Human Relation Theory in Management - Elton Mayo, Lecture notes of Political Science

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Human Relations In Management: Elton Mayo Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi Paper: Perspectives on Public Administration Lesson: Human Relations In Management: Elton Mayo Lesson Developer: Vaishali Narula College/Department: Department of Political Science, Kamala Nehru College Human Relations In Management: Elton Mayo Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi Table of Contents Title: Human Relations in Management: Elton Mayo • Introduction -What went wrong with scientific theory of management - Why Human Relations Theory • Human Relations Theory -Characteristics of Human Relations Theory • Scientific Theory of management Vs Human Relations Theory • Life and Works • Early Experiments • Hawthorne Experiment -The Great Illumination Experiment - The Bank wiring Experiment - Assemblers Test Room Experiment • Observations • Criticism • Evaluation • In Brief • Glossary • Exercise/Practice • References Human Relations in Management: Elton Mayo Introduction The middle and the later decades of twentieth century in public administration was a period of concern for worker as an individual. This was the period when the human element in organization came to be defined as the most important factor in an organization and its working. The academic disciplines such as sociology, psychology and Human Relations In Management: Elton Mayo Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi Human factor is the most important factor in the in an organization and its activities of production. So, the management should have pertinent and basic knowledge of human behaviour. Human relations require an understanding of the behaviour of people, their knowledge and support. The main characteristics of human relations are: • Integrative Process: Human relations are an integral process by which individual and his work are made a part of the organization. So it is a co- operation of the achievement of interest of the organization as a whole. • Agreeable co-operation: The principal objective should be to secure willing cooperation of the employees. So the employees should be motivated to offer cooperation for achieving targets of greater, cheaper and better production How Is Human Relations Theory Different From Scientific Management Theory? The findings of the Hawthorne Experiments led to a clash between the Human Relations School and the Scientific Management School. HUMAN RELATIONS THEORY SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT  The Human Relations theory is based on the personalized human psychology of the worker and emphasized that man/woman does not work for money alone.  The Scientific Management theory is based on the mechanical rule based system of financial incentives.  It emphasized the catalytic roles of informal groups.  It emphasized on the standardization of formal system of rules.  It talks about maintaining open humane relations with the workers as the great motivating force.  It focuses upon financial incentives as the great motivating force for the workers.  It thought of workers as sentimental beings in close groups pursuing general rather than individual interests.  It thought of workers as isolated and unrelated beings pursuing their desire for higher wages to the extent of becoming neurotic. Life and Works Human Relations In Management: Elton Mayo Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi George Elton Mayo(1880-1949) was born in Adelaide, Australia. He was educated at Queen's School and Collegiate School of St. Peter. He had a chequered schooling and medical education which he left in between. Bored with medical education , he went to West Africa in 1903 and after returning he began to work a s journalist. He began to teach English at Working Men's College. In Edinburgh, he was associated with in a study of pschyo pathology. In 1910 he graduated with honours and in 1911 joined as a lecturer in the University of Queensland. He was appointed as the first chairman in the department of philosophy in 1919 where he was engaged with logic and ethics. Thereon he got the Rockfeller fellowship with the university of Pennsylvania and in 1929 joined the Harvard school of business Administration. It was here that he undertook the path breaking Hawthorne experiment. Throughout his life he was encouraged and supported for all his research and experiments by various institutes and universities. He retired in 1947 and moved to UK. As a tribute to his contributions Elton Mayo school of management was established in Adelaide.he is recognized as a progenitor of human relations movement. Following his work the later works focused on relevance of communication between workers and management. Value Addition- Know it better Human Relations Movement Human relations movement refers to the researchers of organizational development who study the behaviour of people in groups, in particular workplace groups and other related concepts in fields such as industrial and organizational psychology. Early Experiments Elton Mayo has carried out series of experiments to understand the physical, social and psychological problems which governed the working of organization. his studies concentrated on the fatigue, accident, rest period, production levels, working condition etc. He became famous when he studied the spinning department of a textile mill in Pennsylvania. The mill provided facilities to workers and the