4: CONTEMPORARY THEORIES OF

WORK ORGANIZATION

Objectives/Outline:

 Introduction to Organization Management Theories

 Coercive Approach of Organizational Management
 Features of Coercive Management
 Management by Paternalism
 Features of Paternalism Management

2
ORGANIZATIONAL MANAGEMENT THEORIES

INTRODUCTION

Organizational Management Theory

refers to the study of the phenomena
of organizational structure, functioning
and performance, and of the behavior
of groups and individuals working in
them.

3
ORGANIZATIONAL MANAGEMENT THEORIES

1. Coercive Management Approach

2. Management by Paternalism
3. Scientific Management
4. System Theory of Organization
Management

4
 1. Coercive Management Approach

Assumption: productivity can be increased by

coercive method.

 Managers have coercive power through their authority to

give warning, fine, downgrade, and fire employees.

 Since the only aim is productivity, therefore there is no or

least welfare for the workers in terms of housing,
schooling, medications, etc.

5
 Coercive Management Approach
Early factory system used self-coercion to discipline its
workers:
 Self-coercion is internal network of social control where the
young were under the control of the older (child under parents),
workers under the control of other workers and all under the
control of the employer.
 Early capitalists faced terrible problems of control in factories and
believed that laboring classes were beyond moral improvement
but could be controlled through traditional methods of coercion.
 Brutal (military type) management: Owners enforced strict
discipline codes; e.g. banning late coming and mere talking.
 Control through managers and supervisors by exercising
coercive power.

6
Coercive Management

7
8
 Coercive Management

 People are basically obedient and will generally do

what they are told or can be made to do (violence as a
tool to get immediate obedience/compliance).
 Successful change is based on the exercise of
authority and the imposition of sanctions. This can
range from the iron hand in the velvet glove to absolute
cruelty – “My way or the highway or do it the way I tell
you.” (one-way directive conversation).
 The basic aim here is to decrease people’s options,
not to increase them (seek tight control over situation).

9
 Coercive Management

 Surprisingly, in many situations, people actually want

and will readily accept this approach, particularly
when all feel threatened and few know what to do
(appropriate for dealing with crisis situation or problem
employees).
 Not to use it on talented or self-motivated employees
because it kills creativity and innovation.
 This is the “stick” side of carrot-and-stick
management.

10
 2. Management by Paternalism

 Assumption: productivity can

be increased by caring
method.
 Assumption: not to challenge
the power structure (authority
structure).
 Let’s talk, don’t be excited.
 “Wolf covered by sheep skin”

11
 Management by Paternalism
 It is humanist type of management

 The boss is a fatherly figure to the

employees
 The more powerful: Managers/Boss
 Obligations
 Responsibility concerns
 Cooperation
 Care

 The less powerful: Lower Level

Employees
 Show respect
 Obedience and follow orders

12
13
14
15
  Developed in the 1960s by Tom Burns and G. M. Stalker.
It states that:
◦ Organizational structures and control systems that managers choose
are contingent (dependent) on characteristics of external environment
in which the organization operates. So, The design of an organization
and its subsystems must 'fit' with the environment;
◦ An organizational/leadership/decision-making style that is effective in
some situations, may not be successful in other situations. So, there is
no universal or one best way to manage;
◦ Effective organizations not only have a proper 'fit' with the environment
but also between its subsystems;
According to this approach: An organization should have compatibility
with both the external and internal environments.

16
17
Contingency Approach of Organizational
Management
 Promotes the concerns of workers
 A shift in emphasis from TASK to WORKER
 Goes beyond physical contributions to include creative, cognitive, and
emotional aspects of workers
 Based on a more dyadic (two-way) conceptualization of communication.
 Elton Mayo, a Harvard professor, examined the impact of work
conditions on employees’ productivity through the Hawthorne
Experiments, which were conducted from 1927 to 1932 at the
Western Electric Hawthorne Works in Chicago (Cicero), Illinois.
 He examined the physical and environmental influences of the
workplace (e.g. brightness of lights, humidity, cleanliness, etc.).
 He later analyzed the psychological aspects (e.g. breaks, group
pressure, working hours, managerial leadership) and their impact on
employee motivations as it applies to productivity.
 Working environments have no strong and direct relationship with
working efficiency, but is correlated to social needs.
 The aptitudes of individuals are imperfect predictors of job performance.
Although they give some indication of the physical and mental potential of the
individual, the amount produced is strongly influenced by social factors.
 Informal organization affects productivity. The researchers discovered a
group life among the workers, and it is as important as the bureaucracy.
The studies also showed that the relations that supervisors develop with
workers tend to influence the manner in which the workers carry out directives.
 Work-group norms affect productivity. The Hawthorne researchers were not
the first to recognize that work groups tend to arrive at norms of what is "a fair
day's work." However, they provided the best systematic description and
interpretation of this phenomenon.
 The administration should not be indifferent to employee’s opinions,
emotions and relationship.
21