BEHAVIOURAL

SCIENCES

Ref: 1. Management Heinz Weihrich,

Mark V Cannice & Harold Koontz
2. Organization Theory Stephen P.
Robbins
 Definition

The term behavioural sciences

involves the systematic analysis and
investigation of human and animal
behaviour through controlled and
naturalistic experimental observations
and rigorous formulations.
 Difference between behavioural
sciences and social sciences
The term behavioural sciences is often confused with the
term social sciences. Though these two broad areas are
interrelated and study systematic processes of behaviour,
they differ on their level of scientific analysis of various
dimensions of behaviour.
Behavioural sciences abstract empirical data to investigate
the decision processes and communication strategies within
and between organisms in a social system. This involves
fields like psychology and social neuroscience (psychiatry),
and genetics among others.
In contrast, social sciences provide a perceptive framework to
study the processes of a social system through impacts of
social organization on structural adjustment of the individual
and of groups. They typically include fields like sociology,
economics, history, counselling, public health, anthropology,
and political science
 Categories of
behavioural sciences
Behavioural sciences includes two broad categories: neural-
decision sciences and social-communication sciences.
Decision sciences involves those disciplines primarily
dealing with the decision processes and individual
functioning used in the survival of organism in a social
environment. These include psychology, cognitive science,
organization theory, psychobiology, management science,
operations research and social neuroscience.
On the other hand, communication sciences include those
fields which study the communication strategies used by
organisms and its dynamics between organisms in an
environment. These include fields like anthropology,
organizational behaviour, organization studies, sociology
and social networks
Hugo Mnsterberg
(1912)

Hugo Mnsterberg (June 1, 1863 December 19,

1916) was a German-American psychologist. He
was one of the pioneers in applied psychology,
extending his research and theories to Industrial /
Organizational (I/O), legal, medical, clinical,
educational and business settings.
 Application of Psychology
to Industry & Management
A psychologist is someone who studies the
human mind and behaviour
Research psychologists study human perception,
cognition, attention, emotion, motivation,
personality, behaviour and interpersonal
relationships.
Psychologists working in business, industry and
government, engage in and apply research to
employee hiring, firing, training, and other
personnel issues, they may also facilitate training
programs, and design organisational procedures
or processes.
 Mnsterbergs
contributions to

psychology
Clinical psychology
Mnsterberg was grounded on the theory of psychophysical parallelism which
argued that all physical processes had a parallel brain process. He believed that
certain mental ( Neurological ) illnesses have a cellular-metabolic causation and
diagnosed based on his behaviouristic observations of the subject's reactions to
interviews of them by him . Psychotherapy " , the book he authored in regard to
his investigations in matters of the mind , was published inclusive to 1909 .

Applied psychology and forensic psychology

Hugo Mnsterberg wrote several papers on the application of psychological
information in legal situations. The main objective in most of these articles was
eyewitness testimony which examined the witness. In 1908, he published his
controversial book, On the Witness Stand (1908), which talked about
psychological factors that can affect a trials outcome.

Mnsterberg was an admirer of Frederick Winslow Taylor. He wrote to him in

1913: Our aim is to sketch the outlines of a new science, which is to intermediate
between the modern laboratory psychology and the problem of economics.
Industrial psychology was to be independent of economic opinions and
debatable . . . interests
 Mnsterbergs contributions
to psychology (continued)
Mnsterberg is noted for his influence on applied
psychology, especially clinical, forensic and industrial
psychology.
His 1909 paper titled "Psychology and the Market"
suggested that psychology could be used for a variety of
industrial applications including management, vocational
decisions, advertising, job performance and employee
motivation.
His research was later summarized in his book Psychology
and Industrial Efficiency (1913), which suggested that
hiring workers who had personalities and mental abilities
best-suited to certain types of work was the best way to
increase motivation, performance and retention
Dr. Walter Dill Scott
(1910-11)

Walter Dill Scott (1869-1955) was one of the

first applied psychologists. He applied
psychology to various business practices such
as personnel selection and advertising.
"Advertisements are sometimes spoken of
as the nervous system of the business
world ... As our nervous system is
constructed to give us all the possible
sensations from objects, so the
advertisement which is comparable to
the nervous system must awaken in the
reader as many different kinds of images
as the object itself can excite "
Walter D. Scott
 Application of Psychology to
advertising, marketing & personnel

Scott argued that consumers do not act rational, and

therefore they can be easily influenced.
He said that emotion, sympathy, and sentimentality
are all factors that increase consumer suggestibility.
Applying his laws of suggestibility, he recommended
that companies use direct commands to sell their
products.
He suggested that companies use return coupons
because they required consumers to take direct action.
His techniques were used by advertisers and by 1910
were used all over the country (Schultz & Schultz,
2004).
Max Weber (1946, 1947)

Maximilian Carl Emil Weber (21 April 186414 June

1920) was a German lawyer, politician, historian,
sociologist and political economist, who profoundly
influenced social theory and the remit of sociology
itself. His major works dealt with the rationalization,
bureaucratization, and 'disenchantment' he associated
with the rise of capitalism.
 Theory of Bureaucracy
Weber defined bureaucracies as "goal-oriented
organizations designed according to rational principles in
order to efficiently attain the stated goals"
Weber saw the formation and execution of bureaucracies as
necessary to complex societies.
The ideal bureaucracy has these characteristics:
Division of labor
A clear authority hierarchy
Formal Selection procedures
Detailed rules and regulations
Impersonal relationship
Webers description of bureaucracy became the design prototype
for the structure of most of todays large organizations.
Vilfredo Pareto (1896
1917)

