LECTURE NO 28 Introduction to Human Relations

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.1 | 2 Summary of the Lecture no. 27 Chapter Preview Nature, purpose, and importance in organizations Major developments in field Forces influencing behavior Historical overview of field Seven themes in human relations

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.1 | 3 The Nature, Purpose, and Importance of Human Relations Best-managed organization understand work is done through relationships. Human relations is the study of why beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors can cause problems in personal and professional relationships.

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.1 | 4 Human Relations in the Age of Information Industrial to information economy Alters traditional patterns of work and leisure. Dynamic, but disorienting and stressful Over-emphasis on information can limit one’s effectiveness. Human-contact deficiency weakens the spirit, the mind, and the body.

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.1 | 5 The Importance of Interpersonal Skills Interpersonal skills are essential for success in most jobs. Technical competencies are not sufficient for success. Recent trends in the workplace give new importance to human relations.

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.1 | 6 Trends: Instability of Labor Market and Changing Work Patterns Worker dislocation due to restructuring Can result in: –Low morale –Mistrust of management New opportunities and challenges –Increase in temporary workers –More self-employed and contract employees = “Free Agent Nation”

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.1 | 7 Trends: Focus on Customer Service Service economy Technology and financial structure are easily copied, so the advantage is not sustainable Relationships are key to sustainable competitive advantage, and they are difficult to copy.

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.1 | 8 Total Person Insight No matter what we do, we do it with people. People create technology. People implement the technology. People make it all happen. People ultimately use whatever it is we create. No matter how small your organization or how technical its process, it takes people to be successful. Harry E. Chambers Author, The Bad Attitude Survival Guide

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.1 | 9 Trends: Workplace Incivility and Team Work Rudeness, insensitivity, disrespect “Me” rather than “We” attitudes Workplace incivility threatens employee relationships. Using teams can improve product quality, customer service, and job satisfaction. Developing team skills –Group decision making, leadership, conflict resolution, and communication

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.1 | 10 Challenges of Human Relations Wide range of human skills is needed. People must manage three types of relationships: –Relationships with ourselves –One-to-one relationships –Group relationships

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.1 | 11 Manage Three Relationships Ourselves –Positive self image and self-confidence One-to-one –Client/customer focus –Communication style Group –Cooperation among members

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.1 | 12 Human Relations Draws on Behavioral Sciences Psychology  Individual Focus on “why” of human behavior

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.1 | 13 The “Total Person” Each person’s characteristics are part of a single system making up the whole person. Only “total person” can be employed. Traits are interdependent: –Physical fitness – Emotional control –Self-awareness– Self-esteem –Value orientation

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.1 | 14 The “Total Person” Organizations recognize that when a whole person is improved, significant benefits accrue to the firm. Organizations can separate: –Work and home –Emotional and physical Many employee development programs are being established.

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.1 | 15 The Need for a Supportive Environment A positive and supportive environment can lead to: –Greater personal career satisfaction –Greater employee commitment –Increased organizational productivity and efficiency Requires full commitment and support of management.

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.1 | 16 Supervisory-Management Influence Managers hold key position and influence employee behavior. Competence and leadership style establish image in eyes of employees. Perceptions influence factors such as: –Productivity –Customer relations –Safety –Loyalty to the firm

LECTURE NO 28 Introduction to Human Relations

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.1 | 18 Personal Characteristics of the Worker All employees bring combination of: –Abilities and interests –Aptitudes –Values –Expectations Behavior often reflects match between environment and individual’s characteristics. Creating ideal work environment to meet all needs is a challenge.

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.1 | 19 Family Influence Need for balance between work and family Increase in dual-income families Problems on the job often linked to family Many organizations attempt to create family- friendly environment

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.1 | 20 Human Relations Movement Early attempts to improve productivity focused on plant layout and mechanical processes Focus has changed to: –Nature of work –Workers as complex human beings Shift from concern for things to concern for people

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.1 | 21 The Industrial Revolution Marked shift from home-based processes to factory production Little understanding of employee needs in relation to production Limited productivity and uniformity of work Profound impact on nature of work and role of worker

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.1 | 22 Total Person Insight You can only get so much more productivity out of reorganization and automation. Where you really get productivity leaps is in the minds and hearts of people. James Baughman Director of Management Development, General Electric Co.

