Chapter 8 Organizing and Managing Work PDF

Chapter 8 Organizing and Managing Work Prepared by Karen D. Hughes, Harvey J. Krahn, and Harleen Padda, University of Alberta 1 Copyright © 20...

Chapter 8 Organizing and Managing Work Prepared by Karen D. Hughes, Harvey J. Krahn, and Harleen Padda, University of Alberta 1 Copyright © 2021 Nelson Education Ltd.  Outline 1. Bureaucracy 2. Informal Side of Organizations 3. The Role of Managers 4. Scientific Management (Taylorism) 5. Human Relations Movement 2 Copyright © 2021 Nelson Education Ltd.  1. Bureaucracy 3 Copyright © 2021 Nelson Education Ltd.  Bureaucracy Dominant organization form in 19th and 20th centuries  “Le bureau”—rule from desk/office Max Weber  Bureaucracy necessary feature of industrial capitalism  “Calculable rules”—to coordinate and integrate specialized tasks in factory or office  Benefits?  Clarity, reliability, efficiency achieved through fixed DOL, hierarchical supervision, impersonal 4 relations, detailed rules and regulations Copyright © 2021 Nelson Education Ltd.  Problems with Bureaucracy?  Rules rule and innovation is discouraged  Long chains of command = slow response times  “Empire-building” by managers  “Silo” thinking by managers and employees  Merton’s “bureaucratic personalities”  Too much paperwork; too many meetings  Formal (cold and alienating) place to work  Excessive division of labour (deskilling rather than specialization)  Unintended consequences—Enron, Walkerton, Columbia space shuttle… 5 Copyright © 2021 Nelson Education Ltd.  2. Informal Side of Organizations 6 Copyright © 2021 Nelson Education Ltd.  Informal Side of Organizations What happens when employees reinterpret, resist, or adapt to work structures and management directives? Roy’s (1962) “informal work groups”  Manipulationsof informal work practices  Example: “gold-bricking” on “stinker jobs” Dalton’s (1959) “freewheeling”: managers who follow unofficial practices rather than formal rules  Example: promotions based on social 7 characteristics instead of merit Copyright © 2021 Nelson Education Ltd.  Bureaucracy and Fordism Henry Ford and the assembly line (1914)  Mass-production manufacturing Bureaucracies post-WWII  Wide range of industrial sectors  Corporate bureaucracies organized like military bureaucracies  Hierarchies, loyalty, discipline, job classifications Fordist bureaucracies as outmoded model of organization and management? 8 Copyright © 2021 Nelson Education Ltd.  3. The Role of Managers 9 Copyright © 2021 Nelson Education Ltd.  The Role of Managers  Chandler (1977) and the “visible hand” of the corporate manager  Obtain employee compliance  Prevent opposition to authority  Motivate workers to work hard  “For the good of the organization”  Plan/coordinate organizational change  Make decisions  Management ideology: “beliefs of managers that their higher incomes and the right to give orders 10 to others are justified” (p. 262 of text) Copyright © 2021 Nelson Education Ltd.  4. Scientific Management (Taylorism) 11 Copyright © 2021 Nelson Education Ltd.  Scientific Management (Taylorism) Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856–1915) Steel factory worker who rose to be highly influential American business consultant Critical of traditional management approaches  NOT “scientific” and did not account for “human nature” (as he saw it) Developed “time and motion studies” to improve worker efficiency Published Principles of Scientific Management in 1911 12 Copyright © 2021 Nelson Education Ltd.  Taylorism—Key Principles Assumed workers were “lazy” and restricted output Used “time and motion” studies to identify “one best way” to do job Separated “conception” from “execution” Scientific selection of workers, equipment Motivate workers with economic rewards  Piece-rate payment systems with bonuses 13 Copyright © 2021 Nelson Education Ltd.  Example of Taylorism Video clip: Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times (1936) 14 Copyright © 2021 Nelson Education Ltd.  Legacy of Taylorism Stillwidely used in manufacturing Elements of Fordism found in lean production Influence in the service sector?  Detailed job descriptions, planned workflows, time and motion studies have influenced job design  Examples: building cleaners and “zone cleaning”; telephone call centres and vigorous monitoring of productivity 15 Resistance to Taylorism? Human Copyright costs? © 2021 Nelson Education Ltd.  5. Human Relations Movement 16 Copyright © 2021 Nelson Education Ltd.  Human Relations Movement Not all employers embraced Taylorism.  Some sought cooperation and productivity through the humane treatment of employees. “Human relations” school shifted emphasis from utilitarian to normative control 1920s—corporate welfare or industrial betterment programs tried to reduce alienation, routinization, turnover 17  Examples: recreation facilities, cleaner work environments, Copyright © 2021 Nelson Education Ltd. medical care, “personnel” policies  Hawthorne Studies (1927–32) Major study in Western Electric’s Hawthorne Works in Chicago  Focus on effects of fatigue and monotony (e.g., rest breaks, lighting) on productivity Findings:  Managers’ interest in workers has greatest positive impact on productivity (later called “Hawthorne effect”)  Informal group norms critical—group determined quotas, set sanctions for “rate busters” Confirmed importance of workers’ needs and 18 training managers in “human relations” skills Copyright © 2021 Nelson Education Ltd.  Assumptions of Human Relations Theory  Workers want to cooperate.  Attitudes, values, emotions, psychological needs, and interpersonal relationships shape work behaviour.  Mayo (1945): Modern workplaces as microcosm of larger society  Treat workers well.  Human relationships need to be valued.  Maslow’s Theory X and Theory Y  Criticisms?  What about conflict in organizations?  Inequality in power and pay? 19 Copyright © 2021 Nelson Education Ltd.  Summary of Key Ideas & Concepts Bureaucracy Scientific Silo thinking management Bureaucratic /Taylorism personalities Fordism Informal work groups Human relations Freewheeling Hawthorne Studies Mechanistic and organic organizations Management ideology 20 Copyright © 2021 Nelson Education Ltd.