
Managers had to change, needed to manage soft measures like visions, mission, purpose and values as well as hard measures like financial, structure and strategy.
Rational management - hard, managed through budgets and targets, formal authority structures and hierarchy, control, monitoring, rules, procedures.
Cultural management - soft, emotional appeal through shared values, workers control themselves through shared beliefs and values, trust, commitment, autonomy.

Question 53

How to understand culture:

Answer 53

Cultural classification, known as typologies, is a system of classification of traits that organisations have in common. Quickly captivates overall impression of organisation, allowing comparison. No ‘best culture’, role of management to fit organisational culture with external environment.
Deal and Kennedy’s typology
Charles Handy’s typology
Quinn and Rohrbaugh’s competing values and frameworks
Typologies tend to generalise, rather than provide specific description of how culture operates. Organisations don’t necessarily fit into category. Focus on structure elements rather than mundane, everyday aspects of organisations life. Accuracy depends on individual’s ability to assess culture.

Question 54

Deal and Kennedy’s typology

Answer 54

argued culture is product of environment, specifically risk associated with key activities and speed of feedback. Four types:
Fast feedback, low risk - work hard/play hard, car salesman
Fast feedback, high risk - tough-guy macho, stockbroker
Slow feedback, low risk - process culture, government bureaucracy
Slow feedback, high risk - bet-your-company culture, oil company

Question 55

Charles Handy’s typology

Answer 55

says organisations should try to match type of culture to external needs. Four types based on Greek gods:
Power culture (Zeus) - new businesses
Task culture (Athena) - construction
Role culture (Apollo) - high street banks
Personal or cluster culture (Dionysius) - self-help groups

Question 56

Quinn and Rohrbaugh’s competing values and frameworks

Answer 56

used to asses not only organisational culture but leadership, communication and employee selection. Two variables are focus of organisation whether in or outwards, and whether control with management or staff.
Hierarchy (1900 onwards) - stability and control, internally focused
Clan (late 1960’s onwards) - flexibility and discretion, internally focused
Market (1960s onwards) - stability and control, externally focused
Adhocracy (information age) - flexibility and discretion, externally focused

Question 57

Edgar Schein’s cultural iceberg:

Answer 57

Top of iceberg are physical artefacts, building or staff uniform, easy to change.
Middle layer represents intangible beliefs or value of organisation. Schein believes these start from leader/founder and are passed down through missions statements.
Bottom level holds basic underlying assumptions. Changing them can result in anxiety and defence mechanisms.
Changing culture complex, much of culture unconscious. Schein says following ten step process, cultures can be understood in a day and changed quickly after.

Question 58

Changing culture:

Answer 58

Management consultants offer guidance to change culture by:
Diagnosing current culture
Deciding what needs changing
Transforming culture to new way of operating
Entrenching new culture in the way organisation works
Underlying assumption is management owns culture and can change it to increase profitability.
Many people say most important people to change/establish culture are the leaders/founders.
As firm grows, culture sustained through stories, providing firm with sense of history and purpose. Leaders gain influence as organisation grows, using tools listed to change culture:
What they pay attention to
How they allocate resources
Reaction to crisis and critical incidents
Rites and rituals of organisation
Organisation systems and procedures

Question 59

Mission Statements:

Answer 59

Often presented as key tool to change espoused beliefs of organisations members.
Offer senior management opportunity to define purpose of organisation and create a vision stakeholders can buy into, provides common language for organisation.
Allows senior management to discuss and agree core organisational objectives.
Often states ethical stance of a business and contribution to society.
They are not always accepted by stakeholders, with employees not taking them seriously.
True mission statements not what’s written down but what people actually do.

Question 60

Rites, rituals and ceremonies:

Answer 60

Rite - a solemn act or procedure to observe an event or occasion (events which express important parts of organisations culture).
Ceremonies - public act, often planned and formal, celebrates achievement or anniversary, often have symbolic meaning and emphasise important aspects of organisations’ culture.
Rituals - everyday habits individuals do without thinking, once had meaning but have gradually become part of the everyday activities of the organisation.
Rites of renewal act to reinforce existing social order.
Rite of conflict reduction exists to preserve harmony.
Rites of integration occur to make everyone feel part of the group.
Rites of passage occur when someone passes from one life stage to another.
Informal or unofficial ceremonies, rites and rituals largely done between employees, often tolerated, sometimes condemned, regularly unknown to management. Often used so employees can express their own culture in opposition to management.

Question 61

Informal culture:

Answer 61

Jokes allow speaker to pass off seriousness of comment or responsibility for the comment by saying it was not meant negatively.
Jokes, along with stories, allow people to say truths they would otherwise not say. Hidden in jokes and stories are messages about how to behave, and values or firm.
Stories can express role models or villains, how the organisation sees itself. Presented as history of company on website, more commonly informal messages between employees.
Jokes said to produce positive, harmonious environment where employees can share knowledge and ideas. Teasing can indicate when someone is acting wrongly.
Jokes have an added advantage over stories as they act as a licence for negative communication.
Jokes and stories give access to hidden culture, breaking rules allows employees to discover deeper ones. Discovery of social norms through breaking them.
Culture is created continually and recreated through conversations, actions and meanings expressed by all organisational members.

Question 62

Symbolic side of culture:

Answer 62

Schein describes culture based on observations of artefacts, beliefs, values and basic assumptions, Mary Hatch claims her model gives a more sophisticated understanding by presenting the dynamism or organisational culture linking the values, artefacts, assumptions and symbols more explicitly.
To access deeper parts of culture involves getting in touch with symbolic side of organisations, language, metaphors and stories.

Question 63

Subcultures and professional cultures:

Answer 63

Subcultures are small cultures within an organisation that have their own distinct cultural characteristics, with their own rites, rituals, language and norms, and are developed informally and formally.
Employees are members of different occupations with their own values and outlooks. Many professionals more loyal to profession rather than organisation.
Product of many factors, skill, work control, status, values, work habits.

Question 64

Can culture be managed?

Answer 64

Two years after Peters and Waterman published their book, a third of their excellent companies were performing poorly.
Critics say it lacks conceptual development and didn’t investigate values and beliefs of staff.
Many academics say the way management gurus use the idea of culture trivialises it by exploring aspects managers can control. They argue culture is much more complex and not simply a tool for management, so the research reduces our understanding of organisations.
Many critics see culture as something the organisation is, rather than it has. Research saying it can be controlled is based on underlying assumptions and over emphasised the aspects of control and unity.
Can be argued culture form of control by winning hearts of employees and getting them to believe in values of organisation.
Employees believe in company mission more than own beliefs, control their heart and mind rather than body.
Excellent companies marked by strong cultures you either buy into or get out.