Theoretical Foundations

1. Theoretical Foundations Communication For Business Professionals

2. Foundations of Work and Organizational Structures • Nomadic Society Economic structures – Communal Life Span – short, not sweet Work – little specialization – everybody works! Leadership – tribal, religious, physical strength Social Networks – Extended family – small groups Education – roles assigned by community, learn by doing/observation Leisure time – very little

3. Agricultural Revolution(@8,000 B.C.E.) Economic structures – Barter/exchange/money Life Span – longer – store food, shelter, etc Work – some specialization – not everyone was a good farmer Leadership – class/land ownership/inheritance Social Networks – Family names – larger communities – need for large families Education – roles assigned by status/position Leisure time – only little except for landowners, religious classes, and high status families

4. Industrial Revolution(@1750 C.E.) Economic structures –monetary systems Life Span – for some, real improvement Work – specialization “blue collar” – child labor Leadership – accumulation of wealth Social Networks – growth of urbanization Education – limited advanced education Leisure time – more for many – “normal” work week – time off etc

5. Information Age(@1955 C.E.) Economic structures – service/info economy Life Span – dramatic increase Work – White collar service-oriented Leadership – knowledge based accumulation Social Networks – de-urbanization – suburbs Education – advanced education Leisure time – DISNEYLAND!!!!!! Sports etc

6. Definition of Organizations • Consciously formed by people • Goal-oriented • Boundary maintaining • Meant to continue but have a life-cycle • Operates in an environment • Traits: a structure, an order or ranks, behavior norms and rules, membership, communication systems, a history/rituals, operates as a system • Has internal and external communication needs • Business? Not-For-Profits? Government?

7. Impact of Early Observers of the Workplace • No theory/little education on how to manage workers or run organizations • Adam Smith – early 18th Century – father of capitalism • Karl Marx 1850’s – wandered Europe – what do you think he saw in the workplace???? • Child labor – brutal and unsafe conditions – no health benefits – no education for workers children etc. (“Les Miserables”)

8. Impact of Early Observers of the Workplace • Marx became a severe critic of industrialization, capitalism, religious institutions and advocated revolution • Socialism/Marxist-Leninism emerges in the 20th century as an organizational alternative

9. Classical/Scientific Management • Basic Assumption - workers are motivated by pay • Organizations viewed in mechanistic fashion – workers as “cogs in the machine” you turn it on, you turn it off • Organization strives to maximize output with minimum investment; efficiency/productivity • Standardization and planning are key

10. Classical/Scientific Management • Key invention of Scientific Management – the Time Clock • Language of Scientific Management - Chain of Command, Division of Labor, Management decides, labor enacts, Management Prerogatives. • Frederick Winslow Taylor - 1911 -design of work based upon time/motion studies, produced formulas, etc. to reduce work to a science, standardized tools and routines, matched employee with job – application of scientific method to the workplace (was he a hero??)

11. Humanistic Theories of Organizations • Human Relations Theory • The Hawthorne Studies • Chester Barnard • McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y

12. Theory X and Theory Y: Douglas McGregor • Theory X – Scientific Management • Three Assumptions • The average human being has an inherent dislike of work and will avoid it. • Most people must be coerced, controlled, directed, and threatened with punishment • The average human being prefers to be directed, wishes to avoid responsibility, has relatively little ambition, wants security. Most workers without H.S.

13. Theory Y - Human Relations • Assumptions • Physical and mental effort in work is similar to play / rest. • External control and the threat of punishment are not the only strategies • Commitment to objectives is a function of the rewards associated with their achievement • The average human being learns, under proper conditions, not only to accept but to seek responsibility • The capacity to exercise a high degree of imagination, ingenuity, and creativity in the solution of organizational problems is widely distributed in the population – better educated workforce – H.S. diplomas common • Intellectual potentialities of the average human being are underutilized • A more positive perspective of human nature • The KEY to control and quality production is commitment to organizational objectives

14. Principles of Human Relations Theory • Human relations theory is characterized by a shift in emphasis from TASK to WORKER • Go beyond physical contributions to include creative, cognitive, and emotional aspects of workers • Based on a more dyadic (two-way) conceptualization of communication. • SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS are at the heart of organizational behavior--effectiveness is contingent on the social well-being of workers (BENEFITS!!!!!) • Workers communicate opinions, complaints, suggestions, and feelings to increase satisfaction and production • Origins (Hawthorne Studies & work of Chester Barnard) • Human Relations School of Management - Elton Mayo (Harvard

15. Human Resources Theory/Org Development • Formal vs. Informal Organization • Formal Organization - a system of consciously coordinated activities or forces of two or more persons. (definite, structured, common purpose) • Persons are able to communicate with one another • Willing to contribute action • To accomplish a common purpose

16. Informal Organization - based on myriad interactions that take place throughout an organization’s history. • Indefinite • Structureless • No definite subdivisions of personnel • Results: customs, mores, folklore, institutions, social norms, ideals -- may lead to formal organization

17. Cooperation • Necessary component of formal organization • The expression of the net satisfactions or dissatisfactions experienced or anticipated by each individual in comparison with those experienced or anticipated through alternative opportunities