i\ I:t) o sophy

Professor Gl•orµr Flt on in I XX O I k ... 1u d1 cd 1'syd1ology and Philo h

\ 1 I ., ,yc ho log y at t e
_ :_ ' 'I I, '
(IL , l·tl11 v, ,111d p..
I . I . tu1c1 111 I Ol-
\) ',
i\ 1 \ ) \\ l., b11 I ll I II professor of
Prott:..,:,,lH l Itt,n i ., '
,
,,.., u I "V' tL .. 1cv ·1t cd to the rank of
d ,tt lk l h.· ll'llll'I l ock. Hi s
it t 111, l,....,,t, ,,1 \d 1 i l !YI I I .tll 'l \111 tC V' t1c;itm cnt of 'i hc ll·-<,h
.," '
I ·lnr 111 ·1l yt1 c
. ,1111 II
l n,,c, ,11, ,,t l)U l'1 '1h. 11 llll 'l'l l'II ll'', C,I IC l \Ill r:-. yc Ph ' • ol the Western F,lcctric Companyf
nt
Phd,,, 1 ,,,11, t IKi l' 11 1 I l
.
. ,tud, m the. 11 aw t 1
1o rne •
•1 ology 'IS we ll as
certain aspects o
1
th1
rl·, ,-.1r,h tind111p rom
• • 1 ,.
1111 md u~ tna l an d orga1111at 1ona psyc ,
tlm'" ltfhl
Sl'l 'H1 lt1f~ , .
rim rnt M ill ne ar Ph ilade lph ia . It was later
·'· Ea rl~ E\ .pr . .n a Te xti le e environmen. t
. . d sect or Th .
ted ea 1c h
his first resh ·ite was a highly organize
I . . ) m
~t aw co nduc over (a bs en tee ism
In 19~ 1
-· . . . . . Tl11s .. .
~ . he en era l labour turn
termed .is ·first mqull'y
for workers there was co
.
nd uc
.1esearc
ti ve . De sp ite thi s, ~ f
1 5 per cent per annu
ly 250 per cent. Various
m. Again in the
incentives
be ap pro x1 1n a. e yt
s estimated to
all the departments rtw.a nt the turnover was appro.x1ma. e however without much succes
s.
. d h '
muk-sp111111n g epa h me k rs to .unprove t e s1tua1ion , us
. d inn ing departmen~ from vario
;e~~ pro,~~~ E\~o~ ~~
: a: d his tea m stu die d the multi-sp
fat1~e ~r lack of
t wor~ers suffered from
d~e~::l~et 6~
the basis of his res ea rch ,
s a need of introdu
he fou nd
cin
tha
g res t pe no ds to t~e m: The mot1vatmg e~fec
k mto
t

