Intro of Elton Mayo

George Elton Mayo (26 December 1880 - 7 September 1949) was an Australian psychologist, sociologist and organization theorist. He introduced the Human Relation
School of thought, (Mayo is known as the founder of the Human Relations Movement )which focused on managers taking more of an interest in the workers, treating them as people who have worthwhile opinions and realising that workers enjoy interacting together. With all that Elton Mayo has done with his theories of management and how to motivate employees to be more productive it is not a surprise that Human Relations is usually considered the brainchild of Elton Mayo.

Personal; life and career

He lectured at the University of Queensland from 1911 to 1923 before moving to the University of Pennsylvania, but spent most of his career at Harvard Business School (1926 - 1947), where he was professor of industrial research. On 18 April 1913 he married Dorothea McConnel in Brisbane, Australia. They had two daughters, Patricia and Gael.

The University of Queensland, also known as UQ, is a public university located in Brisbane, Australia. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest university in Queensland and the fifth in the nation. Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers a full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive education programs.

Mayos contribution
Mayo is known as the founder of the Human Relations Movement, and is known for his research including the Hawthorne Studies and his book The Human Problems of an Industrialized Civilization (1933

What is Hawthorn effect: The Hawthorne effect is a form of reactivity whereby subjects improve or modify an aspect of their behavior being experimentally measured simply in response to the fact that they are being studied,[1][2] not in response to any particular experimental manipulation. The term was coined in 1950 by Henry A. Landsberger[3] when analysing older experiments from 1924-1932 at the Hawthorne Works (a Western Electric factory outside Chicago). Hawthorne Works had commissioned a study to see if its workers would become more productive in higher or lower levels of light. The workers' productivity seemed to improve when changes were made

and slumped when the study was concluded. It was suggested that the productivity gain occurred because the workers were impacted by the motivational effect of the interest being shown in them. Although illumination research of workplace lighting formed the basis of the Hawthorne effect, other changes such as maintaining clean work stations, clearing floors of obstacles, and even relocating workstations resulted in increased productivity for short periods. Thus the term is used to identify any type of short-lived increase in productivity.[3][4][5]

Elton Mayos Hawthorn experiments Elton Mayos team conducted a number of experiments involving six female workers. These experiments are often referred to as the Hawthorne experiments or Hawthorne studies as they took place at The Hawthorne Works of the Western Electric Company in Chicago. Over the course of five years, Mayos team altered the female workers working conditions and then monitored how the working conditions affected the workers morale and productivity. The changes in working conditions included changes in working hours, rest brakes, lighting, humidity, and temperature. The changes were explained to the workers prior to implementation. At the end of the five year period, the female workers working conditions, reverted back to the conditions before the experiment began. Unexpectedly the workers morale and productivity rose to levels higher than before and during the experiments. The combination of results during and after the experiment (ie the increase in the workers productivity when they were returned to their original working conditions) led Mayo to conclude that workers were motivated by psychological conditions more than physical working condition. He also concluded that workers were motivated by more than self interest and instead the following applied:

There is an unwritten understanding between the worker and employer regarding what is expected from them; Mayo called this the psychological contract.

A workers motivation can be increased by showing an interest in them. Mayo classified studying the workers (through the experiments) as showing an interest in the workers.

Work is a group activity, team work can increase a workers motivation as it allows people to form strong working relationships and increases trust between the workers. Work groups are created formally by the employer but also occur informally. Both informal and formal groups should be used to increase productivity as informal groups influence the workers habits and attitudes.

Workers are motivated by the social aspect of work, as demonstrated by the female workers socialising during and outside work and the subsequent increase in motivation.

Workers are motivated by recognition, security and a sense of belonging.

The communication between workers and management influences workers morale and productivity. Workers are motivated through a good working relationship with management

Mayos deep study of nontangible factors of motivation

Mayo could not have foreseen the social and personal awards the workers experienced as a result of management consideration, group affiliation, and special recognition. (Rieger, 1995, p 2) They did not see how much the increase of productivity would be do to the fact of human factors and not do to environmental factors. This help show that there was a stronger connection to the way that employees reacted to the way that their employer and management would deal with them and the problems that they had. A simple thing such as giving a employee a little reward for outstanding performance for a month or a year could help motivate other employees to want to do better so that they could have the chance to be recognized for their outstanding work. When they allowed the employees to work with groups or be affiliated with groups at work, they are able to make a difference. Even a small difference still made it so that the employees would be more productive because they knew that they were helping out others and that they would have the chance to be recognized in front of their fellow workers for the work that they have done.

