The management discourse in the 1930-1950 era was dominated by sociological approaches to management. Previously, Fredrick Taylor had captured the attention of organizational managers with his scientific perspective to management. Taylor developed tools that standardized a variety of tasks and outlined criteria for reward and punishment for workers. Max Weber leveraged on the ideas of Taylor to develop the bureaucratic theory and suggested that organizations should be organized into hierarchies. During the same period, a group of scholars developed human relations theories in order to accommodate the human aspect of management. Their propositions were based on the belief that organizations can only prosper if their employees excelled and sought to align organizational needs with those of the workers. The ideas of both bureaucratic and human relations approach affect how organizations are managed today.
Max Weber popularized the concept of bureaucracy based on his concern for the importance of authority in organizations. This system of management was based on strict authority structures and vouched for expertise in organizations; this was designed to keep unethical workplace practices like nepotism at bay. Under this system, formal hierarchical structures in organizations were hailed as promoting a system of accountability for the officers concerned ( Morcillo Laiz and Schlichte, 2016) . The relationship within these structures was based on subordinate and superiority status. Weber advocated for recruitment based on qualification rather than personal relations and proposed that official form of communication be undertaken through written documents that allow future references. In addition, this system adheres to formal rules and promotes specialization that divides organizations into different units assigned to specific roles ( Morcillo Laiz and Schlichte, 2016) .
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Weber’s ideas were widely accepted, and bureaucracy was considered to be the best form of administration for big organizations. Modern large companies employ the specialization principle in the allocation of roles to different departments. Workers are recruited into specific divisions within large companies based on their educational qualification and experience. Although organizations that abide by Weber’s bureaucratic principles are accused of rigidity and impersonality, they display high levels of efficiency and professionalism (( Shafritz, Ott and Jang, 2015) . The role of business entities profit maximization, it is therefore in their interest to recruit highly qualified staff. Some situations, however, senior managers are recruited through headhunting or referrals. This scenario happens when specific talent and ability has been identified in an individual for a given task. Managers mostly adopt teamwork in modern corporations opposed to strict specialization as prescribed by Weber. The dynamism of the contemporary business environment requires collaboration among key departments like marketing, sales, and human resource among others. Stringent adherence to bureaucracy stifles creativity as the system provides no incentives for individuals to try out new ideas; job descriptions are specific, and individuals receive a salary based on the duties they perform. Bureaucracy does not favor two-way communications, and it can lead to delay in making critical decisions ( Shafritz, Ott and Jang, 2015) . Business entities operate in an environment of information technology explosion and managers and other highly placed individuals no longer enjoy the monopoly in communication. Organizations use a variety of tools in a communication network that enables them to assess the market, advertise their products and broadcast important messages to the public. Formal recording of all forms of communication is valued is still valued in organizations today. Although some scholars think that official record keeping is a waste of revenue, the danger of failing to document and store communication details can be costly for companies. Today, companies have the advantage of recording data in different forms. In addition to the traditional filing system, firms can now store records electronically through cloud application and computer-aided storage. CCTV camera footage record routine operations and the trail of email messages can be tracked through the internet.
Among the human relations theorists, Elton Mayo stands prominently for his Hawthorne experiments. The experiments were used to gauge the influence of physical working environment on employee productivity. In the first experiment, managers routinely varied the lighting in the workstation to find out the perfect intensity responsible for maximum productivity ( Shafritz, Ott and Jang, 2015) . They also made other adjustments like varied the temperature, piped music, adjusted the number of work hours and even tried different compensation schemes. The changes executed were interpreted by workers as a sign of care from the organization and provided them with mental stimuli to produce more. The separation of employees for this experiment worked to build bonds of friendship among them because of the feeling that they were being given special treatment. This camaraderie worked to increase their productivity. In the second experiment, a group of anthropologists, including Mayo, were assigned to observe workers in a special room at a bank. The observers were assigned to examine wiring, soldering and inspection tasks of the workers but at first, workers restrained their social interactions, and it was only after three weeks that the workers resumed normal behaviour .
