Human Relations School

Human Relation School:

Human relation theory studies the behaviour of individuals and groups. It is the method of managing human beings. The organisation combines two elements, one is formal, and the other is informal.The formal elements can be defined as the structure of an organisation, and the informal is defined as the relation between individual workers.

Here we will discuss the theory of George Mayo, which introduces industrial psychology. He tells us about the importance of workers in industry and their relationship with management  The top management should prepare the standard operating procedure so the workers can easily understand their work.George Elton Mayo conducted some experiments in the Hawthorne Plant, an electric company, between 1924 and 1938. This experiment was done to understand the psychology of individual workers.

Elements of Human Relation Theory

• The focus of the organisation should be their workers instead of machines
• Motivating people is an essential element of human relations
• The motivation comes with teamwork and how they coordinate with each other
• The human relation should fulfil the objectives of individuals and organisations simultaneously
• Individuals and organisations should achieve maximum results with minimum inputs

The four experiments are:

• Illumination Experiment
• Relay Assembly Test Room Experiment
• Mass Interviewing Programme
• Bank Wiring Observation Room Experiment

Illumination Experiment: In the illumination experiment, they tested how the amount of light is impacting the productivity of the workers at the workplace. They divided the workers into two groups, one group exposed to a sufficient amount of light and the other with a lower amount of light.It is found that the productivity of the two groups was the same even the second group were not given the proper lights. This is because the second group has good coordination at work.It shows that illumination (amount of light at the workplace) did not directly impact the performance of the workers. But some other factors like motivation and behaviour of the supervisor impacts productivity.

Relay Assembly Test Room Experiment:

In the Relay assembly test room experiments, workers’ working conditions are changed. They are divided into different rooms with one supervisor to supervise their work.In this experiment, they reduced their working hours, the rest hours of the workers were increased, extra wages and incentives were also given to the workers. This experiment was a great success, and the improved performance of the workers can be seen in this experiment.Mass Interviewing Programme: In the mass interviewing program, they have taken a number of the interviews of the group of workers. They have taken interviews of around 20000 employees. So they can effectively understand the psychology of the workers.The interviews are done to understand the workers’ behaviour and their attitude towards their supervisor and towards the organisation.   It was a psychological experiment in which the workers were asked about their likes and dislikes at work. Due to this experiment, the workers thought the organisation was doing something for them.

Due to this, the workers started doing their work effectively, and productivity increased. Bank Wiring Observation Room Experiment: In this experiment, they put some workers in a particular room. Also, put one supervisor to watch every activity of the workers.The workers were given the task of assembling the telephone equipment. It consists of three processes: wiring, Soldering, and inspection.

Some findings of George Elton Mayo’s Hawthorne experiment:

• The factory is not only a technical unit containing machines but also a social group that contains workers
• There is a psychological bond between the group of the workers, and the workers’ behaviour depends upon this group
• Management of the organisation should understand the behaviour of this group of workers
• When they changed the working conditions of the workers, the productivity of the workers improved a lot
• The communication between the workers improved their performance and boosted their confidence to precisely finish their tasks

Some adverse effects of George Mayo’s Experiment:

• Human aspects are given more importance than economic aspects
• More emphasis is given to group decision-making
• More freedom is given to the workers. By giving them more rest times and reducing working hours

Some elements of George Mayo’s experiments are:

• Individual: It says that every worker has their unique skill and relationship with his work. Workers’ performance depends upon their interest in the work, not the physical and economic aspects
•  Informal organisation: It is a group of people connected at the workplace socially and professionally. In this, a social group influences the individual worker’s performance
• Participative management: This theory implies that the worker’s participation in decision-making is also an essential aspect of the growth of an organisation

Conclusion

The human relation theory, in this way, focuses on the formal and informal behaviour of the workers working in an organisation. It is found that the workers’ behaviour impacts the organisation’s productivity.