Modern foreign management theories are based on the scientific ideas of one of the main schools - psychological, which takes into account the role of interpersonal relationships and patterns of behavior. A major contribution to the development of the school of management was made by Elton Mayo. The School of Human Relations laid the foundation for new research in the field of management sociology, organizational psychology and management psychology.
Elton Mayo: biography (1880 - 1949)
Mayo Elton was born in Australia (Adelaide) in 1880 in the family of a real estate broker. Planning to inherit the profession of a grandfather who was a well-known surgeon, Mayo Elton has been studying medicine for four years in various educational institutions: Adelaide University, University of Edinburgh, and London Medical School. Interested in the humanities, in 1911 he graduated from the university with a degree in psychology.
Mayo Elton decided to devote himself to science and taught at the University of Queensland (Brisbane), then at the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia), and since 1926 - at the Harvard Business School (USA). For five years, Mayo Elton, as a professor and project manager, has been involved in field research funded by the Rockefeller Foundation. After retiring, he moved to England, where in 1949 Mayo Elton passed away.
Mayor Hawthorne Experiments
Of particular popularity in the scientific community were the experiments of Elton Mayo, which were carried out in Hawthorne at one of the leading enterprises - Western Electric in 1927-1932. The production process at the enterprise was organized taking into account the concepts of scientific management of Taylor and Ford.
The personnel management model was paternalistic. At the same time, employees had guaranteed pensions, sickness and disability insurance. Attention was paid not only to the creation of industrial infrastructure, but also to the construction of sports grounds, schools, shops, clubs, etc. The number of employees is 30 thousand people of different nationalities.
Research stages
The first studies in the framework of the experiment (1924-1927) were aimed at studying the effect of room lighting on labor productivity. The hypothesis of a positive effect of illumination has not been confirmed. At the same time, researchers drew attention to the fact that labor productivity changes under the influence of other side factors.
The second stage of the study (1927-1932) was called the Hawthorne Experiments, in which several groups took part: a relay collector team, a mica separation worker team, a typist team, and a male team that provided telephone lines, coils, etc. The choice of groups was due to the similarity of working conditions - the uniformity of operations, which required high accuracy.
The essence of the Hawthorne experiments
The participants of the experiment from the team of relay collectors initially measured their individual level of labor productivity. In the course of the study, a group of female workers was provided with various additional opportunities, working conditions changed, etc. in order to obtain data on what factors affect productivity. For example, the method of group encouragement was used, an additional break was introduced for rest, the time of weekly and daily employment was reduced, the health status of workers was strengthened, more attention was paid to the participants of the experiment by the company's management.
The listed means of influence contributed to raising the status of women workers and maintaining a friendly atmosphere in the team. Over time, a conflict arose between the two workers and the leader of the experiment, labor productivity began to fall. After the dismissal of these workers and the adoption of new ones in their place, productivity increased by almost 30%.
The organizers of the experiment suggested that the new workers, wishing to prove themselves and to recommend themselves well, diligently reacted to their professional duties, and the old workers, fearing dismissal, also began to work more productively.
The second brigade of pickers, the control group, also received bonuses for group work, while no other additional conditions were created for them.
The work of the brigade, which was engaged in the separation of mica, was paid in accordance with the individual piecework wage system. A group of typists received a salary weekly based on the results of individually completed work.
Mayo's role in experimental work
Mayo Elton received reports on conducting a series of studies as part of the experiment, described and interpreted the results, consulted the company's researchers, and acquainted the public with the results of the Hawthorne experiments. The company "Western Electric" paid for the work of Mayo in the amount of $ 2500 per year (1929-1933). At the end of the experiments, in 1933 Mayo published the scientific work “The Human Problems of Industrial Civilization”, which disclosed not only the results of research, but also covered the issues of social stability of industrial society.
Interpretation of the results by Elton Mayo
Analyzing the results of the Hawthorne experiments, Mayo Elton focuses on the psychology of work, the internal attitude of the employee, his satisfaction with the tasks performed, as well as the psychological atmosphere in the team and leadership styles.
Critics noted that Mayo did not pay enough attention to material incentives for labor. Speaking about social stability, Mayo notes that as a result of urbanization and industrialization, the society is undergoing a cultural crisis (anomie).
Mayo Theories
In general, the study of interpersonal interactions in the workforce and the individual needs of the employee, which laid the foundations of a new paradigm in management theory, began to be associated with the name of Elton Mayo.
The research results became the basis for the scientific substantiation of the concept of increasing labor productivity as a result of changes in intangible conditions. Unlike representatives of other theories that considered the relationship between productivity and wages to be fundamental, Mayo Elton suggested that the quality of the work performed is affected by the employee’s satisfaction with his position in the team, relations with the leader and colleagues.
Thus, increasing organizational culture, improving the interpersonal sphere are the key to effective management, as Elton Mayo noted. The Hawthorne experiments proved the priority of human influence over material stimulation in the management paradigm.
Social behavior concept
In contrast to the concept of economic man (Taylor), the concept of social human behavior was put forward by Elton Mayo. Management aims to increase productivity in the team. The labor collective, like any other social system, is distinguished by the property of non-compliance, i.e. the irreducibility of the properties of the system to the sum of the properties of its elements. Members of the labor collective, each of which is a person with their own interests, needs, goals, always form a unique social system.
Management techniques are aimed at making this system work efficiently. In each team they will be adjusted. But speaking generally, a control system based on authoritarianism can be short-lived and effective only under certain conditions. Human activity can be successful only if it meets his interests.