adequate rest and there wa stu dy wa s co mp reh ensive_ m natur~. It too

ndous. Mayo's nts ~tc. ~y
of the scheme was treme , wo rki ng co nd iti ons, occasional _accide
, rest perio ds Textile Mill
account production levels to the wo rk ers , the management m the
resting pe rio ds It started a new
delegating the decision of be tw ee n ma na gement and workers.
l intera ction
set in motion the socia
beginning.
riment
4. Th e Hawthorne Expe happened to be one of
the
l Co mp an y at Ch ica go
Western Electrica favourable
The Hawthorne Plant of s rep ute d for be tte r working environment,
US. It wa m was reduced to
progressive finns in the . Bu t fro m the early 1920s, the fir
rious facilities change
wo rkings hours and va ge me nt of the firm att empted every positive
tivity. The mana d Classical
moderate level of produc by the Sc ien tific Management theory an
as sugges ted circumstance, the
to improve productivity ult we re no t sa tisfactory. Under this
but the res ion of
theories of organization rv ard Bu sin es s Sc ho ol to find out the solut
had approached Ha took this
management of the firm He nc e, El ton M ay o and his associates
productivity. n Relations
the problem of low
s of ex pe rim en ts an d put forward their Huma
ucted a serie are as follows.
responsibility and cond le stu die s of thi s Hawthorne experiment
on. The no tab
Approach to organizati
4-27)
ation Experiment (192
4.1 The Great Illumin ling telephone
fem ale wo rk ers wh o were engaged in assemb ol
1n this experiment, tw
o groups of t room and an~ther was a contr
On e wa s a tes
two separate rooms. e hypothesis was that
the level of
relays, were placed in el of pr od uc tio n. Th
to study the lev The control
room. The object was wi th the en ha nc ed degree of illumination.
ds positive ly two
productivity correspon n of the lev el an d the type with which the
constant illuminatio riodically in the test gr
oup's room .
group remained with s we re int ro du ce d pe
ental change s to mark the
groups starte d. Experim in the wo rk ing conditions. Its object wa
was eff ec ted
Then slowly a change so
,~tl("(l ,,1 1111 , l'hangC' on th;:- ,,111ru1 11,c rc,c:1rd1
\\l>rk con11nucd h•r two ycari;. ll was
<'~'t'f'\C'd that n-f.mll1..·, , ,, · lw k,1..•I ,,t 11lumin,11wn.
pr,,du l1 1on 1ncn:a,c<I in both the contro l
and t"\iX-nmcntul :-n•up, 1 he tindm g-, ,, ere a hit
~urpn ,ing. Then the re"l period s were
ddit-crntd, ultcn.·d C'h.mgc ,, ,\'- .1bo ctfretc<l in ,, a ge pa~
mcnt. durati on o f work, room
tcmp::.-rntu~. '11,.·,11J1t~ etc t(' .,~,I.''' tht>1r impact on product,,
1ty. Howe ,er. quite contrary to
th,· ,·, pcc'l.lt l'n' of the re:-earchen- . the groups kept a stead>
growth rate. The researchers
,1..'",' udt'd that the better commumcallon bet,,
een managers and ,, orkers dunn g the
-'•r,_..m11t''ll .md mcreased attent10n to the " orker· s situation by the research group
led to the
....,,:-iu, e re:--ult
-L ! Rela~ Assembl~ Study (1927 -1932 )
\\ 1th a , 1e,, to critically analysing the hypothesis on illum
ination theory- and assessing the
impact of , arie~ of factors on productivity, two new group
s were formed. It was based on
the rwo hypotheses which were proposed by the researchers
after the illumination study:
The ftrst hypothesis: Firstly. it was found that the indiv
idual wage enhancement
stimulated increase in the output.

The second hypothesis: Secondly, it was observed that positi

ve changes in supervision
methods improYed the attitudes and output.

In this study. the two groups were offered individual incen

tive on piecework basis. It was
observed that initially the total output improved whereas
it remained constant after a certain
period. The second group was placed on individual incentive
plan. Variations in rest periods
and duration of work and their impact on productive outpu
t were also studied. There was an
a\ erage rise of productive output over a period of 14 month
s.
The researchers did not confirm the first hypothesis. It was
found that .not wage but other
conditions enhanced output in both the groups.

In order to find out the validity of the second hypothesis,

working condition was made
more relaxed, conductive and cordial. Free and frank comm
unication was encouraged among
fellow workers and supervisors . Supervisors modified
their managerial practices. They
responded with the workers in a democratic manner. The
workers came to realise that they
were integral part in the productive system. lt led their respo
nse turning more positive.
It was observed by Mayo that work satisfaction largely
depends on the informal social
pattern of the workin g group . It was observed that
cordial techniques of supervision
positively impact productivity.

