This early theory of organizational behavior focused on how jobs could be done more efficiently. The first task in scientific leadership was to determine the objectives of the organization. Next, performance standards were defined to replace the older rules of thumb. Workers were assigned to specialties, and managers believe that there was “one best way” to perform any given job, as determined by time and motion studies. Once the optimum method was determined, a standard time for job performance could be defined. Organizations then selected workers based on their fit to these new job requirements and trained them in the standard work methods. Managers carefully planned work to optimize the new processes and methods. Scientific Leadership required little thought on the part of the workers.

This approach was developed after a lengthy study of the Hawthorne plant of the Western Electric Company by a team of Harvard researchers. Although they had intended to study the effects of varying levels of plant illumination on worker productivity, the researchers soon concluded that significant human factors were also at work. The mere act of studying the workers produced an increase in productivity known as the “Hawthorne Effect.” These studies identified formal and informal organizations, and determined that group norms exert significant impact on worker performance.

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The decision-making approach focuses on the importance of decision making, which is a defined as a compromise between goal-oriented behavior and behavior that does not optimize goal achievement. Decision makers are bound by restrictions in the environment and often “satisfice”, choosing alternatives that meet only their minimum criteria for success rather than seeking an optimal solution.

The Neo-Human Relations School focuses on the structures of modern organizations. It gave rise to several famous theories, including Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, which suggests that workers are motivated to satisfy basic needs at five levels: physiological, safety, love, esteem and self-actualization. This school of thought also includes Theory X and Theory Y. Under Theory X, leaders must direct worker behavior and allocate rewards based on meeting organizational needs. Otherwise, workers will be passive or resistant. Theory Y, on the other hand, assumes that people are capable of assuming responsibility in the workplace, and that the job of leadership is to facilitate the achievement of individual worker goals through the achievement of organizational goals.

The systems approach measures organizational behavior as a function of input, processes within the system and output. A feedback loop allows modifications in the system when necessary. Subsystems that drive processing within the system include management, which coordinates the entire system, maintenance, such as clerical support, finance and human resources; boundary spanning elements, such as purchasing and sales; production, including manufacturing; and adaptive capacities, such as R&D, which is responsible for innovation.