The Social Nature of Human Beings

Human beings, since the very beginning of recorded history, have always been social in nature. Psychologists and sociologists teach us that this gregariousness, or the desire for group association, is the ultimate of man's needs. As such, this phenomenon of group response has probably been a major factor underlying the success of any economy. It is important that each and every business organization and the managerial personnel involved give due recognition to this tendency, although a great deal of research is still needed to discover how informal groups can best be blended into the formal structure to achieve optimum productivity and morale.

At the same time, it must also be recognized that individuals can become over- dependent upon particular groups, thus encouraging manipulation by a select few. Consequently, research effort must also be directed toward discovering "equilibrium points" whereby necessary employee identification can be achieved without making people over-dependent on their employer, to their own and the company's detriment.

Any successful business enterprise goes through certain stages of growth. As a company's size increases, more and more people are put on the payroll, new jobs are created, and additional departments are established. The result of this is that authority and responsibility relationships become increasingly complex, necessitating a more effective type of coordination than can normally be exerted by one person. At this point of time, it becomes necessary for management to determine just exactly what the formal, planned structure of the business should be to best accomplish its objectives.

Although it becomes mandatory to delegate authority in the large organization, this delegation does create human relations problems, often times very serious ones. For example, some employees resent the control their boss exerts over them, so they join union and to their best oppose him and make him look bad in his job. And if they do not resort to such direct action, more subtle and indirect means may be employed, such as restriction of output, willful damage to machinery, and disobeying of orders.

We are all undoubtedly aware that certain people have strong inner drives that motivate them to obtain positions of authority over others. Some researchers even claim this tendency to be necessary prerequisite for executive success. People will accept only so much control; beyond a certain point they will rebel against it.

It has taken many years for managements to realize that, besides being an economic institution, the business firm is equally as much as a social institution.