4.3 Human Attitudes and Sentiments (1928 -31)

Mayo and his team conducted another study during
1928-31. lt was related to human
attitudes and sentiments. For this, they interviewed 21000
workers and asked them to express
freely their opini on about the working conditions and the
polic ies of the ~ana geme nt. These
interv iews were more of an attempt to boost the morale
of the workers than collecting data
about the various probl ems faced by the workers. lt
was observed that witho ut proper
appreciation of the feelings and sentiments of the work
ers, it is difficult to delve deep into
their real problems. In the process, the resea rch team acqui
red new insight in unde rstand ing
the conce rns of the workers.
51
1 hr ,1u1h i1kntitinl 111.11111'- l thing~
ir,t ( l,lkctilln ot mfonnation about the problem:, faced by the workers crc~te a fo~ling
1 ' I 1· d I t rticipate in managerial decision
,1 l-~u.iht\ among the workers, smce t 1ey m p ace o pa
1
, n, Tlii, c1catc hope of improved working environment.
111,h..l g. ·
d managers and supervisors to
Sl·cond. the observation of the research team encourage
bcct,me 1110 re responsive to the problems of workers.
Third 1 was felt by the researchers for understanding the real problems o~the workers it
·1 d !'. 1· Th' · turn derive both from
~ necessar; 10 appreciate their sentiments an 1ee mgs. is m
1
emplo;-ee·s personal history and social situation.
4.4 The Bank Wiring Observation Study (1931-32)
This experiment involved a group of 14 men (9 wirers, 3 sol_di~rs, 2 insp~ctors) who _were
assiirned to do a wiring job which also included the job of sold1enng and fix mg_ the terminals.
\\'aies were paid on the basis of a group incentive plan and each member got his share on the
total output of the group. In contrast to their expectations, researchers found that the workers
were not reacting positively to the incentives. Workers fixed their own productive target
which was the lower than the target fixed by the management. There was an informal
consensus among the workers to maintain uniform rate of output and workers did not try to
increase or decrease production from the standard they agreed for themselves. Thus the
researchers uncovered an underlying group psychology and infonnal code of behaviour that
influences overall industrial productivity. Such behavioural pattern among the workers was
directly attributed to the deep seated distrust against the management. In this particular
experiment, the group used informal pressure to rectify the deviant members. The following
rules were framed:
• Too much work should be avoided. If one does so, s/he will be regarded as 'rate
buster'.
• Too little work should be discouraged. If one does so, s/he will be regarded as
'chiseler'.
• Anything negative about a fellow worker should not be reported to the supervisor.
• Nobody should attempt social distance or act in an officious manner.
Thus this study was very useful in highlighting the fact of intra-group forces in the working
of an organization.

5. Main Findings of Hawthorne Experiments

The ~awtho_rne experiment_s a~d subseque~t sh1dies were very important in highlighting the
workm~ of i_nfor~al organizat1~n a_nd socio-psychological factors as major determinants of
:-orker s satisfaction and or~amzatto~al _output. This study has led to the understanding of
importance of human factor m orgamzat1on and necessity of proper communication system
betw~en the management and workers. The findings of experiments of Mayo and his
associates can be summarized as below:
I. Social Factors in Output: The level of organizational effectivenes~ is determined not
by the official prescriptions but by the social norms. Workers are not mere cogs in the
52
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, l•"'"P 111t1m·m·,·: 111 th,· ,,,~.111, .1t1,,11,t1 ,,·11111r. ,,1111,,·1, 11111 111,·1,·h
:i, \ ,,11 11, 1,111 d,, ,1, m,·111b,·1 ,,r th,·
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11:,h, ,hul r.·h.1, 1,1111 llw p111dul.'ll\tl> ,,r,,1llk.l'1:-. l'\llll':> P\llldS 111 th,:-
:-.l,111d,11d 1hr
g'"\'t'l' ,1 ,,, !'fl" 1d,· p1,H,·,·t11111 ag,1111st ,·,,·,·utl\ ,. r,•1;tl1a1
1011s 111 th,·s,· ".i ys. tht·
"''1, ng ,,f tlw 111fon11.1I gn111p:-. s,1md111\\ 1111111 thr ,·,,·,·1111, L' p1i\\ ,·, .
d~ .ind gn,up
Rt'" :1rd, :111d S:111l'tionl1: \ 1111 ,·,·1111111111,· t\'\\ ,1nb s11l'11 ,ts :,.nrntl r,·\\ ,11
mn,·111,· 111 ul
:-. i.·11,,n:- .m· m,,r,· d)ixtl\ t' th.111 ,·1·1nwm11· 111,·,·1l11\l':,. fur th,·
,, ,,,h1,t1, 11,
if thl') 11r,· nbo
.. Sup,·n isit;n: Org.m1z,111t1n.1I ,1b_1t·ct1\'t'S bt·com,· an.· t·ptabk 11> "1irkcrs
thc·ir informal kackr is rnns11llt'1I. This net·t·ssilntcs
111, ,,[\ t·ti m dts,usswn and
to ensure
etl~·tt, e l',111111,unication and " illmgness on the part or management
r.:ut1,1p:H1,1n 0f the work.ers in decision- making.
ment for work
" Communication: Communication is key to de\'elop n better environ
n or nction
3.11J Jt?,et,,r ment of organization. The mtionality of a particular decisio
identify the
sh,mld t,e properly communicated to workers. t-.lanngement should try to
of workers
amruJes. social and psychological factors. and methods of Wt)rking
thn:iugh proper communication.
ti. Chester I Barnard"s Contribution to Human Relations Theory
ntion is Chester 1
.--\r:0ilier unpomm exponent of Human Relations approach to org:miz
The main fentmc'S
3!.c-nrJ.. whi,h is retlected in his work The Funcrions ofE.rerntii'e ( I 938).
o:· BJ.t,13.r"(f s theo~ of organization can be summarised as below:
"orldn g of
• Org:mr.zJtion as cooperatiw s:-srem: Coopemtion is necessnry for proper
en organization. lndi,·iduals ha,·e limired capacity 10 m:mag
e the affairs of
o~~a tion \\ithout !he cooperation of others.
informnl
• Formal and In.formal Organization: Barnard believed that fom1al and
srrucrure complement each orher in the proper functioning of the orgnnization.
should be
• Consem Theo~ of authori ty: .-\ccording to Barnard ·consent' or accept,mce
.,. is detenn
aurhoritv ined bv. the willino.::-
. Effectiwness of the
11:e basis of authorir.-.
ditions;
p:micipation of the subordinares. He has identified four essential precon
tibility with
.rtellig1b1liry. confonnit:- to !he purpose of the orgnnization, compa
nce of
.x-rsonal ,l)teresl5 and pb~sical and mental ability to comp!) behind the acceptn
?uthoricy.
between
• lnduc-emem-Contribmion balance: Bernard sought 10 bring equilibrimn
general!,
ror.uibution in an organization in terms of labour and satisfaction le\'el
- ·
calculated in terms of inducements and incenth es.
ne of nn
• Moral Re:,ponsib1lit:-. \!oral responsibilit:-· of e,e<:utiw fom1 the bal'kbo
orgamzauon.
• Communication· Success of am cooperoti\'e S) stem depends on pr\)pcr
commurucation nel\\vr,-.

