ARELLANO UNIVERSITY - PASIG

INDUSTRIAL/ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
PRELIM PROJECT

Elton Mayo
and
his Research

Submitted by: Darlene Jade Catchuela

Submitted to: Prof. Margarita Bauyon

Academic Year 2019-2020

Elton Mayo’s Biography

Elton Mayo (December 26, 1880 – September 7, 1949) psychologist, professor, and

researcher. He was born in Adelaide, Australia. Upon finishing high school, with excellent

grades, he decided to study philosophy at the University of Adelaide. Upon completion, he got a

position as a professor at the University of Queensland. But after a few years, he resigned to go
to a better job proposal at the University of Pennsylvania where he continued to develop his

research in various textile companies.

His studies focused on the importance of organizational sociology and psychology in

work environments. After a time he moved to the United States, specifically to the business

school of Harvard in 1926. It was there where he carried out his most important study: the

Hawthorne research he developed for 5 years. At the end of World War II, he moved to England

to meet his wife and daughters. There he began to collaborate with the British industry in the

recovery after the war.

In 1927, May undertook a pioneering socioeconomic experiment in the field of industrial

research. This study was named the Hawthorne Investigation, the name is due to the

Hawthorne electric company, where it was executed. During the investigation, several

temporary reforms were made in the schedules, salaries, breaks, lighting conditions and

degrees of supervision. All levels of the company were affected. The intention was to

determine, through observation, what would be the most favorable conditions to boost and

increase productivity.

At first, Mayo thought that economic stimuli would serve as a strategy to increase

employee efficiency. However, the results were surprising and contradicted the postulate. In

that sense, what caused the increase in productivity was the greater attention that was being

paid to employees. The results of that project published in 1939 by the associated researchers

F.J. Roethlisberger and William J. Dickson, in the book Management and the Worker caused
great surprise and astonishment. Actually, it was a discovery that revolutionized the thinking of

the presidents of companies and industry at all levels.

As of that moment, many companies changed their methods. Mayo was concerned to

capture their knowledge and research results. For this reason, he published in 1933 the human

problems of industrial civilization, for that moment it was a very important job, even today they

are still a text of forced reading. In this book, it is exposed that human relationships in the

workplace were generating a problem of social level in modern civilization. Although it is true

that industrialization accelerated production and promoted economic growth, that does not

mean, for May, that the living conditions of people have improved, even at a lower level.

It is clear to observe that Mayo had a clear political stance stating that the tension

between employers and workers would not be solved by socialism. For him, psychology was the

only tool that could contribute to the understanding and resolution of this problem. One of the

reasons why this Australian psychologist became so popular is because he demonstrated the

importance of social relationships within work environments. Although their theories have

been subject to re-evaluation and reformulation, they remain an important basis for studies of

labor relations.

Elton Mayo’s Research (Hawthorne Experiment)

The Hawthorne plant of Western Electric was located in Chicago. It had some 29,000

employees and manufactured telephones and telephone equipment, principally for AT & T. The

company had a reputation for advanced personnel policies and had welcomed a research study
 by the National Research Council into the relationship between work-place lighting and

individual efficiency.

Mауо’ѕ studies аt the Wеѕtеrn Electricity Company, Chicago is рорulаrlу knоwn as

Hаwthоrnе Studiеѕ. It wаѕ a rеѕеаrсh programme оf National Rеѕеаrсh Cоunсil of thе Nаtiоnаl

Aсаdеmу оf Sсiеnсе аt the Hawthorne Plаnt of Wеѕtеrn Elесtriсitу Cоmраnу.

In thе еаrlу 20th сеnturу, it wаѕ rеаlizеd thаt –

 There wаѕ a сlеаr-сut саuѕе аnd effect rеlаtiоnѕhiр bеtwееn the physical work,

environment, the well-being аnd productivity of thе wоrkеr. 

 Also, there wаѕ a rеlаtiоnѕhiр bеtwееn production аnd givеn соnditiоns оf ventilation,

temperature, lighting аnd оthеr рhуѕiсаl wоrking соnditiоnѕ and wаgе inсеntivеѕ.

 It hаd been believed thаt – improper jоb dеѕign, fаtiguе and оthеr соnditiоnѕ оf

wоrk mаinlу blосk efficiency.

So tо еѕtаbliѕh the relationship bеtwееn mаn аnd thе ѕtruсturе оf fоrmаl оrgаnizаtiоn, the

Hаwthоrnе Studiеѕ were соnduсtеd.

Thе studies were соnduсtеd in thе fоllоwing fоur phases.

 Illuminаtiоn Exреrimеnt (1924-27)

 Relay Assembly Test Rооm Exреrimеnt (1927)

 Bаnk Wiring Exреrimеnt (1931-32)

HAWTHORNE EFFECT INSIGHT

The Hawthorne effect — an increase in worker productivity produced by the

psychological stimulus of being singled out and made to feel important.

Individual behaviors may be altered by the study itself, rather than the effects

the study is researching was demonstrated in a research project (1927 - 1932) of the

Hawthorne plant of the Western Electric Company in Cicero, Illinois. This series of

research, first led by Harvard Business School professor Elton Mayo along with

associates F. J. Roethlisberger and William J. Dickson started out by examining the

physical and environmental influences of the workplace (e.g. brightness of lights,

humidity) and later, moved into the psychological aspects (e.g. breaks, group

pressure, working hours, managerial leadership). The ideas that this team developed

about the social dynamics of groups in the work setti ng had lasting influence  — the

collection of data, labor-management relations, and informal interaction among

factory employees.

The major finding of the study was that almost regardless of the experimental

manipulation employed, the production of the workers seemed to improve. One

reasonable conclusion is that the workers were pleased to receive attention from the

researchers who expressed an interest in them. The study was only expected to last
one year, but because the researchers were set back each time they tried to relate the

manipulated physical conditions to the worker's effi ciency, the project extended out

to five years.

Four general conclusions were drawn from the Hawthorne studies:

o The aptitudes of individuals are imperfect predictors of job performance. Although they

give some indication of the physical and mental potential of the individual, the amount

produced is strongly influenced by social factors.

o Informal organization affects productivity. The Hawthorne researchers discovered a

group life among the workers. The studies also showed that the relations that

supervisors develop with workers tend to influence the manner in which the workers

carry out directives.

o Work-group norms affect productivity. The Hawthorne researchers were not the first to

recognize that work groups tend to arrive at norms of what is a fair day's work;

however, they provided the best systematic description and interpretation of this

phenomenon.

o The workplace is a social system. The Hawthorne researchers came to view the

workplace as a social system made up of interdependent parts.

For decades, the Hawthorne studies provided the rationale for human relations

within the organization. Then two researchers (Franke, Kaul, 1978) used a new

procedure called time-series analyses. Using the original variables and including in the

Great Depression and the instance of a managerial discipline in which two

workers, with one who took the role of straw boss (see note below); they discovered

that production was most affected by the replacement of the two workers due to their

greater productivity and the affect of the disciplinary action on the other workers. The

occurrence of the Depression also encouraged job productivity, perhaps through the

increased importance of jobs and the fear of losing them. Rest periods and a group

incentive plan also had a somewhat positive smaller effect on productivity. These

variables accounted for almost all the variation in productivity during the

experimental period. Early social sciences may have readily to embrace the original

Hawthorne interpretations since it was looking for theories or work motivation that

were more humane and democratic.

Along with Frederick Taylor's  work, this study gave rise to the field known as

“Industrial Psychology” as social group influences  and interpersonal factors must also

be considered when performing effi ciency research such as time and motion studies.