Elton Mayo and Hawthorne Studies

A good number of sociologists and psychologists like McGregor. Likert, Munstcrbcrg, Simon etc. contributed to the development of Human Relations School of  Management  However Elton Mayo and Hugo Munstcrberg are considered' pioneer of  this school. But by far the most important conflict. butch to this-'school of thought was made by Elton Mayo and his associates through  Hawthorne plant of the Western Electric Company between 1927and 1932.

The findings of Mayo and his colleagues from Hawthorne studies led to the conclusion that a human/social element operated in the workplace and that productivity increases were as much an outgrowth of group dynamics as of managerial demands and physical factors. Another important suggestion that come from the Hawthorne studies was that social factors might bE as powerful a determinant of worker-productivity as were financial motives., Mayo found that informal work groups grew out of formal organization with their own leaders, influence systems. norms for appropriate behavior. and pressures for conformity to maximum and minimum acceptable levels of performance. 

Improvement of productivity, according to Mayo and his colleagues. is the result of such social factors as morale. satisfactory interrelationships between members of  a work group, a sense of belonging and effective management. It is this kind of management with an understanding of human behavior, particularly group behavior, that serves an enterprise through such interpersonal skills as motivating, counseling, leading and communicating.   This phenomenon." according to Wcihrich and Koontz "arising basically from people being noticed has been known as the Hawthorne effect."

The most important contribution of Hawthorne studies is that employees or workers are social beings, and work, in organizations is not merely matters of machinery and methods but also of fitting them into a social system resulting in a complete sociology-technical system. This led to the recognition of managers as people operating in a social system and they must have some knowledge or understanding of behavioral sciences as applied  to management. In other words Mayo and his associates underscored the need for a greater and deeper understanding of the social and behavioral aspects of management.

Critics of this school, however, point out that Mayo gave unreasonably heavy emphasis to the social or human  side as against organizational needs. It is also criticized an the ground that this facilitates exploitation of employees by keeping them satisfied and happy manipulating their emotions which in fact, serve the management goal of increasing productivity.