supervisors were humane, but the level of retention with the mill was poor. Mayo studied the problem of the department from various perspectives such as physical, social and psychological. He observed that that workers had to go up and down many Human Relations In Management: Elton Mayo Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi times so they were fatigued. A set of workers were to watch the thread spinning up and down which was monotonous. The peers were located far apart and the communication amongst them was not possible. The fatigue with work did not leave any time for any kind of social interactions. But the workers did not share this with the president who was a army colonel. When Mayo shared his observations the president encouraged rest period amongst workers with monetary bonus on achievement of target. All this led to rise in interest of workers, increase in turnover and morale improved. Here Mayo questioned the ' Rabble Hypothesis' which assumes that 'mankind as a horde of unorganized individuals actuated by self interest', was questioned. In this experiment that turnover was not the result of working condition but the emotional response which led to rise in performance of workers. He also that it was not monotony but isolated work conditions which led abnormal results and disinterest. Hawthorne Experiment Source: http://www.healthknowledge.org.uk//5 October 2015:6:30p.m Hawthorne experiment emerged from the exploration of the dimension of organizational behaviour perspective and modern theories of motivation. The Hawthorne experiment examined the interrelationship amongst the various variables and furthur to understand the difference they created in levels of motivation. The experiments were carried on for a period of seven years focused on difference in individual needs, willingness to listen, group norms, feedback etc. It comprises of series of three experiments. The research began in 1924. Human Relations In Management: Elton Mayo Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi informal association and incentives the workers followed certain norms. So the workers were divided into groups and the norms they shared: (i) The workers who produced too much "rate busters (ii) The workers who didn’t like work and did little work" Chiseller iii) Those who owned up against their co workers by sharing up with supervisor "Squealer". this showed that there were rankings within the group and had set standards of productivity for their members and standards were set within the group. Thus, the people in the group set the pace and flow of work. The results of Hawthorne experiment were published by Fritz Roethlisberger and William Dickson in' Management and the Worker(1941).'The experiment highlighted the influence of psychological, social and other intangible factors on productivity. The study revealed the impact of informal group and interpersonal relation on workers which contribute to worker satisfaction and organizational output. The human relations skill and the supervisor should work to effectively bridge the gap informal and formal organization. Source: http://essays24.org/12 october:15:1:30p.m Thus informal organizations with friendship groups and unplanned interactions can exist alongside the ' formal organization' as outlined in the classical management. The management should not work as economic automatons' but should encourage cohesion amongst each other. thus, promotion of a climate of good human relations where all groups 'usefully' function. Human Relations scholars, dismissed the centrality of the cash Human Relations In Management: Elton Mayo Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi nexus. Instead they emphasized workplace culture, interpersonal relations, and group cohesion as the determinants of worker performance. Mayo and his colleagues insisted that one should not miss the human aspect of an organization while focusing on the economic and technical ones. In addition to the technical skills the management should take care of the human situations, motivate, lead and communicate. may disagreed with the 'Rabble Hypothesis' and its over emphasis on techniques and material gains. Value Addition- Know it More Rabble Hypothesis The word "rabble" means a disorderly crowd; a mob. The "Rabble hypothesis" as a term was coined by the British classical economist David Ricardo. He viewed society as "nothing more than a horde of atomistic individuals each of whom acts rationally in pursuit above all else of their own self-interest." Mayo criticised it and said that cooperation rather than competition was as important. OBSERVATIONS On the bases of the three experiments Mayo and his team found certain characteristics in the industry. • Informal relation with workers interpersonal relationship amongst the workers helped. • It is not only the managers which were to form informal relationship with his team but were to also encourage informal relationship amongst the workers. • The workers should be treated as humans and not as cogs in a machine. • The workers and managers should work as a team. • The workers should be given an opportunity to share their personal peculiarities • Focus should be on creating of conducive situation • Spontaneous cooperation should be encouraged so that objectives of the organization can be achieved without any pitfalls. • Adequate communication system is important especially from workers to manager if organizations are to achieve their objectives These observations clearly show that the significance of the