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GEORGE ELTON MAYO

Life, Credentials, and Major Contributions
In Human Resource Approach

Who is George Elton Mayo?

George Elton Mayo

1880 1949

- was an Australian born psychologist

- Industrial researcher
- Organizational theorist
- He was known as the Founder of Human Relations Movem
- He was known as Management guru for his research.
- Authored book Human Problems an Industrial Civilization
in 1933.
- Leader of the Hawthorne Studies
- WWII contributed to the Training within Industry program
for training supervisors
He lectured at the University of Queensland
from 1919 to 1923 and spent most of his career at
Harvard Business School where he was a professor
of Industrial research.

George Elton Mayo

CREDENTIALS:
Mayo has been credited with making significant
contributions to a number of disciplines including;

Business Management
Industrial sociology
Philosophy
andSocial Psychology

His field research in industry had made a

significant impact onIndustrial and Organizational
Psychology.
Mayo's work helped to lay the foundation for
thehuman relations movement.He emphasized that
alongside the formal organization of an industrial
workplace there exists an informal organizational
structure.

George Elton Mayo

Mayo recognized the

inappropriate of existing
SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT
approaches to Industrial
Organization, underlining the
importance of relationship among
people who work for such
organization.

ARLY RESEARCH / CONTRIBUTIONS

he mill had been experiencing a high rate of turnover

PHILADELPHIA TEXTILE MILL

One of Mayo's (1924) earliest research

efforts involved workers at a Philadelphia
textile mill.
The mill had been experiencing a high
rate of turnover. Mayo believed that the
repetitive work in the spinning department
gave rise to mental abnormalities in the
workers.
He found that the introduction of rest
periods helped reduce turnover. This
research helped make George Elton Mayo
more widely known in the U.S

He also stated that internal and external factors may

motivate a person to change or develop their actions.
Ex.
Internal Factors - a person might desire to learn a new
skill. This would reward the individual.
External Factors - sales target and incentives.

THORED BOOKS BY ELTON MAYO

HUMAN RELATIONS APPROACH THAT FOCUSES ON

THE PROBLEM OF INDIVIDUAL, PERSONAL
PROBLEMS
RELATING TO SATISFACTION AND DISSATISFACTION
OF A PERSON IN A WORKFORCE

HUMAN RELATIONS APPROACH THAT FOCUSES ON

INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL FACTORS IN SOCIETY
RELATING TO SATISFACTION AND DISSATISFACTION
OF A PERSON IN A WORKFORCE

Major contribution in Human Relations Approach

Theorist Elton Mayo suggested that motivation at work
was promoted such as;

greater communication
good teamwork
showing interest to others
involving others in decision making
ensuring the well being of others
ensuring work is interesting and non-repetitive

 Hawthorne Experiments
The Mayo Effect

Hawthorne Experiments

Aerial view of the Hawthorne Works

THE HAWTHORNE STUDIES

lumination Experiment (1924-1927)

urpose of the Study:

To measure the effect of various lighting conditions on the workers
ctivity. Experiment divided workers in to 2 groups

ypothesis: Higher illumination, productivity would increase.

p 1 Lighting condition improved and the productivity went up.
p 2 Lightning condition remained constant and the productivity increased.

t: Measured Light Intensity vs. Worker Output

Researcher rejected the hypothesis.
Higher worker productivity and satisfaction at all light levels.
(output showed upward trend even when illumination was gradually brought down to normal level)

worker productivity was stopped with the light levels reached moonlight
tensity
lusions:
light intensity has no conclusive effect in outpput
believe that productivity has a psychological component
concept of Hawthorne Effect was created

mination Experiment (1924-1927)

y Assembly Test Experiments (1924-1927)

Experimenters chose two

women as test subjects and
asked them to choose four
other workers to join the test
group. Together the women
worked in a separate room
over the course of five years
(19271932) assembling
telephonerelays.

Output was measured mechanically by counting how many finished

relays each worker dropped down a chute. This measuring began in
secret two weeks before moving the women to an experiment room and
continued throughout the study.

THE HAWTHORNE STUDIES

ay Assembly Test Experiments (1924-1927)

pulated factors of production to measure effect of output.

Pay Incentives
Under Normal conditions, w/ 48 H/wk,
including Sat, and no Breaks, output
Length of Work day & Work week
produce 2,400 relays a week each
Use of Rest Periods
Company Sponsored Meals.
ents started and constituted to a homogenous work group of 6 girls.
min. rest pauses, AM & PM were introduce for a period of weeks. Output went up once more.
auses were lengthened to 10 min. each. Productivity went up sharply.
he 2 rest pauses were reinstated, 1st w/ hotmeal supplied by the company free of charge. Product
min. pauses were introduced and complained raises that work rhythm was broken by the frequent
ell slightly.
e in working hours (instead of 5:00PM , 4:30PM then later 4:00PM) output increases
en all improvements were taken away and went back to the same conditions that they had at\
g of the experiment w/ no rest pauses, 48H/wk, no piece work
ions:
rkers output increased as a response to attention, feeling of being, importance, attention, cohesiv
ork, and non-directive supervision.
ong social bonds were created within the test group. Workers influenced by the need for recognitio
sense of belonging.

