This article was downloaded by: [Griffith University]On: 03 May 2015, At: 08:45Publisher: Taylor & FrancisInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House,37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

Australian PsychologistPublication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/taps20

The managerial grid: A new approach in learning formanagerial peopleEric G. Brightford aa Brightford, Cochran and AssociatesPublished online: 28 Sep 2007.

To cite this article: Eric G. Brightford (1966) The managerial grid: A new approach in learning for managerial people, AustralianPsychologist, 1:2, 106-115

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00050066608256214

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the Content) contained in thepublications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations orwarranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinionsand views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of orendorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independentlyverified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims,proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arisingdirectly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content.

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematicreproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyoneis expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

Australian Psychologist Vol. 1 No. 2 November 1966 100

The Managerial Grid: A new Approach in Learning for Managerial People ERIC G. BRIGHTFORD Brightford, Cochran and Associates

The problem of formulating an effective concept of leadership has occupied the minds of industrial psychologists for a number of years now. Over the past fifteen or twenty years, a number of different theories have been published but few have met the task of providing an acceptable and understandable concept for practising managers, until the most recent formulation, which is known as the Managerial Grid. In their book, The Managerid Grid (1964). Drs. Robert R. Blake and Jane S. Mouton, formerly professor and associate professor respectively in psychology at the University of Texas, have provided a basis on which they have subsequently built both a training seminar of the laboratory type and also a much broader approach to changing organizational culture.

Many of the earlier approaches had a Lewinian origin. So did the concept of laboratory type of training in human relations (sub- sequently known as the T-Group or Sensitivity Training) which provided opportunities for self analysis in leadership behaviour. Subsequent research developed two major concepts. On the one hand were those expounded by the late Professor Douglas McGregor of M.I.T. (1960), in which he approached leadership on the basis of assumptions of why people work.

In the now well-known Theory X and Theory Y, McGregor set out a bi-polar approach. Managers either operated under Theory X, which implied that people dislike work, that they are basically lazy, that they derive little satisfaction from work, and therefore will only put forward adequate efforts if they are coerced, forced, controlled, and directed. The assumption here is that people do not want responsibility, basically seek security, and want to avoid work if they can. McGregor claims that this is the predominant belief of many practising managers. His alternative, Theory Y, assumes that work is as satisfying as play or leisure, that inherent satisfaction can be gained from work provided people are committed to the task. It also assumes that negative reactions to work are based on learning rather than inherent factors. Because so many organizations operate on

Dow

nloa

ded

by [G

riffit

h Univ

ersity

] at 0

8:45 0

3 May

2015

107 Tlar Managerial Grid

Theory X, human abilities are not fully utilized. McGregors book left a number of points unanswered. The concept of being an X-oriented or Y-oriented manager was found unsatisfactory by many people, as managerial orientations do not fall into this eitherlor category. In fact, McGregor was about to publish another work in which he would have indicated the X and Y approach as a spectrum- rather than an eitherlor concept, but this never eventuated.

Another approach, based on field studies carried out by the Institute of Social Research at the University of Michigan under the leadership of Rensis Likert, followed a more traditional Lewinian pattern. In his book, New Patterns of Management (1961), Likert analyzed the findings in a number of large industrial corporations and came to the conclusion that, although there were marked dif- ferences in the leadership behaviour of successful and unsuccessful managers, these could not as yet be sufficiently crystallized. How- ever, he did produce a further refinement of the authoritarian verses democratic type of managing styles and refers in his book to two sub-categories of authoritarian behaviour-namely exploitive and benevolent, and two sub-variations of the democratic style- namely consultative and participative. This then provides a scale where the exploitive authoritarian style of management produces the least satisfactory results in terms of utilizing human resources, whilst the participative democratic style produces the best results. Likerts studies also differentiate between various behavioural differences in managers, such as person-oriented versus job-oriented managers, and again those who allow their subordinates a consider- able amount of freedom as against those who maintain continuous pressure and supervision; but all of these can at best be described as significant aspects of managerial behaviour rather than an inte- grated concept.

