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Elton Mayo Human Relations School of Thought | Theory of Motivation | Hawthorne Experiment | - YouTube
Channel: Two Teachers
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There’s a number of famous motivational theorists
and Elton Mayo is one of them, he developed a
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theory of motivation named the Human Relations
School of Thought after conducting an experiment
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with employees at a factory in Illinois.
Let’s take a look at what it’s all about
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and why a business should consider the theory
when attempting to motivate their employees.
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First of all, it’s very important to acknowledge
that Elton Mayo was a supporter of Frederick
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Taylor’s theory of motivation, known as Scientific
Management or Taylorism, within which Taylor
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suggests employees are mainly motivated by pay.
However, Mayo had a strong belief that employee
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motivation was much more complex
than solely being influenced by money
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and he wanted to find out what this was to help
businesses get the most out of their employees.
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He initially thought that employee motivation
was influenced by physical factors such as
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a change in working conditions,
including the amount of heating
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or lighting provided in the working
environment or how rest breaks were regulated.
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Therefore, during the 1920’s he set up and
conducted a series of tests known as the
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Hawthorne Studies or the ‘Hawthorne Experiment’.
During this experiment, Mayo separated workers
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from the Hawthorne Factory based in Illinois,
into two teams with the aim of investigating
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the impact of these physical factors on their
motivation levels and respective productivity.
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Mayo altered the working conditions across
both teams, for example increasing the amount
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of light employees were exposed too or the
length of rest breaks employees received in
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one team and decreasing them in the other team.
He was essentially varying the physical factors
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of the working environment to see if there was
an optimum amount and if so, the impact it had
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on employee’s motivation or productivity levels.
Heating and working hour were additional physical
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factors which Mayo adapted during the
experiment to assess their impact.
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Mayo predicted that the motivation levels
of employees would decrease as the working
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conditions became worse, which would then
have a negative impact on their productivity.
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However, he was surprised to find that his
prediction was wrong, changes to the working
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environment such as decreasing the amount of
light that employees were subjected to during
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the experiment actually had no detrimental
impact on their motivation or productivity.
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In fact, productivity levels improved
or at the very least remained the same.
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So, Mayo had to go back to the drawing board
and started to investigate the matter further
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and eventually he came to a different
conclusion than what he originally believed.
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He concluded that it was in fact social
factors and not physical factors which
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helped to boost both the motivation
and productivity levels of employees.
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What became clear during the
experiment was positive relationships
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and clear communication between managers and
employees were found to be very influential
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in regard to increasing employee motivation.
This was because the participants started to feel
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valued and appreciated as they had been selected
to take part in the experiment, it made them feel
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somewhat special, which led to them forming
new relationships and increased their morale.
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In the modern world, we expect businesses to
have a dedicated Human Resources department
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or at least an employee responsible
for the people it employs.
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However, it was the outcome of the Hawthorne
Experiment and Mayo’s Human Relations theory
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that led to the development of the first ever
personnel department which was set up and
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focused on the needs of employees, evolving
into what we know today as Human Resources.
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Following this, Mayo suggested that managers
should be more involved in employee’s working
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lives and the workforce should be structured so
employees are working in teams where possible
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rather than in isolation to increase
social interaction in the workplace.
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Essentially, Mayo believed that employees
should be treated more like humans than robots,
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and managers should take greater interest
in them as people who have valuable opinions
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and are naturally social beings.
Following the Hawthorne Experiment,
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the term ‘Hawthorne Effect’ was formed, this
became a term to classify the relationship
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between the attention employees receive
and the amount of work they produce.
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Put simply, the more attention they receive,
the more valuable they feel, and the more
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productive they become or at the very least,
individuals alter an aspect of their behaviour
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when they become aware, they are being observed.
However, the Hawthorne Effect has faced criticism
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for being exaggerated and flawed, essentially
there is some truth to the Hawthorne Effect,
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but how much of an impact it has
on results remain in question.
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So, now that we know the fundamentals
of Mayo’s Theory of Human Relations,
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lets explore some of the key benefits
and drawbacks of the motivational theory
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and its application in the modern business world.
First of all, the theory encourages positive
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workplace relationships, especially
between managers and employees.
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Also, the wellbeing of employees is a central
focus and considered to be much more important
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in comparison to Taylorism, prompting managers
to show a vested interest and learn more about
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them as people on an individual basis.
Which in turn, helps to increase the
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morale of the workforce as employees
feel valued and appreciated, leading
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to increased levels of employee: morale,
retention, motivation, and productivity.
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However, Mayo’s theory of Human
Relations has faced criticism in the past
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and it’s very important to understand why.
Firstly, the theory of Human Relations is
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primarily based on the outcome
of the Hawthorne Experiment
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which was conducted by Elton Mayo and many critics
suggest this was unscientific in its design
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and lacks sufficient supportive evidence
to justify the conclusions that were drawn.
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Arguing, that the selection of work and the
environment the experiment took place in were
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both unscientific, and the number of participants
selected for the experiment was too small.
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Furthermore, conflict in the workplace is almost
inevitable and often required for progress, yet
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critics suggest the theory is based on employees
and managers simply co-operating with one another.
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With no thought of the potential for conflict to
happen and how it could impact the motivation and
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productivity levels of employees if it did.
Another key critique to consider is how the
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theory oversimplifies human behaviour as it
assumes satisfied workers will automatically be
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productive workers, which is simply not true.
There is evidence to support social factors
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helping to positively influence motivation and
productivity, however there is also a vast array
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of additional factors which contribute to
every employee in the workplace and these
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are simply overlooked by Elton Mayo.
Leading critics to compare the theory
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with the assumption that a satisfied cow would
produce more milk and pay no consideration
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to any other variable.
So that’s it, Elton Mayo’s
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Human Relations School of Thought.
I hope you’ve found the video useful,
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if you have, don’t forget to like the video
and subscribe to Two Teachers YouTube channel
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for lots more Business Studies content.
Thanks for listening and all the best
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