THE HAWTHORNE STUDIES

ass Interview Program / Experiment ( 1928-1930)

1. Conducted 21,000 interviews

2. Mainly the objective was to explore information w/c could be used to improve
supervisory training.
3. Initially used the method of Direct questioning and changed to non-directive.
4. find out more about how employees felt about their supervisors and working.
5. This is were interviewer were simply listening to what a workmen say

Result:

Test/interview showed that they liked talking about their family and social
issues beyond issue of work conditions and supervision. Workers were governed
by their experience obtained from both inside and outside the company. It was f
that merely giving a worker an opportunity to talk and express grievances would
Increase the morale.
Conclusion:
The findings confirmed that social organization of the company represents
a system of value s from w/c the importance of social factor of worker derives
satisfaction or dissatisfaction.

THE HAWTHORNE STUDIES

ass Interview Program / Experiment ( 1925-1932)

1925-1927 Objective Questions

Work Conditions
Work Relationships
Yes/No Answers

1928-1932 Conversational / Non-directive

Attentive Sympathetic Listening
Concern for personal needs
Increased in time from 30-90 minutes

Result Remarkable positive employee perceptions:

Working Condition Improved (no real changes)
Better Wages (no real changes)

Conclusions:

New Supervisory Style improved worker morale

Complaints reflected personal and/or social barriers that
needed attention in order to raise productivity

THE HAWTHORNE STUDIES

nk Wiring Observation Group ( 1931-1932)

14 Male Workers
consist of 9 wiremen, 3 soldermen, 2 inspector..
Few Special Conditions

Segregated work area

No Management Visits
Supervision would remain the same
Observer would record data only no interaction with workers

New incentive pay rate was established for the small group
Any increases in output would be included in departmental pay
incentives
Result No appreciable changes in output. Output was lower
than expected than what
company had determined.
REASON FOR THE OUTPUT:
* fear of unemployment
* fear of raising the standard
* protection of slower worker
* satisfaction on the part of the management
CONCLUSIONS:

Well established performance norms existed in the group

Informal social organizations protect workers from managers
who
Raise production standards
Cut pay rates

HLIGHTS OF HAWTHORNE EXPERIMENTS

ect relationship between worker productivity and physical factors

r can be motivated by psychological and social feelings, emotions and attitudes. Thus, economic incentives
only method to motivate people.
is considered as a group activity and not as an operation performed by an individual worker.
n social and social factors result in the overall growth and development of the human resource.

CISMS OF MAYO AND THE HAWTHORNE STUDIES

Dispute about Mayos role in the Hawthorne

Studies
Rejected as outmoded and simplistic
Argued that Mayo simply put together and
applied existing Sociological theories and
applied them to research.
Borrowed concepts from Emile Durkheim
Founder of the French school of sociology

IMPACT:

Elton Mayo Studies

Mans desire to be continuously associated in work with his fellows is a
strong, if not the strongest, human characteristic. Any disregard of it by
management or any ill-advised attempt to defeat this human impulse leads
instantly to some form of defeat for management itself.

Management need to :
Gain active support and participation from workers, while maintaining
managerial control.
Be patient with workers, listen to them, and avoid creating emotional
upsets.
Transfer of power to workers will only work if management knows their
workers and how
group dynamics work.
Encourage positive groups, discourage negative groups
Encourage insights, and suggestions from workers
Encourage co-operation, communication, sense of belonging.

REMEMBER THIS!

This PERSON see

SHIT, RUBBISH & GARBAGE

This GUYS see

A..HOLE,
REED (money, power)UNPRODUCTIVE, ABSENTEEISM, FEAR OF UNEMPLOYMENT,
FEAR OF SETTING UP HIGHER STANDARD FROM THE
COMPANY.
UNCOOPERATIVE, FEAR OF FAILURE

Sources of Information

Wren, Daniel A., and Arthur G. Bedeian. The Evolution of Management Thought. 6th ed. Hoboken, NJ: John
Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2009. Print.

"History of Management." ManagementGuru supports management studies and is maintained by

Dr.Makamson. Web. 16 Nov. 2009. <http://www.mgmtguru.com/mgt301/301_Lecture1Page10.htm>.

"Baker Library Chronicles Human Relations Movement." Harvard Business School. Web. 16 Nov. 2009.
<http://www.hbs.edu/news/releases/092407_hawthorne.html>.

"ProvenModels hawthorne effect - Elton Mayo." ProvenModels - Management Models | Management Theory |
Business Models | Michael Porter | Henry Mintzberg | Management Model | Business School. Web. 15 Nov.
2009. <http://www.provenmodels.com/6/hawthorne-effect/elton-mayo>.

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Elton+Mayo:+the+Hawthorne+experiments.-a0151189059

http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Elton+Mayo

END