Human Relations
Ulla Eriksson-Zetterquist
Today
•  The Hawthorne studies
–  Pre studies
–  1926
–  1929
–  1931
–  Critique
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Barnard: The Function of the Exective
Motivation studies
Sociotechnical perspectives
Recruitment, HRM
The Hawthorne Study
•  Pre-study: illumination tests
–  a national research council and researchers from several
research companies performed a series of experiments to
determine the best lighting levels for worker productivity in
the Western Electric Company
–  change in lighting would increase productivity, decrease
the number of accidents and save employees’ eyesight.
•  1. three departments where they could measure
productivity under existing light conditions
•  2. employees of similar ages and with similar experience
were selected from one department and were divided
into two groups: a “test group” and a “control group”.
•  3. only artificial light
Conclusions
•  no connection between the light levels and
productivity,
•  suspects that psychological aspects
influenced the work
•  the light level seemed to be only one of many
variables that influenced the employees’
productivity
Part 1: the Relay Assembly Room
–  Were the employees really exhausted?
–  Were the rest breaks worthwhile, or was the productivity
higher with a shorter workday?
–  How did the employees feel about their work and the
company?
–  What effect did the change in the work tools have?
–  Why did productivity decline in the afternoon?
•  In order to obtain reactions from the women
that would be as normal as possible
•  requirement: work experience and were
interested in participating in the experiment.
•  The six women, five assemblers and an
assembly supplier, shared the work and had
certain supervisory responsibilities.
•  Observer: recorded that the women felt more
comfortable talking in this room compared to
how they felt in their usual workplace.
Tests
•  the researchers
emphasised to the
women that they
weren’t trying to
establish a
maximum
productivity level,
but wanted them to
work as normally as
possible.
•  1. no changes, estimates of
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effects of moving
2. group piecework, department
piecework
3. various forms of rest breaks
4. shortened workdays
5. no work on Satruday
•  Operator 1a was the least cooperative, and
this represented a potential danger to the
experiment. Operators 1a and 2a were on
friendly terms before the experiment started
and, sitting together in the Test Room, they
naturally shared and reinforced each other’s
attitudes, which steadily became less helpful
as time proceeded (Whitehead, 1938, p. 109)
Interpretation of results
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During the first two years of the
experiment, the assemblers’
productivity increased almost
constantly. The research
manager thought the
explanation was the changed
working conditions. Yet that
change could not explain the
improvement in the women’s
morale, evidenced by how they
helped each other when
someone had a bad day or that
work absenteeism had
decreased
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They also questioned the
women themselves about the
increased productivity. The
women responded that the
explanation was the rest breaks,
the snacks and the great
improvement in the working
conditions as well as the fact
that in the experiment they had
fewer kinds of telephone relays
to make (5 instead of 25).
The researchers didn’t listen to
these explanations since, first
and foremost, they saw the
women as inanimate research
objects.
Part 2 The Interview Study
•  Part 2: The Interview Study
–  a systematic study of the employees’ attitudes toward their
work environment and the company in order to learn more
about the influence these attitudes had on productivity
Preliminary analysis of interviews
•  In a preliminary analysis, the frequency with which different
subjects were mentioned in the interviews was investigated (for
example, absenteeism, ventilation, careers, the employees’
lockers and job monotony).
•  Here, the researchers found that the male employees were
more interested in economic matters and family security, such
as pensions and job protection, while the women employees
were more concerned with working conditions, such as
overtime, fatigue and social contacts.
•  Roethlisberger and Dickson (1939) attributed this difference to
the fact that traditionally men are the main family breadwinners,
while women are less financially dependent on their work and
want easier work in pleasant surroundings.
New model for interviews
•  To develop the interview method further, the research manager
turned to psychological studies (by Freud and Piaget) and to
socio-anthropological studies.
•  Taking inspiration from the methodology of these studies, the
researchers allowed the employees to talk freely about subjects
of their own choosing.
