ELTON MAYO THE HAWTHORNE STUDIES

1. ELTON MAYOTHE HAWTHORNE STUDIES Studies carried out at the Hawthorne Plant of the Western Electric Company in Chicago between 1927 and 1932

2. HUMAN RELATIONS SCHOOL • Due to unrest caused by Taylor’s scientific principles in the 20’s and 30’s work was carried out based in the ‘human side’ of workers – not focusing on money • Elton Mayo was one of the main theorists involved.

3. Background on Mayo • Born in Adelaide, South Australia in 1880 • Died in Surrey in 1949 • Worked in Australia, UK and the USA on various projects and lecturing

4. History of the Hawthorne Studies • Background: Mayo wanted to find out what effect fatigue and monotony had on job productivity and how to control them through variables such as • Rest breaks • Work hours • Temperatures • Humidity

5. In the process…. • He found a principle of human motivation that would help to revolutionise the theory and practice of management

6. The experiment • 6 women from an assembly line • Segregated them from the rest of the factory • Put them under the eye of a supervisor (a friendly observer) • Made frequent changes to their working conditions • Always discussed and explained the changes in advance

7. The changes • Changed the hours in the working week and in the working day • Increased and decreased the number of work breaks and the time of the lunch hour • Occasionally he would return the women to their original, harder working conditions

8. The findings • Under normal conditions with a 48 hour week, including Saturdays and no rest pauses: • Team produced 2400 relays per week each

9. Findings during experiment • They were put on piecework for 8 weeks • Output went up • Rest pauses were introduced for 5 weeks • Output went up

10. Rest pauses were lengthened to 10 minutes • Output went up • Six 5-min pauses were introduced and the girls complained that their work rhythm was broken • Output fell very slightly • Return to 2 rest pauses the first with a hot meal supplied free of charge • Output went up

11. Group were dismissed at 4.30 pm instead of 5.00 pm • Output went up • They were dismissed at 4.00 pm • Output remained the same • Finally all improvements were taken away and the team went back to the conditions at the beginning of the experiment • Output was the highest ever recorded at 3000 relays per week per person

12. What happened during the experiment? • The individuals became a team and the team gave wholehearted co-operation with the experiment • They were happy in the knowledge that they were doing what they wanted to do • They felt they were working under less pressure than before • They were not pushed around or bossed by anyone • Under these conditions they developed an increased sense of responsibility which came from within the group itself

13. Mayo’s Conclusions • Individual workers cannot be treated in isolation but must be seen as members of a group • Monetary incentives and good working conditions are less important to the individual than the need to belong to a group • Informal or unofficial groups formed at work have strong influence on behaviour • Managers must be aware of these ‘social needs’ and cater for them to ensure that employees work with the organisation rather than against it

14. Moving On Human Relations School • The basis of the HR Movement is the use of social sciences to secure the commitment of individuals to the aims of the organisation. • This movement, although now considered simplistic, established the importance of social factors in the workplace.

15. THE NEO-HUMAN RELATIONS SCHOOL DOUGLAS MCGREGOR THEORY X AND THEORY Y

16. What is Neo-Human Relations? • The Hawthorne Experiments did not highlight how work practices and structure should be modified to improve worker satisfaction and productivity • In the 40’s it was realised that links between organisational design, motivation and productivity were more complex than first thought

17. DOUGLAS MCGREGORTHEORY X AND THEORY Y • McGregor, an American social psychologist, proposed his famous theory in his book • “The Human Side of Enterprise” • In his book he examined theories on behaviour of individuals at work , he has formulated 2 models

18. THEORY X ASSUMPTIONS(Authoritarian Management Style) • The average human being has an inherent dislike of work and will avoid it if he/she can • Most people must be controlled/threatened if they are to work hard • The average human prefers to be directed, dislikes responsibility, is unambiguous, and desires security above everything else • Similar view to FWT

19. THEORY Y ASSUMPTIONS(Participative Management Style) • Effort in work is as natural as work and play • Control and punishment are not the only ways to make people work man will direct himself if he is committed to the goals of the org • If a job is satisfying then the result will be commitment to the organisation • The average man learns not only to accept but to seek responsibility • Similar view to Mayo

20. Imagination, creativity and ingenuity can be used to solve work problems by a large number of employees • Under the conditions of modern industrial life the intellectual potential of the average man is only partly utilised

21. Manager has Theory X attitude toward staff No worker initiative Autocratic Manager has Theory Y attitude towards staff Workers are creative Workers given responsibility SO… managerial style can be seen as:- X MANAGERIAL STYLE Y

22. DIAGRAM THEORY X MANAGEMENT STAFF X Authoritarian and repressive style. Tight control, no development. Produces limited depressed culture

23. DIAGRAM THEORY Y STAFF MANAGEMENT Y Theory Y – liberating and developmental, control and achievement

24. Findings • McGregor sees the 2 theories as quite different attitudes

25. X • Can range from soft to hard approach • It is part of the managers job to exercise authority and there are cases when this is the only method that will get results • Much of behaviour in organisations reflects the Theory X view • X is limited and unrealistic and relies on authority as the primary means of control • Hard approach results in hostility, purposefully low output and hard union demands • Optimal approach would be somewhere between hard and soft – middle ground

26. The problem with X • X relies on money to motivate • Once the need for money subsides the drive for motivation is lost • Does not allow workers to reach higher levels of motivation as shown by Maslow

27. Y • Theory Y is difficult to put into practice on the shop floor • Level of maturity of staff will play a large part • Y can be used initially in the managing of management • Y is conducive to participative problem solving • Y will lead to higher motivation • Y can be seen in the successful Japanese Management technique - TQM

28. Implications for management • Decentralisation and Delegation can be used freely in a Y environment • Delayering and reduction in management levels – flatter structures • Job enlargement – broadening the scope of an employee’s job adds variety

29. Participative Management – consulting employees in the decision making process taps their creative capacity • Performance Appraisals having the employees set objectives and participate in evaluation

30. SYSTEMS THEORY

31. Story So Far • We have seen the Classical, Human Relations and Neo-Human Relations schools of thought. • All of these approaches are rather narrow and do not have a holistic view of the organisation • Systems Theory is an attempt to address this – introduced in the 60’s and 70’s

32. What is it? • Systems Theory argues that in any organisation everything is so interdependent that a small change in one part will mean changes in the other part • Often called the Open-systems approach it views any one organisation as an interdependent of a much bigger whole • That is with the internal and external environment

33. OPEN SYSTEM

34. The wider environment can include • Suppliers • Customers • Peer organisations • The environment then impacts on the business

35. The approach seeks to find the best fit from the elements in the diagram • Technical factors • Social factors • Economic factors • Legal factors

36. Summary • This approach to an organisation states that it is necessary to incorporate social and technical aspects of work if an effective system is to be incorporated • When technology is introduced social groups should NOT be broken up • This fragmentation will reduce motivation

37. THE CONTINGENCY THEORY A DEVELOPMENT IN THE SYSTEMS APPROACH

38. What is contingency theory? • “There is no single approach to organisational structure that will suit all organisations at any point in time.” • Contingency means ‘It depends’

39. Contingency theory tries to get the best fit between the task and the peopleand the environment they work in TASKS PEOPLE

40. 3 Factors to Consider • Strengths and weaknesses of the organisation • Objectives of the organisation • The external environment of the organisation

41. Management Approach • Using contingency theory a manager would be expected to • Develop an organisational approach that suits a particular situation • The approach will change in line with external factors • Within one organisation you may have a variety of approaches in different areas