THE HUMAN RELATIONS APPROACH (ELTON

MAYO AND HAWTHORNE STUDIES)

ELTON MAYO
HUMAN RELATIONS MOVEMENT
 Elton Mayo is considered to be the initiator of
(a) Human Relations Approach:
the Social Psychological analysis or Human
analysis in Organizational Management.  Mayo is rightly called the ‘Father of Human
Relations Movement’. His ideas were a
 Mayo’s theory is not only based on studies and
milestone and a turning point in human relations
experiments but at the same time, it came out
approach of the management. He recognised
with a novel analysis which became the subject
the importance of human beings in
of theorization for the later theorists such as
management.
Bernard, Simon etc.
 He said that human beings are complex and
 The human relations theory of management
influential input into organisational performance.
began development in the early 1920s during
The social and psychological needs of human
the industrial revolution.
beings cannot be ignored, if management wants
 At that time, productivity was the focus of
to enhance productivity.
business. Professor Elton Mayo began his
(b) Non-economic Awards:
experiments (the Hawthorne Studies) to prove
 The earlier theorists believed that workers will
the importance of people for productivity – not
work more if they are offered more monetary
machines.
incentives. Taylor was the main proponent of
 Elton Mayo was an Australian psychologist,
this approach.
sociologist and organisational theorist. Mayo
 Elton Mayo said that the techniques of economic
was the first person to plead for the
incentives were not only inadequate but also
understanding of workers' problems in the
unrealistic. He was able to show that humane
context of growth of science and technology.
and respectful treatment, sense of participation
 He wished the George Elton Mayo (1880-1949)
and belongingness, recognition, morale, human
management to understand the problems of
pride and social interaction are sometimes more
workers and make efforts to redress them.
important than pure monetary rewards.
HUMAN RELATIONS THEORY (c) Social Man:
 Mayo developed a concept of 'social man' in
 Focuses on individual needs and the resultant opposition to the classical concept of ‘rational
behavior of individuals and groups. man’.
 Presents the organization as a collection of  According to him, man is the centre of all
formal and informal elements. productive activities. It is the only active factor of
 Formal elements are related to the structure of production.
the organization.  He said that man is basically motivated by social
 Information elements are based on the needs and obtains his sense of identity through
interactions of individuals. relationships with others.
 He is more responsive to the social forces of the
ELEMENTS OF HUMAN RELATION THEORY informal group rather than managerial incentives
and controls. He also related productivity to a
 A focus of people social phenomenon.
 The organizational environment is not an (d) Organisation as a Social System:
organized social context  Mayo concluded that the workplace is a social
 Human relations are important in motivating system in which workers are influenced more by
people the social demands of the workplace than by
 Motivation depends on teamwork their physical working environment.
 Teams must fulfill individual and organizational  He opened that informal relations in the
objectives
organisation are more effective than formal
 Individuals and organizations desire efficiency
relations.
by achieving maximum results with minimum
inputs.  In Mayo's words, "an organisation is a social
system, a system of cliques, grapevines,
informal status systems, rituals and a minute of
logical, non-logical and illogical behaviour."
 Later, a number of management thinkers likes
Douglas McGregor, Abraham Maslow, Kurt
 Lewin, Chester Barnard, Rensis Likert, Chris exceeded the leverage exerted by the formal
Argyris and Warren Bennis from more formal organizational power structure.
behavioural science background developed an
approach which later came to be known as
behavioural science approach. FINDINGS OF THE HAWTHORNE EXPERIMENTS:
HAWTHORNE EXPERIMENTS The following were the main conclusions of Hawthorne
1. The Illumination Studies (1924-1927) studies:
 The illumination studies (conducted before the (a) Socio-technical Entity:
entry of Mayo and his research team) were  A factory is not only a techno-economic unit, but
designed to determine the influence of lighting also a social unit, where the social interaction
level on worker productivity. among its members is extremely important.
2. The Relay Assembly Test Room Experiment  This social characteristic at work plays an
(1927-1928) important role in motivating people.
 A number of changes were then introduced to  The output increased in Relay Room Test due to
this group, including incentive plans, rest effective functioning of a social group with a
pauses, temperature, humidity, work hours, and warm relationship with its supervisors.
refreshments. (b) Group Influence:
 Productivity went up in a wide variety of  The workers in a group develop a common
situations. psychological bond uniting them as a group in
 After more than a year of study, the researchers the form of informal organisation.
concluded that “social satisfactions arising out of  Their behaviour at work is greatly influenced by