Organizations today are increasingly becoming sensitive to the social needs of their workers. It is routine for modern firms to engage professionals in training their workers on selected life issues like stress management and retirement training . This is done in the realization that people can only perform optimally when their social welfare is assured. Some companies celebrate special days of their staff including birthdays and marriage anniversaries. The productivity of workers increases when their needs are acknowledged. End of year parties where employees are encouraged to come with their spouses is part of a company’s appreciation for the social needs of individuals.
Abraham Maslow is one of the scholars that have contributed to behavioral theories of management. Maslow’s hierarchy of social needs was based on the view that if people grew in an environment where their needs were not met, it was unlikely that they would excel as healthy individuals. Maslow identified five types of needs which are aroused in a specific order from the lowest to the highest. In practice, a lower need must be met before the successive one can be triggered ( Bridgman, Cummings and Ballard, 2017) .
Physiological needs lie at the bottom of Maslow’s pyramid, and these include fundamental requirements like food, air, and water. The import of these on organizations is that employees must be provided with a salary for them to make sufficient contribution to the organization. All jobs are salary based, and this is an acknowledgment that hungry people cannot make significant contribution to the organization. In most organizations, breaks are set aside for lunch and coffee so that employees can meet the physiological need for food. Maslow places safety needs on the second rung of the needs ladder which relates to the desire for safe working environment ( Bridgman, Cummings and Ballard, 2017) . The implication of this need is that employees produce their best when they are assured of their safety at work. Job security is one of the fears employees in contemporary organizations harbor, and it is the duty of the managers to set secure working terms if they wish to obtain optimum productivity from their staff. The third level in Maslow’s Hierarchy is social needs where employees exhibit the desire to be loved and accepted. Companies hold various recreational events including games and picnics to allow free interaction among their staff. After social needs are met, workers move to the next level of esteem needs that relate to the desire for respect and approval. Employees who deliver exemplary results in their tasks can be honored in public to meet this need ( Howard, Turban and Hurley, 2016) . Self-actualization lies at the apex of the needs triangle and stands for the desire to become all that a person is capable of becoming. Self-actualized individuals are not motivated by pay or any other comfort; they are driven by internal energy in performing their duties. Maslow suggests that managers can help their employees to self-actualize by providing them with financial security. Employers are also admonished to provide their staff with opportunities to socialize. However, critics opine that this model is theorized towards a description of behaviour in high growth need spectrum and is insensitive to those who oppose the idea of growth.
The management theories developed in the social era continue to influence how organizations are run today. The goal of attaining efficiency and professionalism is attained through application of bureaucratic principles while employee motivation is achieved by the human relations ideas developed by Elton Mayo and Abraham Maslow. Organizations that incorporate the approaches of the social era have a high potential for profitability through professionalism and employee satisfaction.
References
Shafritz, J. M., Ott, J. S., & Jang, Y. S. (2015). Classics of organization theory . New York: Cengage Learning.
Bridgman, T., Cummings, S., & Ballard, J. A. (2017, January). Triangulating Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: The Construction of Management Studies' Famous Pyramid. In Academy of Management Proceedings (Vol. 2017, No. 1, p. 14177). Academy of Management.
Krause, G. A., & O’Connell, A. J. (2015, March). Can bureaucratic leadership mitigate common agency problems? In delivery at the American Politics Workshop, University of Chicago, March .
Morcillo Laiz, Á., & Schlichte, K. (2016). Rationality and international domination: revisiting Max Weber. International Political Sociology , 10 (2), 168-184.
Howard, L. W., Turban, D. B., & Hurley, S. K. (2016). Cooperating teams and competing reward strategies: Incentives for team performance and firm productivity. Journal of Behavioral and Applied Management , 3 (3).