Books of Mayo
The amazing thing about Mayo being able to adapt the Sociological theories to the studies was that he was only introduced to them in 1926 and he wrote his first book in 1933 called The Human Problems of an Industrial Civilization. He wrote the book after the Hawthorn studies were complete and he found that it was the social problems that was the problem with the way things were going in industries not all of the other factors that the Hawthorn studies was trying to prove. He then wrote another book in 1945 called The Social Problems of an Industrial Civilization and he wrote his third book in 1947 called The Political Problems

of an Industrial Civilization. In this book he pointed out the political problems that arise from a industrial civilization. Some of these problems could be corrupt officials and the regulations that industry has to comply with but never does.
Mayo, Elton, et al. Teamwork and Labor Turnover in the Aircraft Industry of Southern California. Vol. 32. Boston, Mass.: Harvard University, Graduate School of Business Administration, Bureau of Business Research, 1944. RDL HF5001.H33 no.32 Mayo, Elton, and Harvard University. The Social Problems of an Industrial Civilization. Boston: Division of research, Graduate school of business administration, Harvard University, 1945. BUS, DBW, HD6331.M42 (various editions, see below). Mayo, Elton. The Human Problems of an Industrial Civilization. 2nd ed. Boston: Division of research, Graduate school of business administration, Harvard university, 1946. BUS, DBW HD6331.M4 (various editions) Mayo, Elton. The Political Problem of Industrial Civilization.I. the Modernization of a Primitive Community. II. Change and its Social Consequences. Two Lectures Delivered at a Conference on Human Relations and Administration, Harvard University, Graduate School of Business Administration, May 10 and 11, 1947. Boston: Division of Research, Graduate School of Business Administration, Harvard University, 1947. BUS JC433.M35 Mayo, Elton. The Psychology of Pierre Janet. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. DBW BF109.J3M3 1972 (reprint of the 1952 edition) Mayo, Elton. Some Notes on the Psychology of Pierre Janet. Cambridge: Harvard Univ. Press, 1948. RDL R507.J3M3 Mayo, Elton. The Social Problems of an Industrial Civilization;; with an Appendix on the Political Problem. London, Routledge & K. Paul, 1949. KING'S HD6331.M3S6 (1949 ed.) KING'S HD6331.M3S62 (1975 ed.) Mayo, Elton. The Human Problems of an Industrial Civilization. Vol. C67. New York: Viking Press, 1960. BUS, DBW HD6331.M4 (1946 ed.) BRESCIA HD6971.M47 (1959 ed.) LAW HD6971.M39 1960 (1960 ed.) DBW HD6331.M4 1960 (1960 ed.)

For an essay by Mayo found in a book in the Western Libraries see: "Maladjustment of the Industrial Worker," Elton Mayo in the Wertheim Lectures on Industrial Relations - 1928, p.165. ARCC HD8072.W4 1929 For another see: "Supervision and What it Means," Elton Mayo in Studies in Supervision: A Series of Lectures Delivered at McGill University, Montreal, Jan.30, 1945 - March 20, 1945. p.5. BUS HF5549.C24 1945.

Mayo also provides the introduction to Industrial Peace in Our Time, by Hubert Somerville. HD21.S66 1950. Journal Articles by Mayo Available in the Western Libraries Mayo, Elton. "The Irrational Factor in Society." Journal of Personnel Research ,Vol.1, No.10 (1923): 419. Available in print and electronically Mayo, Elton. "Changing Methods in Industry." Personnel Journal, Vol.8, No.5 (1930): 326. BUS HF5549.A2P5 Available in print and electronically Mayo, Elton. "The Human Effect of Mechanization." The American Economic Review Vol.20. No1, Supplement, Papers and Proceedings of the Forty-second Annual Meeting of the American Economic Association (1930): 156-76. Available in print and electronically Mayo, Elton. "The Irrational Factor in Human Behavior. the "Night-Mind" in Industry." Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science Vol. 110. Psychology in Business (1923): 117-30. Available in print and electronically Mayo, Elton. "Irrationality and Revery." Journal of Personnel Research, Vol 1, No.11 (1923): 477. Available in print and electronically Mayo, Elton. "The Limits of Logical Validity." Mind 24.93 (1915): 70-4. Available in print and electronically Mayo, Elton. "Psychiatry and Sociology in Relation to Social Disorganization." The American Journal of Sociology 42.6 (1937): 825-31. Available in print and electronically Mayo, Elton. "Revery and Industrial Fatigue." Journal of Personnel Research, Vol.3, No.8 (1924): 273. Available in print and electronically Mayo, Elton. "Routine Interaction and the Problem of Collaboration." American Sociological Review 4.3 (1939): 33540. Available in print and electronically Related Mayo Material in Books in the Western Libraries (click on the links for additional details) Gabor, Andrea. The Capitalist Philosophers: The Geniuses of Modern Business Their Lives, Time and Ideas HD70.U5G33 2000 Hoopes, James. False Prophets: The Gurus Who Created Modern Management and Why Their Ideas are Bad for Business Today HD30.5.H665 2003 Pugh, Derek. Great Writers on Organizations DBWSTK HM131.P74 1993

Sheldrake, John. Management Theory: From Taylorism to Japanization HD31.S442 1997 Wren, Daniel. Management Innovators: The People and Ideas That Have Shaped Modern Business HC102.5.A2W73 1998

Criticism
mayo's contributions to management theory were criticized by celebrated sociologist Daniel Bell. Writing in 1947, Bell criticized Mayo and other industrial sociologists for "adjusting men to machines," rather than enlarging human capacity or human freedom. More recently, in 2003, James Hoopes criticized Mayo for "substituting therapy for democracy."

References
http://www.vectorstudy.com/management_gurus/elton_mayo.htm

http://www.learnmanagement2.com/eltonmayo.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawthorne_effect http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elton_Mayo