human association in work were more important these groups. Pressure of a group, rather than
determinants of work behavior in general and management demands, frequently has the
output in particular than were any of the physical strongest influence on how productive workers
and economic aspects of the work situation to would be.
which the attention had originally been limited” (c) Supervision:
(Carey, 1967, p. 404).  Employee-centered leaders always tend to be
more effective than the task-oriented leaders.
3. The Interview Program (1928-1930)
The style of supervision affects worker’s attitude
 Although the goal of these interviews for towards work and his productivity.
20,000 employees was to learn more about  A supervisor who is friendly with his workers and
the impact of working conditions on
takes interest in their social problems can get
productivity, the interviewers found workers
co-operation and better results from the
more interested in talking about their
subordinates.
feelings and attitudes.
(d) Employee Morale and Motivation:
 Pugh and Hickson (1989) note that “[t]he
 Human and social motivation can play even a
major finding of this stage of the inquiry was
greater role than mere monetary incentives in
that many problems of worker-management
motivating and managing employee group.
cooperation were the results of the
 Mayo pointed out that workers were not simply
emotionally based attitudes of the workers
cogs in the machinery, instead the employee
rather than of the objective difficulties of the
morale (both individual and in groups) can have
situation” (p. 174).
profound effects on productivity.
4. Bank Wiring Observation Room Experiment
(e) Working Conditions and Communication:
(1931-1932)
 Productivity increases as a result of improved
 Observations revealed that the men
working conditions in the organisation.
developed norms regarding the “proper”
 Experiments have shown that the output
level of productivity and exerted social
increases when workers are explained the logic
pressure on each other to maintain that
behind various decisions and their participation
level.
in decision-making brings better results. This
 Slow workers were pressured to speed up,
calls for participative style of leadership.
and speedy workers were pressured to slow
(f) Balanced Approach:
down.
 It can be concluded that financial incentives and
 Mayo and his colleagues concluded that the
better work environment alone cannot increase
social group’s influence on worker behavior
the performance of the workers.
  Social and psychological needs of employees  Managers’ supervision over their subordinates
must also be satisfied in order to increase the has a great impact on employees’ performance.
productivity. This calls for a balanced approach A manager who supervises his employees by
to the management to yield maximum results. being friendly will get higher employee
motivation and productivity than a manager who
does not.
 He emphasized ensuring proper communication
CONCLUSION in the organization that must make understand
workers the logic behind the information and do
 Mayo and his colleagues instead turned to
the work efficiently.
explanations that revolved around the social and  Organizations run effectively and efficiently with
emotional needs of workers. a balanced approach. Every component of an
 First, these researchers concluded that worker organization should be discussed and evaluated
output increased as a direct result of the before making an important decision.
attention paid to workers by the researchers.
This phenomenon—whereby mere attention to CONTRIBUTIONS OF HUMAN RELATIONS THEORY
individuals causes changes in behavior—has
come to be known as the Hawthorne effect. Since human relations theory of management has given
 A second explanation proposed by the more importance to employees at the workplace we can
Hawthorne researchers is that worker output certainly see such practice in modern organizations
was increased through the working of informal where employees are motivated by different means.
social factors. Some of the human relations approach contributions can
 Although the Hawthorne studies may have been be mentioned below:
lacking in scientific value and interpretive rigor,
the sociological impact of the investigations  Human relations theory has stated money is not
cannot be underestimated. the only thing for employees’ motivation. This is
 The Hawthorne investigations served as a true now as vacation, fulfilling social needs,
springboard, moving organizational theorists recognition, family benefits, and different factors
from classical theories to human relations play a major role in employee motivation.
approaches.  Informal relations between managers and
 These studies also began to highlight the role of employees and between employees have further
communication, especially informal and group importance in setting and enforcing group
communication, in organizational functioning. efforts.
 Effective and friendly supervision of employees
has a significant role in employee morale and
productivity.
CONCLUSIONS OF HAWTHORNE STUDIES  Considering the view of lower-level employees
in decision-making has become essential today.
After the experiment, Elton Mayo had drawn the  An organization is a social unit that has become
following conclusions from his Hawthorne studies. unavoidable.

