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Chapter One

Introduction to Human Relations

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 1 - 2

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• Nature, purpose and importance in organizations

• Career success and work/life balance• Major developments in field• Historical overview of field• Forces influencing behavior• Seven themes for effectiveness


The Nature, Purpose and Importance of Human Relations

• Best-managed organizations…– understand work is done through

relationships– are not simply being “nice to people” – genuinely help employees come alive

through their work– align goals of worker and workplace


Human Relations Defined

• Study of all types of interactions among people, including:– Conflicts – Cooperative efforts – Group relationships

• Study of why beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors can cause problems in personal and professional relationships


Human Relations in the Age of Information

• Industrial to information economy • Information exchange is foundation of

most economic transactions• Increase in amount and speed of

information• Alters traditional patterns of work and

leisure



• Dynamic, but disorienting and stressful• Reduced sources of connection away

from work• Less contact with extended families



• Over emphasis on information can limit one’s effectiveness

• Need balance and perspective• Human-contact deficiency weakens the

spirit, the mind, and the body• To survive and thrive, we need warm-

hearted contact with people


The Importance of Human Relations

• Interpersonal skills essential for success in most jobs

• Technical competencies not sufficient for success

• Recent trends in the workplace give new importance to human relations


Trend: Instability of Labor Market

• Worker dislocation due to increased numbers of:– Mergers and acquisitions – Buyouts and downsizing– Business closings and bankruptcy

• Can result in:– Low moral– Mistrust of management


Trend: Changing Work Patterns

• When, where and how • New opportunities and challenges

– Increase in temporary workers– More self-employed and contract

employees “Free Agent Nation”– Telecommuting– More employers over a career


Trend: Orientation Toward Service to Customers

• Service economy• Some competitive advantages are easy

to copy (i.e., technology, financial structure)

• Relationships key to sustainable competitive advantage and they are difficult to copy


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. ChambersAuthor, The Bad Attitude Survival Guide


Trend: Lack of Civility in the Workplace

• Rudeness, insensitivity, disrespect• “Me” rather than “We” attitudes• Workplace incivility threatens employee

relationships


Trend: Increasing Use of Teams

• Using teams can:– Improve product quality and customer

service– Improve job satisfaction

• Organizations need to develop team skills:– Group decision making– Leadership– Conflict resolution– Communication


Trend: Increasing Work Force Diversity

• Prominent characteristic of today’s work force

• Organizations need to increase tolerance and understanding for differences in:– Age– Gender– Race– Physical traits– Sexual orientation


Trend: Growing Income Inequality

• Socioeconomic status influenced by:– Income– Job– Education

• Created climate of resentment and distrust

• Wage gap keeps getting bigger• Negatively impacts physical and mental

health of lowest socioeconomic status


Challenges of Today’s workplace:

• Wide range of interpersonal skills are needed

• Contact with customers, clients, patients, and other workers

• Every relations differs in:Age and Gender Work background ValuesCommunication style Work ethics Culture

• Each encounter offers new challenge


Manage Three Relationships

• People must manage three types:– Relationships with ourselves– One-to-one relationships– Group relationships


Figure 1.1: Major Relationship Management Challenges


Relationship with Ourselves

• Positive self image and self-confidence is good for relations with others

• Many people have negative ideas and feelings about themselves


One-to-One Relationships

• Occupations with high client/customer contact face this challenge every day

• Biases can be barriers:– Racial– Age– Gender– Communication-style


Group Relationships

• Many assigned to work as members of a team

• Lack of cooperation among members can result in quality or productivity problems


Human Relations Draws on Behavioral Sciences

• Psychology Individual• Sociology • Anthropology Group dynamic

• Focus on “why” of human behavior


Beyond Human Behavior….

• The field of human relations goes further than “why”

• Emphasis on applied:– Anticipation of problems– Resolution – Prevention


The “Total Person”

• Each person’s characteristics part of 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


The “Total Person”

• Organizations recognizing 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


Examples of “Total Person” Development Programs

• Stress management • Physical fitness

programs• Balancing work and

family seminars• Values clarification

education

• On-site services (i.e., Dental)

• Parenting classes• Financial planning

and home loan assistance

• Software training• Assertiveness

training



The rules for work are changing, and we’re all being judged, whether we know it or not, by a new yardstick—not just how smart we are and what technical skills we have, which employers see as givens, but increasingly by how well we handle ourselves and one another.