•  In one instance, an unsympathetic foreman, who required a lot
of overtime and was the object of many employee complaints,
was seen in a different light when an interview with him revealed
he had enormous personal pressure on him owing to his wife’s
severe illness following the birth of twins. Thus, in order to
understand the interviews, the researchers found it was critical
to look at opinions from such a broader point of view.
Results
•  Results difficult to analuse, but
–  Certain working conditions could be improved
–  Education of managers
–  Listened to complaines, and heard the creaking
and groaning of their own social structure
–  Interviewees’ comments related to both personal
situations, position and status in the factory
–  Groups attitudes
Part 3: The Bank Wiring Observation
Room
–  a spontaneous, social arrangement that functioned in
parallel with the formal organization of the company?
–  The employees also seemed to form social groups that
had very strong controls over how their members worked.
The foremen could not interfere with these groups because
of the risk of being disliked. Furthermore, there were
informal leaders who made each group’s external contacts
with the foremen, the engineers and the inspectors. These
leaders even taught new hires the acceptable norms at the
factory.
–  it became important to study these small groups
Test outline
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In order to observe the social behaviour of an existing group in a
changed environment, they tried to find people who had previously
worked together as a group and who could participate without changing
their group relationship
selected a group of fourteen male assemblers who were moved to an
observation room. Their work task was to assemble telephone
exchanges for large office exchanges.
The observer, who was required to create close relationships with
everyone in the group, needed to have good personal insights into
human behaviour as well as good objectivity
Results
•  the men did not understand how the
compensation system worked
–  They thought a day’s work consisted of each man
producing two telephone exchanges, a goal that
was significantly lower than management wanted.
•  the men knew precisely how much they
produced
•  the group’s managers were seldom there, and
when they were there, the group concealed
its work norms
Special rules
•  You should not turn out too much work. If you do, you
are a “ratebuster”.
•  You should not turn out too little work. If you do, you
are a “chieseler”.
•  You should not tell a supervisor anything that will
react to the detriment of an associate. If you do, you
are a “squealer”.
•  You should not attempt to maintain social distance or
act officious. If you are an inspector, for example, you
should not act like one. (Roethlisberger and Dickson,
1939: 522).
Results
•  two organizations that functioned in parallel,
the formal and the informal (Roethlisberger
and Dickson, 1939).
•  Question of the assumption that the
employees were primarily motivated by
economic interests, where their work
behaviour was logical and rational
Results
•  The Hawthorne Effect means that when employees are selected
and treated as special, productivity increases. A contributing
factor is benevolent management and humane treatment of
employees.
•  Informal groups influence the norms that relate to productivity.
•  Methodological research contributions were in many respects
regenerated. Researchers posed new questions and sought
new methods of researching and interpreting what they had not
understood.
•  The perception of the study’s methodology was that it was
certainly unorthodox, a perception that later was both praised
and criticised.
Critics
•  Reflections from readings
Criticisms
•  Superficial theory construction and naïve
methodology.
•  Disregard of industry’s overall problems and
favouritism toward management.
•  Indifference to the influence of the Great
Depression.
•  Indifference to the significance of gender
differences.
•  Gender aspect: women and men were treated
differently as research subjects
Motivation in work life
•  Content-oriented:
•  Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, McGregor’s Theory X and
Theory Y, Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory and Hackman
and Oldham’s Job Characteristics Model.
•  Process-oriented:
•  McClelland’s Achievement Motivation Theory, Vroom’s
Expectancy Theory, Adams’ Equity Theory, and Porter
and Lawler’s dynamic Expectancy Theory.
Challenging motivation theories
•  What does an employee want from work?
•  The aim of these studies was to fi nd a
universal pattern for how people were
motivated at work, and to determine which
actions followed different efforts.
•  criticized for not showing how particular
needs led to particular behaviours
Conclusions
•  Recruitment practices leading to employees
who will work well in the organization
•  Informal groups and benevolent management
•  Gender criticism
•  Motivation theory – a simplified view of
people?
•  HRM
•  Diversity issues