Behavioural Approach to Management

The behavioural approach, also known as the behavioural science approach, focuses on studying human behaviour within organisations and aims to establish scientifically verifiable propositions for understanding this behaviour. It heavily draws concepts from psychology and sociology to analyze various aspects of organisational behaviour. The core elements of the behavioural science approach include motivation, leadership, communication, group dynamics, and participative management. These aspects are considered crucial in understanding and managing human behaviour within organisations.

The approach proposes several basic propositions:

1. An organization is a socio-technical system: This recognizes that organisations consist of both social (human) and technical (tools, processes) elements that interact and influence behaviour.
2. Interpersonal and group behaviour is influenced by a wide range of factors: The behaviour of individuals and groups in an organisation is affected by numerous factors, including social, psychological, and organisational aspects.
3. Fusion between organizational goals and needs: There should be a harmonious alignment between the goals and needs of individuals and the organisation for optimal performance and effectiveness.
4. Differences in attitudes, perceptions, and values: Employees possess different attitudes, perceptions, and values that influence their behaviour and performance within the organisation.
5. Inevitability and desirability of conflict: Some degree of conflict is seen as inevitable and even beneficial in organisations, as it can lead to improved decision-making and innovation.

The behavioural approach has contributed significantly to the development of management thought. It highlights the importance of recognizing the human element within organisations and emphasizes the role of leadership, individual psychology, and group behaviour in achieving organisational effectiveness. It corrects the limitations of the purely mechanistic and technological nature of the classical approach.

Features of Behavioural Approach to Management

The following are features of Behavioural Approach:

1. Focus on individuals: The behavioural approach emphasizes the individuals who perform jobs within an organisation rather than solely focusing on the job itself.
2. Influence of social and psychological factors: The Hawthorne Experiments conducted by Elton Mayo revealed the significant impact of social and psychological factors on employee morale and productivity. This finding highlighted the importance of considering these factors in management.
3. Human relations movement: The pioneers of the behavioural approach, associated with the human relations movement, emphasized that management involves working with and through people. Interpersonal relations and understanding individual socio-psychological motives were considered crucial.
4. Neglect of group behaviour: While the human relations movement concentrated on the individual, it tended to neglect the behavioural patterns of groups within an organisation.
5. Development of organisational behaviour: Due to the neglect of group behaviour, the field of organisational behaviour emerged. It focuses on the study of attitudes, behaviour, and performance of both individuals and groups within an organisational setting.
6. Multidimensional and interdisciplinary nature: The behavioural approach is multidimensional and interdisciplinary. It draws knowledge from various behavioural sciences such as psychology, sociology, and anthropology to explain and predict human behaviour. Therefore, it is also known as the behavioural science approach.
7. Contributions from sociologists and psychologists: Several notable sociologists and psychologists have made lasting contributions to the development of the behavioural approach, including E.J. Roethlisberger, Abraham H. Maslow, Douglas McGregor, Frederick Herzberg, Rensis Likert, Kurt Lewin, Keith Davis, Chris Argyris, Dubin Selznik, L.R. Sayles, and George Homans.

Uses and Limitations of Behavioural Approach to Management

Some of the uses of Behavioural Approach are given below:

1. Development of management thought: The behavioural approach has significantly contributed to the development of management thought by highlighting the crucial role of the human element in organisations. It recognizes that managers primarily deal with human beings and their success depends on effectively managing the human element.
2. Correcting distortions of the classical approach: The behavioural approach rectifies the limitations of the purely mechanistic and technological nature of the classical approach. It emphasizes the importance of understanding individual psychology and group behaviour in achieving organisational effectiveness.
3. Recognition of leadership: The behavioural approach acknowledges leadership as a critical factor in management success. It recognizes the quality of leadership and its influence on employee behaviour and performance.

The following are the limitations of Behavioural Approach to Management:

1. Overemphasis on social and industrial psychology: One limitation is that the behavioural approach tends to almost equate management with the study of social and industrial psychology. It may neglect other important dimensions of management that are not solely related to psychology.
2. Discounting theory and lacking scientific validity: The conclusions drawn from the behavioural approach may discount theoretical foundations and rely heavily on radical empiricism. This approach may exhibit a clinical bias and lack scientific validity in some cases.
3. Neglect of the economic dimension of work satisfaction: The behavioural approach may overlook the economic dimension of work satisfaction. It might not adequately consider the impact of financial incentives and rewards on employee motivation and behaviour.
4. Short-sighted perspective on conflict: The text suggests that the behavioural approach fails to recognize the creative role of conflict and takes a short-sighted perspective. It may focus more on group-oriented approaches and be anti-individualistic in its analysis of organisational dynamics.