LIMITATIONS OF HUMAN RELATIONS THEORY

 He concludes that an organization is a social
unit. Workers are social beings. An organization
should have a social way to manage its workers Although the human relations approach has big
as society people maintain their society. contributions to the management of businesses it also
 Organizations have group influence in their has some drawbacks. They are:
operations. Workers develop different groups in
the organization, they develop psychological  It only focuses on interpersonal and employee
bonds between them and have a strong relations at the workplace and gives less focus
influence on each other. on work.
 Organizations now are formed in groups.  The overemphasis on employees’ welfare may
Managers should understand group practice as make them get more involved in outside
group efforts bring literally greater results than activities instead of organizational duties.
individual efforts.
 Mayo’s human relations theory gives stronger
favor to the motivation of employees not only by 1. How does the Human Relations Approach
means of finance but also through social differ from other management theories?
considerations, praise, recognition, and other
factors. Classical management theory and human relations
theory represent two views of management on the
opposite ends of the spectrum. One view focuses on THE RESULTS OF HUMAN RELATIONS
looking at workers solely as a means to get work done, MANAGEMENT THEORIES
while the other focuses on developing an organization
and the behaviors and motivations of employees. The result of the studies regarding human relations in
the workplace shows that people want to feel a sense of
Classical management theory involves creating multiple belonging and significance while being treated with value
levels of workers to improve productivity. While some and respect. If you treat an employee with that value and
components of the theory, such as designing respect, their individual productivity and quality of work
procedures for completing a task and keeping personal will increase to support the organizational team. [Read
issues out of business, help an organization focus on related article: Management Theory of Frederick
the job at hand, the theory fails to recognize the Herzberg]
differences among employees. Human relations theory,
also known as behavioral management theory, focuses
more on the individuals in a workplace than the rules, DEFINITION OF HUMAN RELATIONS
procedures and processes.

2. What role does communication play in the

Human Relations Approach, and how does it  Merriam-Webster defines “human relations” as
impact organizational behavior? the “study of human problems arising from
organizational and interpersonal relations (as an
Two-way communication is necessary because it carries industry).” That definition has translated to a
necessary information downward for the proper business approach focused on supporting
functioning of the organization and transmits upward the employees in their career development and
feelings and sentiments of people who work in the agency at work in addition to running a profitable
organization. It will help in securing workers’ cooperation company.
and participation in the decision-making process.
Workers tend to be more productive when they are given
the opportunity to express their feelings, opinions and
grievances. This also gives them psychological A human relations-centric approach to management and
satisfaction. business requires a special skill set on the part of
employers and managers. To effectively carry out a
human relations-focused workplace culture, five skills
are essential.
HOW MOTIVATIONAL THEORY FITS WITH HUMAN
RELATIONS IN MANAGEMENT

