SOME THOUGHTS ON THEORY

Professor Roger Israel

Let’s review our understanding of "theory", since ideas about organizations, organizational behavior, and management are heavily driven by a body of theory that has evolved over thousands of years--but especially since the 1800's in terms of modern theory.

A theory is a model, construct or coherent set of ideas that helps us to understand real world phenomena. The great social-psychologist Kurt Lewin wrote that, "there is nothing so practical as a good theory". Useful theories should not be too abstract, too remote from the "real world". But just because a theory seems too abstract for you, or appears to fail the relevance/usefulness test noted above, doesn't mean that it is not helpful and meaningful to other students or practitioners. In other words, keep an open

mind that it still may have considerable value, even if it does not immediately work for you.

Theories about human and organizational behavior have certain common features:

  1. Some assumptions about people; e.g., their nature and attitudes
  2. A discipline base; e.g., is the theory based on psychology, sociology, anthropology, economics, etc, or a combination of these
  3. Scientific or epistemological base: i.e., how did we come to this theory? Through rigorous scientific investigation? Through assertion by scholars based upon previous research? Through working hypotheses put forward to invite scholar and practitioner dialogue and further inquiry?
  4. A central idea or ideas. What is the primary idea, concept or theme expressed by the theory?
  5. A descriptive or prescriptive orientation

Let's take a look at two widely recognized behavioral theories and see how they stack up in terms of the "common features" described above.

Mazlow's Hierarchy of Needs

  1. Assumptions about people
  1. Scientific management's view of workers as exclusively "economic animals" is wrong; they are also motivated by other factors such as love, self-esteem and self-actualization
  2. People have multiple levels of need/motivations and those needs exist in a hierarchy

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  1. Discipline base

Mazlow was a psychologist who built his motivational theories on earlier work in such disciplines as psychology, sociology and economics

  1. Scientific base

Mazlow's theory is not derived from actual studies he performed on human behavior. It is a plausible hypothesis based upon a growing body of scientific knowledge at the time he wrote. Widespread affirmation of his work and ideas by students, scholars and practitioners has given the theory an appearance, if not the reality, of scientific credibility

  1. Central idea

Human beings gravitate toward high levels of self-actualization in their work, but can only move to more creative, satisfying levels after more basic biological and psychological needs have been met. Once these "lower" needs are met, they cease to be major human motivators

  1. Descriptive/Prescriptive

This is primarily a descriptive theory. Mazlow may have been attempting to move management toward a more humane and effective approach to worker motivation. But the theory itself is not prescriptive--even if the application to management philosophy may have been.

McGregor's Theory X/Theory Y

  1. Assumptions about people
  1. They are basically good and well-intended
  2. Work can and should be satisfying to people
  1. Discipline base

McGregor was an industrial psychologist, an organizational/management expert, who based his theory on the work of earlier scholars such as Mazlow, Mary Parker-Follet and Chester Barnard

  1. Scientific base

McGregor was a great synthesizer and popularizer of emerging social science theories; he was not himself a social scientist or researcher

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  1. Central idea
  1. Theory Y is often a more appropriate approach to management than Theory X because it produces more creative, satisfying self-directed work
  1. Management's primary job is to arrange organizational conditions so workers see that they can achieve their own goals best by moving toward organizational goals
  1. Descriptive/Prescriptive

This is clearly a prescriptive theory in that McGregor is trying to convince organizational leaders and managers that Theory Y strategies are often (but not

always) more effective for the organization AND more satisfying and humane for employees.

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