Document created: 24 March 04
Air University Review,
September-October 1972
Captain Richard E. De La Menardiere
Three masons were once asked what they were doing. The first said that he was laying stone, the second allowed that he was making a wall, the third replied, “I’m building a cathedral” The third mason expressed the attitude necessary for a systems approach. The nurturing and development of this philosophy is of foremost importance in the development of the systems concept.
Acquiring the “systems attitude” requires recognition of elusive sociobehavioral characteristics and their relation to the planning, organizing, control, and communication aspects of an organization. These factors must be addressed in order to manage an organization efficiently.
One of the best indicators for appraising an organization is to evaluate the leaders and their ability to make human observations. Many failures could have been avoided if managers had read the human factors correctly. This applies not only to leaders but to individuals at all levels. This pervasiveness of the human aspect is one of the reasons that it is so important. Analysis of human factors will add some administrative load; however, it will provide an organizational lubricant for more efficient achievement of the desired objectives.
Individuals have idiosyncracies and easily become discontented. In order for a system to operate properly, accurate sensors must continually measure employee attitudes, dissident or otherwise, and provide this information to management. It is imperative that sensors and feedback loops be integral parts of the system, to assure that personnel remain within satisfactory performance parameters. Leaders must continually monitor these indicators so that a control loop can be established to keep the organization within the limits congruent with the desired output.
pervasiveness of the human aspect
This nation is experiencing a “socioindustrial” revolution. Many events, such as rock festivals, have been heralded as the beginning of a new national attitude whose attributes are gentleness, spontaneity, and emotional abandon. Some theorists have seen a return to so-called human purities, which are said to have been edged out by the industrial revolution and institutional calcification of greed, alienation, and envy. This has not occurred, but various new social conditions have surfaced.
The “drop-out culture,” with its outbursts of anarchism and condemnation of the present value system, has only added to social problems rather than provided solutions. There are other individuals who have not dropped out but who do have difficulty discovering identification and self-purpose in the complexities of our society. In addition, there is a growing number of people who are genuinely concerned with our social problems. These attitudes have contributed to a growing list of problems facing contemporary organizations, including the military structure.
Absenteeism, tardiness, and quality control deficiencies are increasing. A recent study at an automobile manufacturing plant showed a 200 percent increase in absenteeism and a 300 percent increase in tardiness over the past five years as compared with the preceding five-year period. Quality-control problems in foods, automobiles, and appliances are common. Institutions also face problems involving minority groups, politics, and pollution. The military is not immune to these problems.
changing attitudes
Traditionally the central objective of business institutions has been profit, and they have been reluctant to shoulder responsibility for social and environmental problems. Corporations are now developing-a social conscience. For instance, one large corporation has established “systems analysis of company action and response for dealing with social problems,” and a metropolitan bank expects its young executives to counsel minority-owned businesses and communities on financial matters.
While military and business institutions have different social outlooks, they share the same human factors problems.
Air Force personnel today are well-educated and socially aware, and many of their jobs involve complex tasks requiring discipline. In order to achieve this discipline, men must be led, not driven. Leaders must instill in their subordinates a feeling that their recommendations and decisions will be supported in terms of a thorough and fair evaluation. Individuals must acquire pride in identification with their contribution to the objectives of the organization. Once this has been accomplished, the intelligence of the individual becomes a valuable asset rather than a source of dissent. This sense of identification is not acquired from pamphlets or lectures. It is something the individual absorbs through constant association with leaders who are proud of themselves and their organization, who care about their people, and whose dedication is unquestioned.
effective communication
In an era of communication through satellites and other sophisticated electronic devices, we sometimes still live in the nineteenth century in respect to the transmission of management directions to staff and line organizations. Misinterpretation or lack of communication creates confusion and delays the objective.
The question is, How does an organization solve the information distribution problem? One way is through effective managers. It has been said that the two most important qualities of a manager are baldness for a look of distinction and a slipped disc for a look of concern. In addition, managers at all levels must be visible to people in the organization, be accessible for problems and suggestions, and be sensitive to perceived as well as real problems. They must also insure that personnel understand what their responsibilities are and the necessity of fulfilling them.
A peasant leader once described his generals in the following manner: “There is nothing to distinguish generals from their subordinates except the star they wear on their collars. The uniform, boots, and helmets are the same. They live on rice they carry with them, fish they catch, and water from streams. They have no secretaries, no cars, no large bands to greet them, only victory damnit victory.” This may be a radical approach to leadership, but it does suggest that leaders must keep in touch with their subordinates and provide the cohesiveness that directs the team toward its objectives. Each person has a right and need to know that he is performing important and meaningful work. An effective manager must insure that personnel are treated fairly and equally, must work to impress subordinates as well as superiors, and must impose his authority judiciously.
There is a need to improve the accuracy of identifying personnel with behavioral skills needed for leadership positions. An individual’s performance on his current or previous job provides only limited evidence for predicting how well he might perform if selected for another type of position.
In addition to education and technical skills, institutions have been investigating other factors, such as interpersonal skills, control of feelings, passivity, and dependency, in search of effective managers. These studies yield data on such other factors as decisive action, courtesy and understanding, information acquisition, and casual informality.
