RELATIONSHIP HUMAN SCHOOL OF ADMINISTRATION: CHARACTERISTICS, AUTHORS - DUDAS - 2025

The human-relationist school of administration emerged in response to the strong tendencies of scientific administration which, due to its rigorous and mechanical methods, tended to dehumanize work. This generated annoyance for the staff, who responded with strikes, sabotage and union formation, among other actions.

For this reason, a group of businessmen decided to select the Australian psychologist and specialist Elton Mayo to study the attitudes and annoyances of the workers, in order to recognize the reason for the drop in production. To do this research, Mayo undertook an experiment at Western Electric Company.

Elton Mayo is one of the main representatives of the human-relational school of administration. Source: See page for author

After conducting the experiment, Mayo realized that it was necessary to change certain parameters of the company in order to offer a more humane treatment to employees; In this way, a noticeable increase in production levels could be achieved.

From this moment on, companies opened their doors to the psychological world of human relationships and behavior through the social sciences. Thanks to Elton Mayo, studies related to human behavior during working hours began to be considered; This allowed the revolution of basic business principles.

One of the most important factors found in Elton Mayo's experiment consisted in the fact that human beings cannot be motivated solely by salary, but also require recognition and other incentives.

Another important element that this psychologist discovered was that the individual cannot be studied as an isolated entity, but must be studied taking into account their group environment. In other words, a company is not made up of isolated workers, but is made up of a collective mentality that requires recognition.

Origin

-Background

At the beginning of the 20th century, a series of studies began to be developed at Harvard in which the science of management was linked to human relations. After this, in 1911 a series of courses was taught that began the psychological approach of administrative science.

Thanks to this, the belief that the human element was the most important thing in any company was introduced, being this the one that keeps it alive, active and with high levels of production.

At this historical moment, a series of reforms had already been introduced that managed to improve the quality of life of employees, such as the introduction of rest periods, the reduction of the working day and the application of certain variants in the payment system.

However, no answers had yet been found to the phenomenon of decreased or increased productivity. After the arrival of Elton Mayo's collaborations, it was confirmed that productivity increased due to certain social factors, such as worker morale or the “sense of belonging”.

-The Hawthorne Studies

Elton Mayo conducted a series of experiments at the Western Electric Company which he called the Hawthorne Studies. The purpose of this research was to determine the relationship between the efficiency of the workers and the satisfaction of the man within the production levels.

The experiment, in which other previous investigations were taken, was divided into two phases:

First phase

In 1925, the National Academy of Sciences, established in the United States, developed studies that aimed to verify the relationship between lighting in the workplace and productivity.

Therefore, the effects of lighting on the performance of work personnel were studied. This allowed us to verify that certain psychological conditions can affect productivity.

In this case, the more light there was in the work area, the higher the productivity and vice versa. The conclusion of the study was that, if the social environment is modified, human relationships will improve; Furthermore, the social work environment should be considered as one more factor of interaction that influences productivity.

Second stage

In this phase, an experimental record of working conditions was carried out during normal hours to later measure the production rate. The perception of the workers consisted of an improvement in their individual efforts after being incentivized with wages.

Afterwards, a few minutes of work rest between the mornings and afternoons were introduced; A work week was also established that had five working days, leaving Saturday free.

In 1923 Mayo directed an investigation in a textile factory located in Philadelphia, where there were serious production problems and the company suffered from annual staff turnover of up to 250%.

To solve this problem, the psychologist decided to introduce a longer period of rest and allowed the workers to decide when the machines would stop. Soon after, solidarity emerged among co-workers, so production increased and turnover was reduced.

Experiment at Western Electric Company

In 1927 the National Research Council decided to start a new experiment at the Western Electric Company, located in the Hawthorne neighborhood (Chicago). This research aimed to re-determine the relationship between worker efficiency and lighting intensity.

The experiment was coordinated by Elton Mayo and became one of the most famous investigations within the area of ​​administration.

During the experiment, the researchers realized that the results were affected by certain psychological variables. For this reason they tried to eliminate the psychological and strange factor, which prolonged the investigation until 1932.

Western Electric was a factory in charge of producing telephone components and other equipment, characterized by a policy that looked after the well-being of its workers; it paid good wages and offered excellent working conditions.

Some claim that the company had no interest in increasing production, but wanted to get to know its workers better.

Conclusions of the experiment

- The level of production can be determined by the physical capacities of the worker; however, social norms are an important factor.

- The behavior of the individual worker is fully supported in the group; the worker does not act in isolation.

- Any change in the production method can generate a reaction in the working staff.

- The greater the interaction, the greater the productive capacity.

- This experiment proved that, if the employee feels good, he will be more productive when working.

characteristics

Below are the most prominent characteristics of the human-relationshipist school:

- The main focus of this school is directed towards people and their different behaviors.

- The school bases its approaches on the importance of the social factor within the production processes.

- The human-relationship school appeals for the autonomy of the employee, and bets on trust and openness among the people who make up the business nucleus.

- Within this trend, an attempt is made to eradicate the previous vision of the administration that perceived the human being as a machine within production; therefore, it seeks to understand the man within his work environment not as an isolated entity, but as a social being that relies on the collective.

Authors

In addition to Elton Mayo, the following authors can be mentioned:

Vilfredo Federico Pareto

He was a renowned Italian sociologist, economist, engineer and philosopher who was interested in the welfare of employees and their relationship with production levels. His postulates served as inspiration for Elton Mayo's later research.

One of the most important premises of Vilfredo Pareto consisted in affirming that individuals act according to their residual instinctual elements, leaving aside the logical or rational factor; For this reason, the theory of the distribution of wealth showed figures on paper that were not displayed in reality.

Frederick Winslow Taylor

He was an American economist and engineer who appealed for the scientific organization of labor and is considered the creator of scientific management; at the same time, he was notably concerned about the well-being and job development of employees.

For example, Taylor pioneered the introduction of incentives to keep workers motivated, as, according to the author, this optimized production levels.

Advantage

One of the main advantages of the human-relational school of administration is that it incorporated a more humane treatment of workers. This school focused on the physical and psychological well-being of the employee, since this could guarantee an increase in production.

Previously, during the pre-eminence of the more scientific approaches, the employee was visualized as a machine in charge of producing, which reduced him in terms of values ​​and human rights, turning him into an object.

Another advantage of this school is that it allowed the study of man as a social being that belongs to a group and that cannot be approached without taking into account his work environment. For these reasons, the human-relationshipist school defends the optimization of the work area.

Disadvantages

The relationshipist human school offers a unique tangible disadvantage and consists of the fact that, by disengaging in such a way from scientific administration, employers or researchers can fall into subjectivities or sentimentalities that deviate from the original objective, which consists of guaranteeing production of the companies.

References

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6. SA (sf) Human relations school of the administration. Retrieved on August 1, 2019 from Wikiteka: wikiteka.com
7. SA (sf) Mayo's motivation Theory. Retrieved on August 1, 2019 from Expert Program Management: expertprogrammanagement.com