S03b - Reassessing Human Relations

Reassessing Human Relations

Human Relations • Rejection of money as central motivator of work behaviour • Denial of individualism • Assertions of worker’s irrationalism and moral dependence on management • Unworkable manipulatory techniques • Methodological, theoretical and ideological lapses

Reassessing Human Relations • Is prevailing understanding of human relations definitive? Probably not. • But Human relations is still often equated with the work and thought of Elton Mayo - Recognize these emerging social problems and to popularize attractive explanations and solutions for them

Disadvantage • Theoretical ideas come to diversify and change in social investigation • Will not leave much space to discuss human relations as a practical movement amongst managers (manager ideology)

Reassessing Human Relation • ‘Human relations’ and ‘industrial sociology’ were virtually interchangeable terms • Sociology approach into two main levels - Work group in an organization - Second level is society as a whole

Mayo and the Western Electric studies • • • •

Four phases The human factor phase The Clinical phase The authropological phase The manipulatory phase

The human factor phase • Approach comparable to British human factor industrial psychology • On relation between output and illumination • Lighting experiments (i) First Relay Assembly Group (ii) Second Relay Assembly Group (iii) The Mica Splitting Group

The Clinical Phase • Programme of interviews as a plan for improving supervision • At first, interviews were rather formal, relatively structured, and excessively to the point • Gradually, a more open-ended approach to interviewing emerged. • Finally, an interviewing technique close to therapeutic counselling was derived to explore these (social sentiments in depth)

The anthropological phase • A new research strategy, based on observation • Study the on-going social relations of a group of male workers

The manipulatory phase • Aim to increase the company control over neurotics and trouble-makers by giving depth interviews

Technique • Personnel counselling • Democracy and Freedom – social harmony • Work-groups • Reducing racism

• Any additional ideas from the floor?

Conclusion • Mayo did not conduct the Hawthorne studies • Adopt non-directive depth interviewing techniques as crude directive methods will not work • Formal organizations develop informal groups within them • The informal social structure has as much to do with the way the organization runs as does the formal structure.

Conclusion • Supervisor can be harsh or dictatorial in the company. • Many supervisor are autocratic (evidence by Roethlisberger and Dickson) • Learn the art of leadership and counselling • Skilful communications.

Reassessing Human Relations

The End