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.1 | 23 Taylor’s Scientific Management To optimize efficiency, Frederick Taylor redesigned jobs by breaking them down to their smallest movements. Resulted in more productivity, but required little thinking by worker. Theories became very popular among business owners and managers.

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.1 | 24 The Hawthorne Studies Mayo studied effects of illumination and ventilation on worker fatigue. Became sweeping investigation into role of human relations in productivity. Workers’ performance increased when they felt important and had greater freedom from supervisory control. Interaction among workers created an “informal organization”.

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.1 | 25 From the Great Depression to the New Millennium During Great Depression –Interest in human relations research waned as other concerns gained momentum. –Labor unions increased campaigns to improve working conditions and pay. During postwar economic expansion –Interest in human relations field increased. –Important theories emerged.

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.1 | 26 During the 1940s Douglas McGregor –Performance related to tapping human potential Abraham Maslow –Hierarchy of needs Frederick Herzberg –Employee motivation and satisfaction

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.1 | 27 The 1950s and 1980s Eric Bern –Interpersonal communication and transactional analysis Carl Rogers –Personality development, interpersonal communication and group dynamics William Ouchi –Theory Z style of management Tom Peters and Robert Waterman –Importance of people in organizations

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.1 | 28 Major Themes Seven broad themes emerge from these studies of human relations. –Communication, self-awareness, self-acceptance, motivation, trust, self-disclosure, and conflict resolution Themes concern two goals: –Personal growth and development –Achievement of organizational objectives

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.1 | 29 Figure Major Themes in Human Relations

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.1 | 30 Communication “Heart and soul” of human relations Means by which we come to an understanding of ourselves and others To grow and develop, we must communicate skillfully and effectively.

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.1 | 31 Self-Awareness Good relationships with others stem from a better understanding of ourselves. Increased self-awareness helps us develop an understanding of how our behavior influences others.

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.1 | 32 Self-Acceptance The degree to which you like and accept yourself is the degree to which you can like and accept others. Self-acceptance is the key to successful interaction with others. Increases ability to cope better with change, responsibility, diversity, and teams.

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.1 | 33 Motivation Motivation of self comes from within. Motivation of others comes from understanding complex motivation theories and strategies.

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.1 | 34 Trust Building block of successful relationships Trust = –Frank discussion –Free exchange of ideas and information Lack of trust = –Reduced productivity and communication –Stifled innovation, high stress, slow decision making

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.1 | 35 Self-Disclosure Self-disclosure is an intricate part of building trust. Constructive part of good communication and helps eliminate unnecessary guessing.

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.1 | 36 Conflict Resolution Surfaces daily in our lives. Resolution strategies improve communication, emotional control, and team building.

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.1 | 37 Learning Objectives Review Nature, purpose, and importance in organizations –Our beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors may cause problems with our relationships. –Types of interactions: conflict, cooperation, and group relationships –Human relations can improve productivity and efficiency.

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.1 | 38 Learning Objectives Review Major developments in the workplace –Churning dislocation in the labor market –Changing work patterns –Higher service standards –Workplace incivility –Team-based structures –Diversity –Income gap

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.1 | 39 Learning Objectives Review Forces influencing behavior –Organizational culture –Supervisory-management influence –Work group influence –Job influence –Personal characteristics of worker –Family influence

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.1 | 40 Learning Objectives Review Historical overview of field –Early attempts focused on plant layout and mechanical processes. –With time, nature of work was redefined and worker viewed as complex human beings. –Taylor’s scientific management –Mayo’s Hawthorne studies –McGregor, Herzberg, Rogers, Ouchi, and others contributed to productivity through people.

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.1 | 41 Learning Objectives Review Seven themes for effectiveness –Communication –Self-acceptance –Trust –Conflict resolution –Self-awareness –Motivation –Self-disclosure