53
1. Th\' F~M'ncc ol I h11111111 Rl'lation, i\ pp roach
\ 11"1. Hum,111 Rd,111011, lhrnr\, 111 ront1a~t to other classical theori es, vrews org.inr1at1on
I\\ 11' h,,h,tK ,,,c1al pn:..p1.:ct1\l' cmph,1s1s111g on the human ekrm:nt in the working of
1'T):!,\nl ~ ,II ll'll

::,,-n,nd thc Hum,m Rd,111011!> 1hco1 y believe:-. that each worker carries with him/ her
rnhur1· ,1\lm1dc hhl'f ,md wa) of life. Organ11at1011 should take prope·r cognizance of all
1h1·,, ,,,c1,,-rnltural faclor~. The :-,oci;1l and p~ychological factor~ arc responsible for
,,1,r\..cr· , pn,duct,, 11:, .ind job satisfaction.
1 hird. tlm theor:, ,dent dies the impact of informal groups on motivation and productivity.
FNu1h. 11 t'mphas 1scs on sense of belongingness among the workers and need of social
,,,lidant) man org:m1zat1011.
Fifth. Human relation theory discovers a new form of management; participative
management. which may reduce the gap between workers and management.

8. The Human Relations vs. Classical Theories

Like other Classical theories, The Human Relations theory acknowledges the importance of
·management· in efficient production, however, it differs in its basic approach to the
organization from the fonner. Organization is in fact a social system. In ad.dition to its formal
structure. n involves individuals and informal groups. The Human Relations theory is
regarded as a vital theory in relation to its impact on productivity. It is also called the 'neo-
classical theory' as it emphasises efficiency and regards productivity as the essence of an
organization. But this theory rely on different techniques to achieve desired objectives.
Though alike in terms of achieving objectives, Classical and Human Relations theory are
different in their approaches. The Human Relations theory attempts to eliminate the
dehumanising factors of the classical theory.

9. Evaluation of Human Relations Approach

The Human Relations theory brings a new perspective in organization theory by

acknowledging the importance of workers in their respective socio-cultural milieu. However,
this theory is also criticised on the following grounds:

1. Critics have pointed out several shortcoming of research meth9ds of Hawthorne

survey. It is argued that the sample size at the Hawthorne plant was inadequate. It did
not deal with the entire organization. Carey's criticism is based on the fact that small
groups of 'cooperative girls' do not indicate the general pattern. Inadequate samples
cannot help us to arrive at acceptable conclusions. The theory supports the old view
that monetary incentives, conductive working environment and discipline are the vital
impacting factors of productivity. According to Carey, the theory lacks scientific base.
2. Peter F Drucker is also a critic of this theory. According to him it docs not attach due
significance to economic dimensions. The Harvard group neglects nature of work. It
primarily focuses on inter-personal relations.

54