Human Relations in

Concept and Practice

Mutia Ulfi 29014016

Regarding to a book of Daniel A. Wren, “The History of

Management Thought”

Outline

Hawthorne Study

HR: Reviewing the impact on teaching & practice

Extending &

Applying HR

Revisited

Organized

Labor

Seeds of Human Relations in Early

(before Hawthorne Study)

Humanists of the Renaissance

Rediscovery of the human being as a unit of study

Robert Owen

Workers as “vital machine”

Taylor

Individual development–Scientific Management

Hugo Münstenberg

Industrial psychology –responding the call for better understanding people at work

Whiting Williams

Industrial sociology –attention to people should be an organization function

14th – 17th 1771-1858 1856-1915 1863-1916 1878-1975

Hawthorne Study

Logical efficiency

Illogical sentiment

• Interpersonal relations

• Listening• Communication• Socio-human

skills for the manager leader

Smoothly

accepted?

Premises

• Bell

• Landsberger

• Fox

• McNair

• Knowles

Research Methods

& Results

• Sykes

• Carey

• Roethliesberger

• Franke & Kaul

• Schlaifer

Hawthorne Revisited

Hawthorne

Study(1924-1932)

Elton Mayo

Hawthorne Study: RevisitedPremises

Who? Assumptions Observed Criticism

BellNature of social industry & Mayoist view of social systems

Managed social system + adjustment --> human equation = industrial equation

HR style of supervision was to replace thinking about improving work itself

LandsbergerCommonality of interest could be found between labor and management

Instead of to eliminate conflict, the goal is better to provide healthy outlets

FoxWhen bliss was attained, higher productivity was the result

HR was not an "end", but it was the process

McNair Compartmentalizing knowledgeIt should be an integral part of managerial development

Knowles Compartmentalizing knowledge Better mix of managerial skills

Premises

Hawthorne Revisited

Hawthorne Study: Revisited

Hawthorne Revisited

Overall challenges to the basic premises of Mayoist:

• Accepted that worker could be manipulated to fit

into the industrial equation.

• It is assumed that cooperation and collaboration

are a natural, thus they ignored the more complex

issues in social conflict.

• Confused means and ends in assuming that the goal

of contentment and happiness would lead to

harmonious equilibrium and organizational

success.

Premises

Hawthorne Revisited

Hawthorne Study: RevisitedMethods & Results

Who? Methods & Results CriticismSykes (result) Money did not motivate The opposite result concluded by Hawthorne

Carey

Money did not motivate and friendlysupervision which motivate worker (result) Hawthorne experiments concerned about increasing

output through the view of economic incentives and the use of a firm hand in discipline

Cooperative workers were being selected in participating the project (method)

Roethliesberger(result)

The researchers concluded that supervision, not incentives, led to the increases

It was a conceptual scheme for finding out what the relations in particular organization at a particular place and time were, not what they should be

Franke & Kaul (result)

The researchers concluded that supervision, not incentives, led to the increases

What increasing productivity were the use of discipline, the economic milieu, and relief from fatigue; not supervisory style nor financial incentives

Schlaifer & Toelle (result)

The researchers concluded that supervision, not incentives, led to the increases

The passage of time alone was sufficient to explain the increased productivity

Trahair & Gillespie (result)

Equilibrium of logical efficiency and illogical sentiments

Mayo “manufactured” the Hawthorne findings in term of making it a base of his political & social theory

Research Methods & Results

Hawthorne Revisited

Hawthorne Study: RevisitedHawthorne Revisited

Overall challenges to the basic Methods & Results of

Mayoist:

• Economic incentives were played down as a contributing

factor as the Hawthorne Study proceeded and money

was indeed a contributing factor.

• It was not only supervisory style nor financial incentives

that increasing productivity.

• Science versus advocacy problem Mayo selected

perceived data to fit his social philosophy.

Research Methods & Results

Hawthorne Revisited

Extending & Applying Human Relations

Hawthorne study:

HR with supervisory

“flavor”

After Hawthorne

Study:

HR with interpersonal

relations“flavor”

Improving labor

management relations Lewin’s Center for

Group DynamicsChicago Groups

TavistockInstitute London

Harvard University

Chester Barnard

Institute for Social Research

HR in industries with focusing on field research method

HR with longitudinal and sociotechnical

system research

HR with case study approach

Organization = social system

Human assets

• Group membership• Intergroup relation• Social perception• Functioning group• Communication• Group production

Organized Labor & Human Relations

Premise

Was it?

The fact is…

• Hawthorne Studies had been concluded in 1932 which means organized labor had not made its great pace. It was more fair to said that Hawthorne Studies only considered low influence of labor.

• Despite that inaccurate conclusion, Human relations thought entered the revisionist period in 1950’s…

Organized Labor & Human Relations

Scientific managem

ent

Organized labor

Industrial Human

Relations

Background:

There was a conflict between labor and management in dividing the surplus

The answer to industrial conflict was by overcoming the conflicting interest and ideologies of management and workers (organized labor)

Morris Cooke

(1878-1975)

Robert Valentine

(1872-1916)

Wages & Work Hour51%

Union Organizing

Drives21%

Other28%

WORK STOPPAGES REASON IN 1920-1929

Wages & Work Hour

31%Union Organizing

Drives53%

Other16%

WORK STOPPAGES REASON IN 1935-1939

Wages & Work Hour

21%Union

Organizing Drives34%

Other45%

WORK STOPPAGES REASON IN 1930-1934

1940’s – Early 1950’sFeelings of people became more concerned rather than logic of organization such as charts, rules, and directives.

Human Relations: intangibleHuman relations skill: worker = center of attention

Conclusion

Human Relations

Human Relations

• Though it was got many criticism in revisit, Hawthorne Study was the beginning for formal Human Relations concept brought by academia (Harvard & MIT).

• In Human Relations’ concept and practice, trust is a crucial thing in building the interpersonal relationship.

• Financial incentives had to be included in seeking productivity gains

• The major difference between the human relations era and organizational behavior is the theme (including feelings, sentiments, and collaboration) which is in contrast with scientific investigation.

Scientific management

Industrial psychology

Industrial sociology

Interpersonal relations

Industrial human relations