MODULE 6: HUMAN RELATIONS APPROACH- HAWTHORNE EXPERIMENTS

Learning Objectives

In depth understanding of Human Relation Approach

Understanding of Hawthorne experiments and its findings

1. Human Relations Approach

The human behavior approach is the outcome of the thoughts developed by behavioral scientists
who look at the organization as collectivity of people. Since management involves getting things
done with and through people, the study of management must revolve round human behavior.
Also named as ‘human behavior’, leadership’ or ‘behavioral science approach, It concentrates on
the ‘people’ aspect of management with heavy orientation to psychology and social psychology
with stress on satisfying psychological needs and understanding psychological behavior of
people.

The main features of human behavior approach are as follows:

1. Since management is the process of getting things done by people, managers should
understand human behavior.
2. Emphasis is put on increasing productivity through motivation and good human relations.
3. Motivation, leadership, communication, participative management and group dynamics
are the central core of this approach.

2. Emergence of Human Relations Movement

• Classical Theories have assumed man as economic being driven by the fear of hunger and
there is no conflict between management and workers. Thus they have made work,
structure and monetary rewards as focal points to suggest various principles and practices
to improve effectiveness.

• In spite of the fact that academic disciplines like sociology and psychology have
strengthened the contribution of the classical theories, they did not achieve expected
production efficiency and work place harmony.
 • In fact the typical application of scientific principles, mental revolution, motivating
through rewards, stability of tenure, encouraging initiative, promoting team work
advocated by the classical theories have laid foundation for recognizing man in
organizations.

3. Elton Mayo & the Hawthorne Experiments

In 1927, the Western Electric engineers asked Harvard Professor George Elton Mayo (1880–
1949) and his associates to join the study as consultants. This began a relationship that lasted
through 1932 and encompass numerous experiments covering the redesign of jobs, changes in
the length of the day and work week, introduction of rest periods, hot lunches, and individual
versus group wage plans. Interviews were done to determine attitudes and analysis of the social
organization among workers. It was found that changes in the work environment had little long
term effect upon work productivity. Social norms or standards of the group, therefore, were
concluded to be the key determinants of individual work behavior.

3.1 The Hawthorne Studies:

The first Inquiry – without question, the most important contribution to the Human Relations
movement within organizational behavior came out of the Hawthorne studies undertaken at the
Western Electric Company’s Hawthorne Works in Cicero, Illinois. These studies, originally
begun in 1924 but eventually expanded through the early 1930s, were initially devised by
Western Electric industrial engineers to examine the effect of various illumination (lighting)
levels on worker productivity. Control and experimental groups were established. The
experimental group was presented with varying illumination intensities, while the control group
worked under a constant intensity.

The results were confusing. The engineers had expected individual output to be directly related
to the intensity of light. However, they found that as the light level was increased in the
experimental group, output for both groups rose. To the surprise of the engineers, as the light
level was dropped in the experimental group, productivity continued to increase in both the
groups. This is when the engineers concluded that illumination intensity was not directly related
to group productivity, but they could not explain the behavior they had witnessed.
3.2 Findings of the Hawthorne Studies:

Elton Mayo emphasized the recognition of human factor. He believed that both physiological
and psychological aspects influence human capacity to work. Mayo was considered as Father of
Human Relations Approach. The experiments were conducted by him and his associates Kurt
Lewin, Roethlisberger, Dickson, Lippet and White, Cock and French.

The Human Relations Theory was based on the following assumptions:

(i) People want to feel useful and important.

(ii) People desire to belong and to be recognized as individuals.

(iii) Esteem needs are more important than money in motivating people to work.

(iv) Managers should make each employee informed and listen to them and make them feel that
they are important for the organization.

(v) Managers should allow his subordinates to exercise self-control in certain routine matters.

(vi) Sharing information and participation in deciding the routine matters is a basic need.

(vii) Subordinates will be willing to cooperate when the basic needs are satisfied and they show
little resistance to change.

The findings of the Hawthorne Studies have been labeled as Hawthorne Effect.

3.3 Hawthorne Effect:

It is the phenomenon that employees work harder and perform better if they believe that the
management was concerned about their welfare and superior pays a special attention to them.

The Human Relations Theory has been based on a number of findings of Hawthorne studies
mentioned below:

(i) The level of production is set by social norms, not by physiological capacities of
workers.

(ii) Non-economical rewards and sanctions significantly affect the behavior of the
workers and largely limit the effect of economic incentive plans.

(iii) Often workers do not act or react as individuals but as members of groups.
 (iv) The importance of leadership for setting and enforcing group norms and the
difference between informal and formal leadership is highly relevant for
organizational performance.

(v) Working conditions i.e. illumination, noise, etc. do not influence productivity.

(vi) Complex attitudes determine productivity.

(vii) Group pressure is a stronger influence on employee productivity, than management

demands.

(viii) Rational economic man motivated by economic rewards should be replaced by the
concept of social man. A social man is motivated by social needs and relationships
and responds more favorably to them than to the management’s directions.

(ix) Behavior of a person and sentiments are closely related.

(x) People can exercise self-control.

The worker becomes the focal point instead of the job in Elton Mayo’s Human Relations
Approach. This theory has introduced new concepts in the understanding of the organizations.
This has made significant contributions to the understanding of people at work, people in groups
and people in organization.

Though organizations were considered as a group of people, classical theories have undermined
the importance of people. On the Contrary, the Human Relations theory laid emphasis on human
element. Attitudes, sentiments, beliefs, values, belongingness, esteem, respect, culture etc., were
considered as influencing factors of human efficiency. Obviously, all these factors are related to
psychology and behavior of persons working in organizations. Moreover, a number of elements
such as decision making, interpersonal relations, communications, motivation, leadership,
learning, etc. are influenced by human relations and behavior. For this reason it was generally
agreed that the Hawthorne experiments have brought a large and dramatic impact on
organizational behavior.

This approach talks about organizational behavior in vague terms and overstresses the human
factor in the organization. It ignores planning, organizing, and controlling. Psychological training
alone is not enough to become an effective organization / manager. Also, in terms of scientific
validity, the conclusions of the human relations theory are based on the studies conducted at
Hawthorne plant, Harwood Manufacturing Company, Glacier Metal Company and studies made
by the University of Michigan – the criticism is that the companies selected are not
representative of the industry to draw any generalizations.

****************