Blake and Moutons approach is significantly different and eminently more practical. The grid is based on the concept that every manager is concerned with the organizational objectives for which he works and therefore must, by definition, have a concern for production, in terms of achieving these objectives. The word

manager and the word production can a t this stage be inter- preted in a very broad manner, as they are by no means restricted to industrial production or managers. The concept applies just as much t3 making decisions, producing policies, or professional services, and is equally applicable to industrial, academic, educational,

& &

Dow

nloa

ded

by [G

riffit

h Univ

ersity

] at 0

8:45 0

3 May

2015

Australian Psychologist 108

medical, or professional types of organization. By definition, a manager achieves production through other people and he must therefore have a concern for the people involved. Hence the two concerns, one for production and one for people, can be graphically presented on two intersecting axes, with the horizontal axis being the one for production and the vertical that for people. Both axes are, for convenience, numbered from I to 9, where I indicates a low concern and g a high concern. From this a grid can be developed (see Appendix) where there are in fact 81 points of intersection between the two concerns of any manager. Blake and Mouton primarily identify five points or Grid styles which are:

the I,I style, which represents minimal concern for pro- duction and minimal concern for people

the 1,g style, which represents maximal concern for people but minimal concern for production

the g , ~ style, which represents maximal concern for pro- duction and minimal concern for people the 5,s style, which is middle of the road in both areas of concern

the 9,g style, which represents high concern for production and high concern for people.

In addition to these five dominant types of grid styles, a number of others can also be identified. These can result from a swing from one to the other, such as a wide-arc swing from 9,1 to 1,9, which is typical of a paternalistic type of organization. Similarly there can be a style developing known as statistical 5,s where a manager chooses, almost at random, a different style of behaviour for each situation which will average out at 5,s but is not a consistent, and real 5,s style of behaviour. Various other combinations can also be explored.

Each manager has a dominant and a backup style. Although he may manage each situation in a different manner, there is a dominant style which he will consistently display. Occasions will arise when, being unable to obtain his aims, he becomes frustrated and searches for new methods, displaying his backup style. Thus the ideal type style of management is 9,9, butexperience shows that the most successful managers will use 9, I as a backup style. Others could have different backups and almost any style could be used. A third

Dow

nloa

ded

by [G

riffit

h Univ

ersity

] at 0

8:45 0

3 May

2015

109 The Managerial Grid

dimension can be described as thickness. A person may be a 9,9 manager, but this may be a very thin style and a minimum amount of frustration may bring up his backup style of 9,1. A thick style is able to persist under a great deal of frustration.

It is important to remember that the managerial grid is basically a conceptual framework only. Although numbers are used to facilitate communication between managers, it is not intended to become an accurate measuring device that can subsequently be validated. The purpose of the grid is to crystallize the different styles of management and to enable managers to gain self insight into their own behaviour, to set themselves goals of the style of management they wish to achieve, and to facilitate feedback from their peers and subordinates in describing their managerial behaviour.

Blake and Mouton provide in their textbook a detailed description of each managerial style as applied to a number of practical and realistic situations. One of these is the definition of conflict manage- ment. Each managerial style has its own way of dealing with conflict, e.g. :

9,rs approach is that of suppression I ,9s that of smoothing over I, 1s that of avoiding it 5,5s that of splitting and compromising 9,9s that of confronting, bringing out in the open, and resolving it.

Similarly there are examples given and described in terms of creativity, commitment, ways of dealing with subordinates sug- gestions, ways of handling performance review, approach to con- ferences and committees, and many aspects of managerial behaviour.

Most people have a somewhat exaggerated concept of their actual behaviour and tend to idealize themselves. Evidence from Managerial Grid laboratory seminars indicates that about 75 per cent of managers will rate themselves as 9,9 after they read the book but before they attend a seminar. At the end of the seminar only some 25 per cent of managers still rate themselves as 9,9. The difference between these two could be described as the index of self deception. To achieve a worthwhile change in managerial behaviour, the managerial grid laboratory seminar has been developed by Blake and Mouton.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [G

riffit

h Univ

ersity

] at 0

8:45 0

3 May

2015

Australion Psychologist 110

LABORATORY TRAINING METHOD

This has become well known through the work of the National Training Laboratories and such writings as those of Bradford, Gibb, and Benne (1964) and Schein and Bennis (1965). The central feature of this method (often referred to as Sensitivity Training) is that human relations can best be learned in the here-and-now situation, as distinct fiom the more traditional methods of case studies, theories, conference discussions, etc. In a laboratory situation, conditions can be established that enable participants to study their own behaviour and get immediate feedback from other participants, thus gaining awareness of their own behaviour and their effect on others. A laboratory is also an excellent way for teaching practical problems of group dynamics, communications, and decision making.