Hawthorne experiment was in discovering informal organization with spontaneous cooperation and adequate communication. Human Relations In Management: Elton Mayo Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi CRITICISM Mayo's study has been subjected to strong criticism where supervisors and informal relationship with them seemed to take the place of employee union. It was categorically stated that unions have a place in the society which has been overlooked. It is often described to be pro -management and anti -union. It was also outlined that conclusions were drawn from few studies which had various lacunae. critics like Carey said Hawthorne group in their first experiment selected the set of girls who were ready to participate in a research programme. The sample size was very small with a set of five girls and the technique of sample choice was also inadequate. The data supported views such as incentive and leadership as motivating factors for better output but the investigations missed on scientific base. There is no empirical relationship between: -Worker satisfaction and productivity (Schwab and Cummings,1970) -Leadership style and productivity (Hollander & Julian,1969) -Decision-making participation and satisfaction or productivity (Vroom, 1969) Peter Drucker has criticised the human relations theory for overlooking the economic dimension and instead has focused on interpersonal relation. So focus has been on sentiments and a neglect towards work and purpose. Mayo's idea has been described to be utopian as it is looking for a conflict free organization. This is unrealistic as in every human situation conflicts and tensions are inevitable. So the effort should be towards building up of social and technological dimensions and outlets away from working towards a conflict free situation. EVALUATION Human Relations theory encouraged the vision of human nature in organization. The contribution of Mayo's human relation theory is substantial to understand the industrial labour and organization. Human relations theory with its Hawthorne experiment is historic and a landmark in administrative thought. It promoted cooperation over competition and interdependence over individualism. The set of experiments by Mayo and his team set the path for social theories. The "new" theoretical framework focused on the social needs. The changing needs and the complex industrial society led to the theoretical framework where social ethic became important. It is important to understand that Hawthorne studies were conducted at the time of great depression as against Taylorism which arose at the time of competition, Human Relations In Management: Elton Mayo Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi 2. What is Rabble Hypothesis? 3. Discuss the Hawthorne experiments carried out by Elton Mayo. 4. What is Human Relations Theory. What led to the rise of Human Relations Theory? Exercise/ Practice 1. Along with Mayo the researcher who worked to understand the employees reactions to different physical environment was: a. F. W. Taylor b. Fredrick Roethlisberger c. Herbert Simon d. Max Weber 2. The set of experiments carried out by Mayo to study Human relations are popularly known as: a. Hawthorne Experiment b. Motivation Experiment c. Illumination Experiment c. Test room Experiment 3. The results of the Hawthorne experiment were published in the work titled: a .Motivation of workers b. Management and the Worker c. Business administration and Management d. Applied Human Relations 4. Elton Mayo conducted the Hawthorne experiment at a. General Electric Company b. Enterprises company c. Coal Mining d. Study of Society 5. In the Great Illumination experiment the changes in illumination led to: a. Little impact on output of test group b. Large impact on output of test group c. No impact on output The Experiment in which the workers had informal interaction with their supervisor and had time to interact with each other was the : a. The Illumination Experiment b. Assembler's Test Room Experiment c. Relay Experiment d. Bank Wiring Experiment Reference Human Relations In Management: Elton Mayo Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi • Nigro & Nigro(1984), Modern Public Administration: Harper & Row, NY, pp 153-155 • Muldoon, J. The Hawthorne legacy: A reassessment of the impact of the Hawthorne studies on management scholarship, 1930-1958. Journal of Vocational Behaviour, Vol.18 (1) 2012, pp.105-119. • Chakrabarty & Chand(2012), Public Administration in a Globalizing World: Theories and Practices: Sage India, pp74-81 • Overvold, G. The imperative organizational harmony: A critique of contemporary Human Relations Theory. Journal of Business Ethics, Vol.6(7) 1987,pp559-565 • Cecil, A. Economic Relations: Human Relations. Journal of Economic and Sociology, Vol.18(3) 1959, pp259-276. • Barmeld, T, Conceptualizing Human Relations, The Journal of Educational Sociology, Vol.23(6) 1950. pp 315-328 • Sarachek. B, Elton mayo's Social Psychology and Human Relations. The Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 11, No. 2 ( 1968), pp. 189-197 • Etzioni , A. Human Relations and the Foreman, The Pacific Sociological Review, Vol.1(1), 1958, pp.33-38 • Bhattacharya, M.(2013), New Horizons of Public Administration, Jawahar Publisher: Delhi • Sahni & Vayunandan. (2010) Administrative Theory. New Delhi: Prentice Hall of India. pp.295-309. • Miner, J.B. (2006) ‘Elton Mayo and Hawthrone’, in Organisational Behaviour : Historical Origins and the Future. New York: M.E. Sharpe, pp. 59-69