Vilfredo Federico Damaso Pareto (July 1848 19

August 1923), born Wilfried Fritz Pareto, was an
Italian industrialist, sociologist, economist, and
philosopher. He is referred to as the father of the
social systems approach to organization &
management.
 Pareto
principle
He observed that 20 percent of the people of Italy
owned 80 percent of the wealth.
Pareto states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the
effects come from 20% of the causes.
This concept of disproportion often holds in many areas.
20% of the time expended produces 80% of the results
80% of your phone calls go to 20% of the names on
your list
20% of the streets handle 80% of the traffic
80% of the meals in a restaurant come from 20% of
the menu
 How It Can Help us!
The value of the Pareto Principle for a
manager is that it reminds you to focus
on the 20 percent that matters.
Of the things you do during your day,
only 20 percent really matter.
Those 20 percent produce 80 percent
of your results.
 Pareto Chart

Bar chart arranged in descending order of height from left to right

Bars on left relatively more important than those on right
Separates the "vital few" from the "trivial many" (Pareto Principle)
 Why Use a Pareto
Chart?
Breaks big problem into smaller
pieces
Identifies most significant factors
Shows where to focus efforts
Allows better use of limited
resources
 Elton Mayo & F. J.
Roethlisberger

Fritz Jules Roethlisberger (1898-

George Elton Mayo (1880 - 1949)
was an Australian psychologist,
sociologist and organization
theorist. He s was professor of
industrial research at Harvard
Business School (1926 1947)
1974)was one of the
researchers who was involved in
the Hawthorne Project & is
regarded as one of the founders
of the modern "human relations
movement".
 The Hawthorne Studies -
Background
A set of experiments were carried out at the Western Electric
Companys Hawthorne Works in Cicero, near Chicago, Illinois between
1924 and 1937.
These studies were initially devised by Western Electric industrial
engineers to examine the effect of various illumination levels on
worker productivity.
The experimental group was presented with varying intensity of
illumination. The engineers had expected individual output to be
directly related to the intensity of light.
As the light level was increased in the experimental unit, the output
rose for each group. But they found out that as the light level was
dropped, the productivity continued to increase.
The engineers concluded that illumination intensity clearly was not
directly related to group productivity, but they could not explain the
behaviour they witnessed.
The Western Electric engineers turned to Harvard psychologist
Elton Mayo, his associate F. J. Roethlisberger & team in 1927 to join
the study.
 The Hawthorne Studies Contd..
Elton Mayo wanted to find out what effect fatigue
and monotony had on job productivity and how
to control them through variables such as:
Rest Breaks
Work Hours
Temperatures
Humidity

In the process, he found a principle of human

motivation that would help to revolutionise the
theory and practice of management
 Hawthorne Studies The
Experiment
6 women workers were taken from an assembly
line at the Western Electric Company
They were segregated from the rest of the
factory
They were put under the eye of a supervisor (a
friendly observer)
Frequent changes were made to their working
conditions
The changes were always discussed and
explained in advance
 The Changes

Changed the hours in the working week

and in the working day
Increased and decreased the number
of work breaks and the time of the
lunch hour
Occasionally he would return the
women to their original, harder working
conditions
 The Findings

Under normal conditions with a 48 hour

week, including Saturdays and no rest
pauses:

Team produced 2400 relays per week

each
 Findings during experiment...
They were put on piecework for 8 weeks
Output went up
Rest pauses were introduced for 5 weeks
Output went up
Rest pauses were lengthened to 10 minutes
Output went up
Six 5-min pauses were introduced and the girls complained that their
work rhythm was broken
Output fell very slightly
Return to 2 rest pauses the first with a hot meal supplied free of charge
Output went up
Group were dismissed at 4.30 pm instead of 5.00 pm
Output went up
They were dismissed at 4.00 pm
Output remained the same
Finally all improvements were taken away and the team went back to
the conditions at the beginning of the experiment

Output was the highest ever recorded at 3000 relays per week
per person
 What happened during
the experiment?
The individuals became a team and the team gave
wholehearted co-operation with the experiment
They were happy in the knowledge that they were
doing what they wanted to do
They felt they were working under less pressure
than before
They were not pushed around or bossed by anyone
Under these conditions they developed an
increased sense of responsibility which came from
within the group itself
 Mayos Conclusions
Individual workers cannot be treated in isolation
but must be seen as members of a group
Monetary incentives and good working
conditions are less important to the individual
than the need to belong to a group
Informal or unofficial groups formed at work
have strong influence on behaviour
Managers must be aware of these social
needs and cater for them to ensure that
employees work with the organisation rather
than against it
Hawthorne Studies
Conclusion
It is generally agreed upon by the
management scholars that the Hawthorne
studies had a dramatic impact on the
direction of management and organization
theory. It is ushered in an era of
organizational humanism. Managers would
no longer consider the issue of
organizational design without including
effects on work groups, employee attitudes
and manager employee relationship.
QUESTIONS