Research Paper on Human Resources Management: Process-Relational Attitude Versus Systems-Control Thinking

It has become common knowledge that human resources are the main value and the main factor influencing the work of an organization; there have been created different theories on human resource management, different approaches to organizing the work of the company in order to realize maximal productivity of human resources have been worked out… but despite the numerous researches and approaches, the work of the organizations and the activity of employees have not reached the predicted optimal level. Some of the methods led to improvement of organizational structure, to the change in motivation, to strengthening and consolidation of the working teams, but the so-called “human factor”, the imperfection of ordinary working people is one of the main obstacles to optimizing productivity and perspectives of the organization.

Tony J. Watson suggested new approach to organizing work: the process-relational perspective. It seems to be a radically new and promising understanding of the behavior of employees within a work collective, and the patterns of development of this collective.

This essay is dedicated to comparing the process-relational perspective with systems-control thinking, to analyzing the pros and cons of each method and investigating the influence of applying the process-relational attitude to such management spheres as human resource management, motivation and leadership within the organization, and how it can change the structure and culture of the organization as a whole.

1. Systems-control thinking

Let us find out what T.J. Watson interprets as systems-control thinking. It is the popular human resource-based view of the organization; this view concentrates the attention on the human resources and connects competitive advantages of the firm with the quality of its human resources; in the context of this approach the more unique, skilled and educated are the employees of the firm, the greater its competitive advantage is. This approach formulates the task of the human resource management as stimulating the employees to improve their unique abilities; therefore organizational changes have to stimulate the professional growth and the realization of the unique abilities of the workers.

Watson states that within the context of system-control understanding the firm is regarded as a purely rational system; it implies that the organization is under control of managers, which are able of critical thinking, neutrally interpreting the situation, and performing organizational changes in order to reach the goals of the firm. This, as Watson notes, represents the simple “input-throughput-output model, i.e. a power-neutral set of coherent decisions, taken by rational thinking managers” [1, p. 132].

It is easy to understand that this model assumes numerous simplifications of the working process; such system-control thinking does not take into account the complexity and sometimes discrepant nature of the organizational goals, the limited controllability of the working processes, the boundaries of managerial experience and sphere of influence; the interaction of the organization regarded as a system and the chaotically changing environment is also neglected in this model.

As a result the efficiency of using such approach is rather doubtful; it can help to consolidate the working collective and help realize some of the positive tendencies of its development; but it is a big question whether the system-control approach can lead to successful management in the long run.

The motivation in this case is only supported by the wish of every employee to realize his or her potential, to become a better and more successful professional, as well as motivation and leadership in the organization are guided mostly by the perspectives of well-being and development of the organization as a whole. However, these goals are not so effective, as motivation referring to personal needs and problems of an employee.

Moreover, this approach treats people simply as a productive force, the very understanding of people as “resources” leads to disembodiment of the workers, the mistaken perception of them as of the combination of their professional skills, knowledge and labor potential. In reality, states Watson, these qualities are inseparable from the social, cultural, demographic, and personal factors that characterize an individual. Such factors, as “age, gender, race, social background, the physical and psychological condition of an individual” [1, p. 164] form an environment which is inevitably affecting the productivity and the whole working atmosphere.

Treating people as production resources is “standard system-control frame of reference of much management thinking” [1, p. 375]. Such utilitarian approach as systems-control thinking cannot lead to success in organizational management, since the managers are not dealing with abstract category of “workers”; they are dealing with real people, with their strengths and weaknesses.

2. Process-relational perspective

An effective alternative to the orthodoxy and simplification of systems-control thinking is analyzed by T.J. Watson process-relational perspective in organizing, management and decision-making. This approach “acknowledges the pluralistic, messy, ambiguous and inevitably conflict-ridden nature of work organizations” [1, p. 375]. This attitude pays attention to the relations between people, human motivation and emotions; in contrast with system-control approach, employees are not represented as disembodied and deprived or personal characteristics entities, they are accepted as complex human beings.

The process-relational attitude analyses organizational change, taking into account both the practical thinking and the complex of emotions, needs and desires of an individual. The relational theory of emotions is in fact the application of the process-relational perspective; this theory states that emotions are in fact processes similar to and interacting with the processes of managing, decision-making and interaction within the organization. The emotions are regarded as part of the characteristics of a worker, as well as the processes linked to the distribution of power and the relations within the working collective.

This theory and its application have created a radically new approach to the management; T.J. Watson proposes a shift from the less effective system-control thinking to the process-relational attitude.

Emotions and feelings constitute a significant part of the world outlook of an employee, they define his or her personal reality, and the way in which these realities cooperate makes a significant influence on the working process. Within the context of relational theory of emotions, they are regarded as subroutines using of which people attach meanings and form attitudes to the work or project, to organizational changes, to relations within the working collective, etc. These subroutines may serve as “catalysts” as well as “inhibitors” of the working process: for example, the interest to working with new colleagues (e.g. from other department) on a project will create positive dynamics of the work; the performing of an administrative or organizational change, or introducing the new technology will create the fear to be unable to handle the change, or the fear not to be able to work with new technology and equipment within the collective; this may create negative atmosphere in the organization.

The process-relational attitude pays attention to emotions and peculiarities of people together with analysis of their working abilities and professional skills. This attitude helps, first of all, to improve the motivation of employees since it refers to the personals problems and needs of every worker; though this approach is evidently more complex and more difficult to realize, it helps to understand the relations within the collective in their full connection, and it in fact realizes the shift from human resource management to human management, without using the utilitarian understanding of people as of a resource.

Conclusion

The process-relational attitude pays attention to people’s authenticity, to development of their unique qualities (like in system-control thinking) – but in the complex context of their individual emotional, psychological and physical characteristics. T.J. Watson states that the shift from systems-control thinking to process-relational perspective in managing and performing organizational changes will contribute to the improvement of efficiency as well as to improvement of working conditions and psychological state of the workers. The culture of the employees, their social and demographic background has to play an important role in human resource management.

The use of this approach is destined to cause changes in the organizational structure, the changes in the motivation of the workers, the improvement of the attitude to working responsibilities. The common perception of work as of a dull and inescapable occupation, the whole attitude to working process and the relations within a working collective are to change if this approach is used. The stress on the authenticity, well-being and harmonious personal development of the employees are the most important features of this approach.

The shift to process-relational attitude also implies the concern of the managers relating to their workers, empathy to an individual worker. “A major contribution of such a HRM to the better understanding of organizational change processes lies in the possibilities it creates in cultivating an empathic and respectful approach towards people’s authenticity” [2, p. 88]

Literature

• Watson, T.J. (2002). Organizing and Managing Work. Organizational, Managerial and Strategic Behaviour in Theory and Practice, Pearson Education, Harlow
• Van Maanen, J. and Kunda, G. (1989). Real feelings: emotional expressions and organizational culture. Research in Organizational Behaviour, Vol. 11, pp. 43-104
• Kotter, J. (1995). Leading change: why transformation efforts fail. Harvard Business Review, Vol. 73 No. 2, pp. 59-67
• Barney, J.B., Wright, D. and Ketchen, D.J. (2001). The resource-based view of the firm: ten years after 1991. Journal of Management, Vol. 27 No. 6, pp. 625-41