After the Hawthorne studies, Abraham Maslow and THE 5 HUMAN RELATIONS SKILLS
Douglas McGregor revealed how the motivational theory
While managers must have a vast array of skills, these
ties in with theories of human relations.
five, in particular, are essential to successful human
 Maslow suggested that five basic needs relations.
(physiological, safety, love, esteem and self-
actualization) are motivating factors in an
employee’s work values because the employee 1. Communication
is motivated to ensure the most important of
these individual needs are met.  Open lines of communication are essential to
 McGregor supported motivational beliefs by any workplace, but this is especially vital for
recognizing that employees contribute more to leaders practicing human relations
the organization if they feel responsible and management.
valued.  Effective communication helps ensure that all
employees not only are on the same page, but
Remember, human relations falls under the umbrella of also feel motivated and valued in their work.
human resources; therefore, the human resources This refers to in-person conversations as well as
theory is different from the human relations management written communication such as emails and
theory. social media.
 As a leader, you should be able to adapt your
language to various situations, such as by
modifying your word choice and formality for
high-level executives versus the customer base.
  One useful communication technique is  Strong negotiation skills are key to keeping the
mirroring the other person’s approach; people peace between two parties while reaching an
are more likely to respond well to those similar agreement where all parties are satisfied.
to them. Finding your common interests with Effective communication techniques such as
them and matching their tone of voice or mirroring and adapting your language to your
physical stance are great ways to subtly connect audience can also be useful in negotiations.
with your conversational partner.
5. Organization
A useful communication technique is mirroring the other
person’s approach; people are more likely to respond  Organization is one of the most important
well to those similar to them. human relations skills, as it impacts all other
areas of work. You must keep your physical
2. Conflict resolution workspace, as well as your workflow process,
highly organized.
 Managing individuals with differing personality
 This is especially important when you’re filing
types, worldviews and goals can make universal
paperwork or employee records because
agreement incredibly difficult, if not impossible,
everything must be completed correctly and on
to achieve.
time. Staying organized is also a key part of time
 Therefore, you must be comfortable and well management and an efficient workflow.
versed in conflict resolution. You will help your
team work together in a civil manner – even if As a leader, you must work efficiently and manage your
they don’t agree with each other on all points – time appropriately, especially when tackling multiple and
to ensure the work gets done in a timely often time-sensitive priorities, which is possible only
manner. when there is an organized process.

When dissent arises, you must be able to take individual Bottom Line
perspectives into account and make each person feel
heard and understood. Once you’ve synthesized the Communication, conflict resolution, multitasking,
presented information, you must work with all parties to negotiation and organization are all vital to human
come up with a solution where everyone feels relations. Leaders who develop these skills are on their
comfortable moving forward. While it’s impossible to way to successfully implementing human relations
make everyone happy 100 percent of the time, good management practices.
conflict resolution skills can maintain or restore team
harmony in the face of disagreement.
THE LIMITATIONS OF HUMAN RELATIONS
MANAGEMENT THEORY
3. Multitasking Though human relations management theory presents
new ways of supporting employees in the workplace, it
 Managers face countless tasks, questions and
has some limitations.
issues to solve on a daily basis. They are
responsible for themselves as well as the
success of their team, which means time spent
checking in with their team and ensuring things 1. Implementing the theory in large
are moving smoothly. organizations is challenging.
 When it comes to treating each employee as an
A good leader must be able to manage multiple, often individual, the task gets more challenging the
competing, priorities at once, without missing deadlines. larger your company is. While there are ways to
Another important aspect of multitasking is flexibility; as personalize each employee’s experience, a
a manager, you must adapt to policy or workplace large company should focus on the bigger
changes that affect your employees’ daily workflow. picture and look at employees from a broader
perspective.

4. Negotiation

Whether there’s an employment offer to navigate, an

agreement to establish between stakeholders and the
company, or just opposing viewpoints to manage,
negotiation happens regularly in the workplace. 2. Measuring human relations actions to
determine success can be difficult.
Although the human relations management theory is
useful, the Hawthorne studies were conducted in a
controlled environment, so measuring success was
easier in this situation than evaluating a real workplace.

A real-world organization may find it difficult to determine

whether implementing this theory into their daily
practices has led to any results since so much comes
into play when determining a business’s – and its
employees’ – success.

While they can conduct surveys and other forms of

measurement strategies, it would be hard for employers
to get a solid and unbiased understanding of how the
theory has been applied and changed their workplace
culture without observing all potential factors.

Though the Hawthorne studies place a heavy emphasis

on healthy interpersonal relationships, they aren’t the
only motivator for employees to increase productivity;
workplace satisfaction is another key factor.

3. Productivity comes from many

different sources.

While it’s important to highlight how humanizing

employees can lead to an improvement in productivity,
this change can also come from other sources, from the
company’s technology to its infrastructure to its
leadership. However, the Hawthorne studies focused
only on the importance of human interaction and not on
the overall work environment, which can affect one’s
experience.

Having employees who are dissatisfied in their current

role – whether it’s due to the work they’re doing, the
amount they are being paid or the tools they’re
mandated to use – may lead to lower productivity and, in
turn, strained interpersonal relationships that would not
exist in a workplace where the employee enjoyed the
nature of their work.