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Human Relations

HUMAN RELATIONS MOVEMENT In the late 1920s, Elton Mayo (1880–1949) and
Problems in human relations are not new—cooperative other researchers from Harvard University initiated what
efforts carry the potential for conflicts among people. It is have become known as the Hawthorne Studies at the
only within the past few decades that management has Hawthorne plant of Western Electric Company near
recognized that human relations can have considerable Chicago. The purpose of the investigation was to explore
impact on organizational productivity. During this the relationship between changes in physical working con-
period, the human relations movement has matured into ditions and employee productivity. Specifically, Mayo was
a distinct and important field of study. interested in the effect of different intensities of light on
employee output. In one experiment, ample light was pro-
Although it is difficult to pinpoint exactly when the vided to a group of six female workers. Later, the amount
human relations movement began, most researchers agree of light was significantly reduced, but instead of produc-
that the earliest developments emerged in the mid-1800s. tivity decreasing, as was expected, it actually increased.
In the beginning, the focus was mainly on improving effi- The researchers attributed the phenomenon to what
ciency, motivation, and productivity. But over time, this has since become known as the Hawthorne effect—
research became more involved with redefining the nature
employees who participate in scientific studies may
of work and perceiving workers as complex human beings.
become more productive because of the attention they
Prior to the Industrial Revolution, most work was receive from the researchers. This discovery became
performed by individual craftworkers. Generally, each important in the human relations movement because it
worker saw a project through from start to finish. Skills has been interpreted to mean that when employees feel
such as tailoring, carpentry, or shoemaking took a long important and recognized, they exhibit greater motivation
time to perfect and were often a source of pride to an indi- to excel in their work activities.
vidual. Under this system, however, output was limited.
The Industrial Revolution had a profound impact on HUMAN RELATIONS AS A FIELD OF
the nature of work and the role of the worker. Previously, STUDY
an individual tailor could make only a few items of cloth- Human relations is an interdisciplinary field because the
ing in a certain time period; factories could make hun- study of human behavior in organizational settings draws
dreds. Employers began to think of labor as another item on the fields of communications, management, psychol-
in the manufacturing equation, along with raw materials ogy, and sociology. It is an important field of study
and capital. because all workers engage in human relations activities.
Employers at that time did not realize how workers’ Several trends have given new importance to human rela-
needs affected productivity. As a result, few owners or tions due to the changing workplace.
managers gave much thought to working conditions, The labor market has become a place of constant
safety precautions, or worker motivation. Hours were long change due to the heavy volume of mergers, buyouts, a
and pay was low. labor shortage, closings, and changing markets. These
changes have been accompanied by layoffs and the elimi-
Around the turn of the century, Frederick Taylor
(1856–1915) and other researchers interested in industrial nation of product lines. Even those industries noted for
job security have recently engaged in layoffs. As the
problems introduced the concept of scientific manage- United States attempts to cope with rapid technological
ment. They believed that productivity could be improved
change and new competition from international compa-
by breaking down a job into isolated, specialized tasks and nies, there is every reason to believe that there will be more
assigning each of those tasks to specific workers. The volatility in the labor force. Interpersonal skills will be
development of scientific management coincided with the even more critical in the future.
revolutionary concept of mass production. Eventually it Organizations are developing an increasing orienta-
paved the way for the assembly line.
tion toward service to clients. Relationships are becoming
Taylor’s work was sharply criticized by those who
more important than physical products. Restaurants, hos-
believed it exploited workers. Employees were treated as a pitals, banks, public utilities, colleges, airlines, and retail
commodity, as interchangeable as the parts they pro- stores all must now gain and retain patronage. In any serv-
duced. Taylor thought that by increasing production, the ice firm, there are thousands of critical incidents in which
company would end up with a larger financial pie for customers come into contact with the organization and
everyone to share. Management would earn higher form their impressions of its quality and service. Employ-
bonuses; workers would take home more pay. He did not ees must not only be able to get along with customers,
foresee that his theories would be applied in ways that they must also project a favorable image of the organiza-
dehumanized the workplace. tion they represent.

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BUSINESS AND FINANCE, SECOND EDITION 367