MANAGEMENT SCIENCE AND

ECONOMICS
Elton Mayo: Focusing on Human
Relations
Elton Mayo (1880 – 1949), the “Father of the Human Relations Approach,”
led the team which conducted a study at Western Electric’s Hawthorne
Plant between 1927 and 1933 to evaluate the attitudes and psychological
reactions of workers in on-the-job situations. The researchers and scholars
associated with the Hawthorne experiments were Elton Mayo, Fritz
Roethlisberger, T. N. Whitehead and William Dickson. The National
Research Council sponsored this research in cooperation with the Western
Electric Company. The study was started in 1924 by Western Electric’s
industrial engineers to examine the impact of illumination levels on worker
productivity. Eventually the study was extended through the early 1930s.
The experiments were conducted in four phases.
 a. Illumination experiments
 
b. Relay assembly test room experiments
 
c. Interview phase
 
d. Bank wiring observation room experiments
Illumination experiments
These experiments, initiated by Western Electric’s industrial engineers, took place between
1924 and 1927. These experiments involved manipulating the illumination for one group of
workers (called the experimental or test group) and comparing their subsequent productivity
with the productivity of another group (the control group) for whom the illumination was not
changed. The results of the experiments were ambiguous. For the test group, performance
improved as the intensity of the light increased. The result was expected. However, the
performance of the test group rose steadily even when the illumination for the group was
made so dim that the workers could hardly see. To compound the mystery, the control
group’s productivity also tended to rise as the test group’s lighting conditions were altered,
even though the control group experienced no changes in illumination. Since there was a rise
in performance in both groups, the researchers concluded that group productivity was not
directly related to illumination intensity. Something besides lighting was influencing their
performance.
At this point of the Hawthorne Experiments, researchers from Harvard
University, under the guidance of Elton Mayo, were invited to
participate in conducting the next phase of experiments.
Relay Assembly Test Room Experiments
A second set of experiments took place between 1927 and 1933. In this phase,
researchers were concerned about working conditions such as number of work
hours, frequency and duration of rest periods. The researchers selected six
women for the experiments. These women worked in the relay assembly test
room, assembling a small device called an electrical relay. The participants were
informed beforehand about the experiments. In the course of the experiments,
a number of variables were altered in the room: wages were increased; rest
periods of varying lengths were introduced; the duration of work was
shortened. The workers were also granted certain privileges such as leaving
their workstation without obtaining permission. These workers received special
attention from the researchers and company officials.
Generally, productivity increased over the period of the study, regardless of
how the factors under consideration were manipulated. The Harvard
University group ultimately concluded that better treatment of employees
made them more productive. These experiments recognized the importance
of social relations among participants. Since there was no formal supervisor
(only the observer was present), the participants experienced more freedom
and a feeling of importance because they were consulted on proposed
changes. The researchers concluded that employees would work better if
management were concerned about their welfare and supervisors paid
special attention to them. One of the findings of the study was the
identification of the concept which came to be described as the ‘Hawthorne
effect.’
The Hawthorne effect is defined as the
possibility that individuals picked up to
participate in a study may show higher
productivity only because of the added attention
they receive from the researchers rather than
any other factor being tested in the study.
Interview phase
During the course of the experiments, about 21,000 people were
interviewed over a three-year period – between 1928 and 1930 – to
explore the reasons for human behaviour at work. All the employees in
the Hawthorne plant were interviewed. The generalizations drawn from
these interviews are given below:
1. A complaint is not necessarily an objective recital of facts; it can also be a symptom of personal
disturbance, the cause of which may be deep-seated.
 
2. Objects, persons and events carry social meaning. Their relation to employee satisfaction or
dissatisfaction is purely based on the employee’s personal situation and how he perceives them.

3. The personal situation of the worker is a configuration of relationships. This configuration consists of
a personal reference and a social reference. While personal reference pertains to a person’s sentiments,
desires, and interests, social reference pertains to the person’s past and present interpersonal relations.
 
4. The position or status of the worker in the company is a reference from which the worker assigns
meaning and value to the events, objects, and features of his environment, such as hours of work,
wages etc.
5. The social organization of the company represents a system of values
from which the worker derives satisfaction or dissatisfaction according
to his perception of his social status and the expected social rewards.
 
6. The social demands of the worker are influenced by social
experiences in groups both inside and outside the workplace.
 
Bank wiring observation room experiments:
These experiments were undertaken by researchers to test some of the
ideas they had gathered during the interviews. These experiments were
conducted during 1931 – 1932.
The fourteen participants in the experiment were asked to assemble telephone
wiring to produce terminal banks. This time no changes were made in the physical
working conditions. In the Bank Wiring Observation Room Experiments, workers
were paid on the basis of an incentive pay plan, under which their pay increased as
their output increased. Researchers observed that output stayed at a fairly constant
level, which was contrary to their expectations. Their analysis showed that the
group encouraged neither too much nor too little work. It seemed they had their
own idea of what “a fair day’s work” was and enforced it themselves. The test room
participants did not behave the way the ‘economic man model’ (this model states
that employees are predominantly motivated by money)predicted. Group
acceptance appeared to be more important to the worker than money. Thus, these
experiments provided some insights into informal social relations within groups.
Contributions of Hawthorne Experiments
The Hawthorne experiments, which laid the foundation for the Human
Relations Movement, made significant contributions to the evolution of
management theory. Some of the contributions are illustrated in Table
below:
 
Table: Elton Mayo and the Hawthorne Studies

Pre-judgments Findings
Job performance depends on the The group is the key factor in job
individual worker. performance.
Fatigue is the main factor affecting Perceived meaning and importance
output. of the work determine output.
Management sets production Workplace culture sets its own
standards. production standards.
Criticism of Hawthorne Studies
Hawthorne studies have been criticized on the following grounds:
 
1. The procedures, analysis of findings, and the conclusions reached were found
to be questionable. Critics felt that the conclusions were supported by little
evidence.
 
2. The relationship made between the satisfaction or happiness of workers and
their productivity was too simplistic.
 
3. These studies failed to focus attention on the attitudes of employees at the
workplace.