Had a little chat with an old friend the other day. Let's just call him the Bull of the Woods, BW for short.
OC: Have you ever wondered about theories of management?
BW: Are you serious? That's for academicians, and they keep changing their minds. Everyday they say something else is important. I can't keep up with it all. I learned management at old SHK, the School of Hard Knocks. They taught me well how to kick a little to get the job done.
OC: Well, that may have worked at the time you went to old SHK but it sure won't work today! Let me tell you about a guy who'd be even older than you, if he was still around. His name was Abraham Maslow, and yeah, he was an academician. But those guys are not always blow'n smoke. Old A. Maslow understood a lot about people. He understood it so well that he was able to spell out what makes people tick in a simple five. step model, a hierarchy of needs model. It looks something like this.
Maslow argued that people had to have their physical needs substantially satisfied before they worried seriously about security. When they had their security needs substantially met, i.e., sated, they became more concerned about social interaction, etc. However, when they get to the highest level, self-fulfillment, it doesn't work the same. People at the self-fulfillment level never get sated, they seek more self-fulfillment.
I first really accepted this when our son made the Dean's Honor Roll the first time. He hadn't worried too much about studying before that. Don't really know how he achieved it the first time. All I know is he called us to tell about it. After that, he started studying and made pretty good grades. He had experienced self-fulfillment!
Well, think about this. Frederick Taylor, the father of Scientific Management, is well known for his efforts to understand work methods so that the productivity of the worker could be increased. He argued that this increased productivity would enable employers to pay the worker more. You see, most of the workers of the world at that time were primarily concerned about where their next meal was coming from. Sure, they were making only $2.50 a week, but after deductions for company housing and other “services provided by the employer” they had a few pennies left to feed the family for the week. Under these conditions, you can tell someone to jump and they will do it. The Bull of the Woods theory of management worked.
Perhaps Taylor's work was successful, because around 1910 workers started worrying more about security and the union movement was spawned. Management theory changed accordingly.
By the late 1920s many gains had been achieved in unionism. Security was being realized. A now famous study was undertaken at the Western Electric Hawthorne Works. Production went up as the lighting was improved…but it also went up as lighting was reduced. Finally it was concluded that productivity went up because management recognized the workers and allowed them to work in groups which were socially amenable. Thus, management theory changed again, this time to a paternal concept. IBM created “homesteads” at every significant location of employees and employees belonged to these “country clubs.” Companies inaugurated employee picnics, athletic teams, and other activities to show they cared and to provide social interaction opportunities.
By the 1950s employees' social needs were being substantially met and their concerns switched to their self-esteem. Along with this came a new theory of management called the “Human Relations Movement.” Simply put, it was based on a commandment, “Thou shall not demean my self-esteem!” A whole new set of skills were learned, including not kicking in front of my fellow employee.
As managers progressed in developing these skills, worker activities changed. Recall the type of vehicles in the parking lots of manufacturing plants and project sites on Fridays. Recreational vehicles. More workers became boy and girl scout leaders. Some even became politicians, and did a pretty good job. They were seeking self-fulfillment…off the job. They still left their brains at the company gate.
Well, someone discovered “Quality Circles,” and people were invited to bring their brains through the company gate. Quality circles were not perfect but they led to a progression of “continuous improvements” that further involved the workers in “managing” their work efforts. In fact, we discovered that they are so intelligent that they can be placed into “self-managed teams.”
BW: Whew! You mean all of that has been happening right under my nose and I didn't realize it?
OC: Have you ever heard the story about Rip Van Winkle?