Although T-group type of laboratories have been going on for over fifteen years in the United States, the total number that have attended them is still relatively small and they have not made a major impact on the academic or the industrial community. One reason for this could be that even the best-run T-group can have some undesirable side effects. Being essentially an unstructured situation, participants can consider almost any aspect of behaviour and therefore get feedback on aspects of their personalities which sometimes have undesirable emotional impacts on them. The number of such side effects is probably very small, but they have been exaggerated, causing reluctance to participate in a T-group for fear of danger to mental health. From the purely industrial aspect, T-groups have also limitations in that they are an essentially personal experience, which it is difficult to either explain or imple- ment in the work situation. Some T-groups have been conducted within an organization but these have been relatively rare, and again without any major impact on organizational effectiveness.

Dr. Blake refers to such in-plant T-groups, conducted by him with a number of other behavioural scientists, at the Humble Oil Company. On evaluation of results it was found that individual managers claimed to have benefited, but the company as a whole had little to show for the substantial investment.

T-group training needs a highly skilled behavioural scientist at a ratio of about one in ten participants. This is a limiting factor in terms of cost and availability.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [G

riffit

h Univ

ersity

] at 0

8:45 0

3 May

2015

111 The Managerial Grid

The managerial grid laboratory seminar was designed to over- come these deficiencies and to develop new techniques in learning. A grid seminar is fundamentally different from a T-group, although there are some similarities.

A grid laboratory seminar is highly structured and is an almost completely leaderless situation. One of the reasons for the success of the grid seminar is that it is capable of being conducted by line managers for their own subordinates and is therefore both eco- nomical and effective. A managerial grid laboratory seminar, consisting of five days of highly concentrated learning of some fifty hours duration, preceded by about thirty hours of prework, can best be described as follows.

The basic framework is the managerial grid concept. Participants learn about themselves as managers, and not simply as people. Self evaluation and study of behaviour is restricted to their managerial styles and this prevents some side effects experienced in T-groups.

Learning is based on the dilemma-invention approach. As distinct from the more traditional forms of teaching, based on rewards or punishment, or didactic exposition, in this situation a dilemma is created which forces participants into problem solving behaviour and enables them, through feedback and objective measures, to evaluate the learning that has taken place. The greatest part of the fifty-hour week is taken up by planned and structured exercises, such as questionnaires, an inbasket exercise, film, and study of the textbook. Participants learn in teams of about seven or eight members, analyzing and observing how they solve problems, how they work together in a leaderless situation, how they com- municate and compare results with other teams. Once or twice a day teams meet in general session to evaluate results and after each such session there is a team critique of their own performance. These critique sessions encourage open and candid discussion and provide feedback to individuals very similar to that experienced in a T-group.

When teams have evolved sound working patterns, they assist each of their members in turn to reevaluate his own managerial behaviour as described on the grid and as observed by other members during the preceding days of the seminar. There is a measure of protection for each individual as it is he who assesses himself and is free to accept or to reject the comments of his colleagues.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [G

riffit

h Univ

ersity

] at 0

8:45 0

3 May

2015

Australian Psychologist 112

Another feature of a grid seminar is the absence of frequent par- ticipation by the teaching staff. Apart fiom a few brief lectures, the faculty staff restricts itself to monitoring the work of teams to ensure progress. Experience over hundreds of grid seminars indicates that very few teams get into difficulties requiring faculty intervention. Learning takes place as a result of individual observation, without this being spelled out for the participants. Post-seminar feedback, whether in Australia, U.S., England, or Canada, indicates that much has been learned about behaviour, impact on others, the working of small groups, decision-making, listening to each other, intergroup conflicts, and group loyalties. All of these have real application to everyday work situations.

ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT The managerial grid concept provides a realistic framework for

laboratory learning, but participation of individuals in outside seminars can only have a very limited impact on their organizations. Total application to an organization structure is fundamental to the use of the managerial grid. Blake and Mouton have pioneered a concept of organization development as distinct from manage- ment development. Sending individuals to training courses, however excellent, can only have an impact on the individual. It is rarely that this individual can effect a fundamental change of his organization environment based on such learning. More often, on return from the learning situation, the individual tends to conform to the organizational culture and its requirements, even if this is conflicting with what he has learned. Hence grid seminars should be conducted internally. Their highly structured and instru- mented nature reduces the need for skilled instructors. Research studies indicate a very substantial improvement, both in managerial attitudes and actual measurable productivity, in companies where Blake and Mouton type of organization development programmes have been implemented.

An organization development programme may take up to three years to achieve changes in the organization culture. A six phase programme has been developed for this purpose which consists of the following steps:

Phase I : The grid laboratory seminar. The one-week conference described above to introduce the manager to grid

Dow

nloa

ded

by [G

riffit

h Univ

ersity

] at 0

8:45 0

3 May

2015

113 The Managerial Grid

concepts and material, conducted internally on a diagonal slice.

Phase z : Work team development. This represents an on-the-job- extension of Phase I , but for teams of superior and subordinates.

Taken together, Phases I and 2 provide conditions which are designed to :

enable managers to learn managerial grid concepts as an organizing framework for thinking about management practices increase self-examination of personal performance increase willingness to listen, to face work-related conflict, to reduce and work out interpersonal frictions, and to reject compromise as a basis for organizational decision making build improved relationships between groups, among col- leagues at the same level, and between superiors and sub- ordinates.

Phase 3 : Intergroup development. This involves group-to-group working relationships and focuses on building 9,g ground rules beyond the single work group. Operating tensions that exist between groups are identified and explored by group members or their representatives.

The next three phases of organization development relate to long term planning and the improvement of the total organization.

Phase 4: Here an ideal organizational set up is designed, usually by the top management group, ignoring existing short- comings in terms of past practices, equipment, cus- tomers and other barriers to success.

Phase 5 : An examination of how the company can best achieve the ideal goal and what changes are essential and should be carried out. It can usually be delegated to a large number of task groups who study both the ideal model and the existing situation and come up with recommendations for improvements.

Phase 6: Largely a period of revision and stabilizing, to ensure that the progress that has been achieved in the previous five phases is not lost and that the momentum towards improvement is maintained.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [G

riffit

h Univ

ersity

] at 0

8:45 0

3 May

2015

Austrdian Psychologist 114

Currently there are some two to three hundred companies in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. engaged in various stages of organiza- tion development and several universities are currently carrying out follow up studies. The first of these was reported in theHamard Business Reviem, (1964), and several others will shortly be available.

REFERENCES

Blake, R. R. and Mouton, J. S., The managerial grid. Houston: Gulf Publishing Co., 1964.

Blake, R. R., Mouton, J. S., Barnes, L. B., and Greiner, L. E. Breakthrough in organization development. Ham. bus. rev., I 964, 42, 133-155.

Bradford, L. P., Gibb, J. R., and Benne, K. D. T-group theory and laboratory method. New York: Wiley, 1964.

Likert, R., New patterns of management. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1961.

McGregor, D., The human side of enterprise. New York: McGraw- Hill, 1960.

Schein, E. H., and Bennis, W. G., Personal and organizational change through group methods-the laboratory approach. New York: Wiley, 1965.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [G

riffit

h Univ

ersity

] at 0

8:45 0

3 May

2015

115 The Managerial Grid

High 9

8

A P P E N D I X

THE MANAGERIAL GRID ~ ~~~~ ~~

I I I i,g Management Thoughtful attention to needs of people for satis-

- fying relationships leads to a comfortable friendly organization atmosphere and work tempo.

Concern for

People

I I I I 9,9 Management Work accomplishment is fiom committed people; interdependence through a common stake in or- ganization purpose leads to relationships of trust and

I respect.

5,s M a n a g e k t Adequate organization - performance is possible through balancing the necessity to get out work

of people at a satisfactory level.

-I with maintaining morale

Exertion of minimum effort to get required

-work done is appropriate

94 Management Efficiency in operations results from arranging con- ditions of work in such a way that human elements interfere to a minimum degree. 1 I I I

I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Low Concern for Production High

Dow

nloa

ded

by [G

riffit

h Univ

ersity

] at 0

8:45 0

3 May

2015