Daniel GolemanAuthor, Working with Emotional Intelligence


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


Influential Forces

• Understanding human behavior at work begins with a review of the six major forces that affect every employee


Figure 1.2: Major Forces Influencing Worker Behavior


Organizational Culture

• Collection of shared values, beliefs, rituals, stories, and myths that create a common identity and feelings of community among employees

• Every organization has unique culture• Reflection of deeply held values and

beliefs of top management


Supervisory-Management

• Managers hold key position to influence employee behavior

• Spokespersons for the organization• Philosophy, competence, and

leadership style establish image in eyes of employees


Supervisory-Management

• Establish perceptions of organization’s concern for employee welfare

• Perceptions influence factors such as:– Productivity– Customer relations– Safety– Loyalty to the firm



Jobs do a lot more than merely provide income. They provide the opportunity to learn and enhance skills, to have some control over one’s fate and, perhaps most important, to gain a sense of self-worth, a sense of carrying one’s own weight.

William RaspberrySyndicated Columnist


Work Group Influence

• Research has identified three functions of group membership.

• It can:– Satisfy social needs– Provide emotional support– Lend assistance in solving problems and

meeting goals


Job Influence

• Work has taken central stage in the lives of many

• Can more than satisfy economic needs• Provide sense of meaning, community,

and self-esteem


Personal Characteristics

• All employees bring combination of:– Abilities and interests Aptitudes– Values Expectations

• Behavior often reflection of match between environment and individual’s characteristics

• Creating idea work environment to meet all needs is a challenge


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


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


The Industrial Revolution

• Marked shift from home-based processes to factory production

• Little understanding of employee needs and relation to production

• Limited productivity and uniformity of work

• Profound impact on nature of work and role of worker


Taylor’s Scientific Management

• Frederick Taylor started movement in 1874 – He became aware of inefficiency and

waste– Systematically studied each job– Segmented work down into isolated,

specialized tasks– Different workers were assigned to each

task• Resulted in more efficiency, but

required little thinking by worker


Taylor’s Concept

• Theories became very popular among business owners and managers

• Paved the way for the assembly line• Criticized for exploiting, not helping,

workers



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 BaughmanDirector of Management Development, General Electric

Co.


The Hawthorne Studies

• 1920s, Elton Mayo sets out to study effects of illumination and ventilation on worker fatigue

• Became seminal investigation into role of human relations in group and individual productivity


Mayo’s Two Discoveries

1. Workers increased performance when they felt important and had greater freedom from supervisory control

2. Interaction among workers created an “informal organization”


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 emerge


During the 1940s

• Douglas McGregor – Performance related to tapping human

potential• Abraham Maslow

– Hierarchy of needs• Frederick Herzberg

– Employee motivation and satisfaction


The 1950s and 1960s

• Eric Bern– Interpersonal communication and

transactional analysis• Carl Rogers

– Personality development, interpersonal communication and group dynamics


During the 1980s

• William Ouchi– Theory Z style of management

• Tom Peters and Robert Waterman– Importance of people in organizations


Major Themes

• Several themes emerge from these studies of human relations

• Themes concern two goals: – Personal growth and development– Achievement of organizational objectives


Figure 1.3: Major Themes in Human Relations


Communication

• “Heart and soul” of communication• Means by which we come to an

understanding of ourselves and others• To grow and develop, we must

communicate skillfully and effectively


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


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

• Able to cope better with change, responsibility, diversity, and teams


Motivation

• Motivation of self – Comes from within

• Motivation of others – Comes from understanding complex

motivation theories and strategies


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


Self-Disclosure

• Self-disclosure is an intricate part of building trust

• Constructive part of good communication and helps eliminate unnecessary guessing


Conflict Resolution

• Conflict tends to obstruct cooperative action, create suspicion and distrust, and decrease productivity

• Resolution strategies improve communication, emotional control, and team building

• Requires much energy


Benefits to You

• Better understanding of human behavior in groups

• Can help you become more sensitive to yourself and others

• Provides techniques for solving people-related problems– Act more wisely when problems arise– Anticipate conflicts or prevent them from

escalating


Summary

• The study of human relations helps people fulfill growth needs and meet organizational goals

• Realization that employee’s life outside of work has impact on organization

• Many firms are developing training and education programs for “total person”


Summary

• Human relations gives people a better understanding of basic behavioral concepts

• Understanding allows them to make better choices when problems arise

• It helps them anticipate and prevent conflicts


Summary

• The development of the human relations field redefined:– Nature of work– Perception of managers and workers as

complex human beings


Summary

• Seven major themes: Communication Self-awarenessSelf-acceptance MotivationTrust Self-disclosureConflict resolution

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