Mgt 521 Viewpoints

Viewpoints Paper

Danielle McGee

University of Phoenix

MGT 521 Management

Dean Tripodes

March 28, 2016

Week 1

Viewpoints

According to Kinicki and Williams (2016), there are two overarching perspectives about management, historical and contemporary (p.44). The historical perspective includes the classical, behavioral, and quantitative viewpoints, while the contemporary perspective includes the systems, contingency, and quality-management viewpoints (Kinicki & Williams, 2016, p. 44). The historical perspective are three historical management viewpoints or approaches developed between 1911-1950s by a husband-and-wife team of industrial engineers who were pioneers in one of the classical approaches to management (Kinicki & Williams, 2016, p. 45). The contemporary perspective consists of more modernized viewpoints or approaches developed in the 1960s to better assist people to run an organization or department and become exceptional managers (Kinicki & Williams, 2016, p. 55). The following paper will summarize the basics of the behavioral viewpoint, as well as highlight key figures related to the behavioral viewpoint.  

Behavioral Viewpoint (1913-1950s)

The behavioral viewpoint seeks the understanding of how people are motivated to achieve. The viewpoint emphasizes the importance of understanding human behavior and of motivating employees toward achievement (Kinicki & Williams, 2016, p. 49).  “The behavioral viewpoint developed over three phases: early behaviorism, the human relations movement, and behavioral science” (Kinicki & Williams, 2016, p. 49).

“Early behaviorism was pioneered by Hugo Munsterberg, Mary Parker Follett, and Elton Mayo” (Kinicki & Williams, 2016, p. 49). Munsterberg suggested three ways that psychologists could contribute to the industry that led to the field of industrial psychology: study jobs and determine which people are best suited to specific jobs, identify the psychological conditions under which employees do their best work, and devise management strategies to influence employees to follow management’s interest (Kinicki & Williams, 2016, p. 49). Mary Parker Follett believed that instead of following the usual hierarchy arrangement of managers organizations should become more democratic, with managers and employees working as one (Kinicki & Williams, 2016, p. 50). Follett’s ideas steered some of today’s concepts of “self-managed teams”, “worker empowerment”, and “interdepartmental teams” (Kinicki & Williams, 2016, p. 50). Elton Mayo conducted the Hawthorne studies, which began as investigation into whether workplace lighting level affected worker productivity (Kinicki & Williams, 2016, p. 50). Although the Hawthorne studies were ultimately faulted, Mayo and his team succeeded in drawing attention to the importance of social beginnings and how managers using good human relations could improve worker productivity (Kinicki & Williams, 2016, p. 50).