LESSON 11
HUMAN RELATIONS
CONTENTS
11.0 Aims and Objectives
11.1 Introduction
11.2 Human Relations Movement
11.3 Human Relations as a Field of Study
11.4 Understanding Human Behaviour
11.5 Communication
11.6 Types of Relationships
11.7 Let us Sum Up
11.8 Lesson End Activity
11.9 Key Words
11.10 Questions for Discussion
11.11 References
11.0 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
After reading this lesson you should be able to:
Understand human relations, human relation movements,
Know human relations as a filed of study and
Understand human behavior, communication and
relationship.
11.1 INTRODUCTION
Owners and managers of profit and non-profit organizations
define human relations as fitting people into work situations so as to
motivate them to work together harmoniously.
The process of fitting together should achieve higher levels of
productivity for the organization, while also bringing employees
economic, psychological and social satisfaction. Human relations
covers all types of interactions among people – their conflicts, co-
operative efforts and group relationships. It is the study of why our
beliefs, attitudes and behaviors sometimes cause inter-personal
conflict in our personal lives and in work-related situations.
One of the most significant developments in recent years has
been the increased importance of inter-personal skills in almost
every type of work setting. For many employers, inter-personal skills
represent an important category of transferable skills a worker is
expected to bring to the job. Technical ability only is usually not
enough to achieve career success. Studies indicate that many
people who have difficulty in obtaining or holding a job possess the
needed technical competence but lack interpersonal competence.
Human Resource
Management
11.2 HUMAN RELATIONS MOVEMENT
Problems in human relations are not new – co-operative
efforts carry the potential for conflicts among people. It is only within
the past few decades that management has recognized that human
relations can have considerable impact on organizational
productivity. During this period, the human relations movement has
matured into a distinct and important field of study.
Although it is difficult to pinpoint exactly when the human
relations movement began, most researchers agree that the earliest
developments emerged in the mid-1800s. In the beginning, the focus
was mainly on improving efficiency, motivation and productivity. But
over time, this research became more involved with redefining the
nature of work and perceiving workers as complex human beings.
Prior to the Industrial Revolution, most work was performed
by individual craftworkers. Generally, each worker saw a project
through from start to finish. Skills such as tailoring, carpentry or
shoemaking took a long time to perfect and were often a source of
pride to an individual. Under this system, however, output was
limited.
The Industrial Revolution had a profound impact on the
nature of work and the role of the worker. Previously, an individual
tailor could make only a few items of clothing in a certain time period;
factories could make hundreds. Employers began to think of labor as