Awareness of employee attitudes is an important part of systems management and can directly affect an organization’s future planning and present operations. Frequently leaders are too remote to be able to anticipate personnel attitudes correctly. Studies have shown that leaders are frequently unaware of personnel problems and may be engaged in addressing nonexistent problems.
effective organizational management
“And God created the organization and gave it dominion over man.”1 The traditional approach is to organize by cooping individuals in separate pigeonholes. In applying the systems approach to organizing, perhaps we should think of an organization as an aviary: individuals are allowed to interact within certain well-defined constraints. An organization is simply a means to accomplish a task, and it should not be too constricting or unwieldy.
Ancient man, millions of years ago, organized in hunting bands, camps, and tribes. They organized for a simple purpose, survival. Though today’s institutional objectives have become more complex, leaders are perpetuating some errors of human organization that would seem elementary to leaders of “primitive” tribes. The two most significant of the errors committed are loss of perception of organizational objectives and inadequate communications. Even though drawings, computer print-outs, and films are available, there is no substitute for talking to people and providing them instruction that cannot be gleaned otherwise. For example, a research study conducted by a consulting firm revealed that 25 percent of manned computer hours are being wasted as a result of idleness, rerun, machine maintenance, and downtime. Deficiencies observed included inadequate instruction, lack of internal controls, improper scheduling, and inefficient procedures for tape management. Most of the blame for these deficiencies was attributed to inadequate management communications.
behavioral aspects of leadership
The traditional approach to the behavioral aspects of organizing has been based on the assumptions that people hate work, have to be driven, want security, are not ambitious, and dislike responsibility.
The progressive approach is to trust people rather than control them. Instead of giving them functions and procedures and then checking what they have performed, give them power, resources, and an objective and let them choose the procedures for accomplishing the task. This modern approach is based on the theory that man is a wanting animal whose behavior is determined by unsatisfied needs. These needs form an internal hierarchy of values. In order of importance the hierarchy has five levels: body, safety, social, ego, and development.
Man is totally motivated by his level of hierarchy until that level is satisfied. This is one of the reasons why the fulfillment of valid, rational human need in a viable environment is becoming a matter of concern. In today’s society the majority of people have the first two levels satisfied. That is, most of us have enough food, shelter, clothing, and are fairly safe. Most individuals are in the upper three hierarchy levels. These levels of satisfaction involve more complex goals that may conflict with organizational goals. This has given rise to present-day theory that people do not hate work and do not have to be driven if their individual and organizational objectives coincide. This results in people’s committing themselves toward organizational objectives as a way of satisfying their level of the hierarchy.
In essence, man’s nature does not change much. So when large numbers of men become despondent, angry, corrupt, it is a good idea to consider that something is lacking within the organization, not within the men themselves.
Leaders must begin to address the hierarchy of human needs if they are to effect change efficiently. In addition, leaders must reduce resistance to change by ensuring feasibility, education, training, and participation. An organization must create an environment that is receptive to new ideas. Most people have virtual gold mines of ideas that only need to be properly tapped.
The human element is an integral part of a systems approach. In order to influence personnel attitudes and their effect on the objectives of the organization, one has to be aware of what they are. The responsibility for awareness lies with leaders. They must not become so remote that they lose touch with their personnel.
Effective communication probably contributes more to satisfactory behavior than any other organizational factor. Personnel must know their specific function and its importance to the overall objective. They must not be isolated and if possible should identify themselves with the organization’s objectives.
There are some effective methods of assuring that the human aspect does not create problems in an organization. Most important is that leaders be properly educated in the behavioral aspects of individuals. This can be accomplished not only at the various management and leadership schools but within the internal operating structure of the military. Since the principal training place for leaders is on the job, that is where the behavioral aspects should be addressed. Seminars, individual research, and practical applications greatly aid in comprehension of the behavioral aspects of management.
Participative management is another method that allows subordinates to identify with the objectives of the organization. While subordinates cannot, of course, take part in all decisions, perhaps they can be made aware of organizational goals and objectives through comprehensive organizational meetings and briefings.
Encouraging individual development will also improve personnel morale. Educational courses, seminars, and informative trips allowing individuals to broaden their knowledge will aid in satisfying their urge for development and subsequently will benefit the organization. Oftentimes education provides intellectual rejuvenation that challenges the individual to achieve his potential. This attitude is likely to carryover onto his job.
The psychological interface with physical resources is of extreme importance in the operation of systems involving human beings. This human element is the golden thread that slithers its way through an organization. If human beings are properly inspired, not demoralized by excessive constraints, and given the appropriate resources, then Max Weber’s “bureaucratic machine without friction”2 can be achieved through effective communication. If not, then, in the words of Voltaire:
When people believe absurdities
They will commit atrocities.
Rockville, Maryland
Notes
1. Robert Townsend, Up the Organization (New. York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1970), p. 20.
2. Rocco Crazo and John Yanouzas, Formal Organization, A Systems Approach (Homewood, Illinois: Richard D. Irwin, Inc., 1967), p. 27.
Captain Richard E. de la Menardiere (B.S., University of South Florida) is Personnel Subsystems Manager, A-7D Aircraft Program Office, Air Force Systems Command. Other assignments have included program management of bomb fuzes from research to production and attendance at the ATC Non-Nuclear Munitions Fundamentals Course and the AFSC/AFIT System Program Management Course.
Disclaimer
The conclusions and opinions expressed in this document are those of the author cultivated in the freedom of expression, academic environment of Air University. They do not reflect the official position of the U.S. Government, Department of Defense, the United States Air Force or the Air University.
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