Elton Mayo 1880 – 1949

1. Elton Mayo1880 – 1949

2. Preview • Introduction to Mayo • Early life (1880-1907) • Academic Career in Australia (1907-1922) • The Wonderful Opportunity (1922-1932) • Fame and Fortune (1933-1939) • War and Retirement (1939-1949) • Mayo Mystique

3. Introduction • One of the most celebrated social scientists of the age (legacy p221) • Internationally acclaimed (legacy p223) • Experiments provided new scientific foundations for management (leg 223) • Skilled and charming lecturer (225)

4. Statement by Fortune Magazine 1946 Scientist and practical clinician, Mayo speaks with a rare authority that has commanded attention in factories as well as Universities. His erudition extends through psychology, sociology, physiology, medicine and economics, and his experience comes from a lifelong first –hand study of industry.

5. Early Life 1880-1907 • Childhood and family life • Influences of his family • Father – financial • Mother – work ethic • Siblings – medical careers • Turning point – London Working Men’s College

6. Academic Career in Australia1907-1922 • Influence of Professor William Mitchell • Marriage and Children • Moves and Career changes • New approach to industrial conflict (legacy p231 middle) • Influence of anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski

7. The Wonderful Opportunity1922-1932 • Move to the United States • Right place at the right time • Partnership with Beardsley Ruml of Rockefeller Foundation • Model of Labor Turnover (legacy 234) • Friendship with L.J. Henderson (235)

8. Wonderful Opportunity Cont. • Hawthorne Studies (1927-1932) • Hawthorne Plant of Western Electric Company • Most famous part of the research • Six female employees – separate room • Expectation: production would vary in predictable ways • Example: More hours, fewer breaks would increase fatigue and lower production

9. Surprise at Hawthorne • Amazed researchers • No matter what they did, production went up! • Mayo’s conclusion • Changes in production were not attributed to changes in conditions • Instead attributed to: • Employees treated as special people • Involved in decisions • Improved morale

10. Hawthorne Effect • The mere act of showing people you are concerned about them spurs them to better performance • Widely used even today

11. Results from Hawthorne Studies • Discovery that workplaces are social environments • Within workplaces, people are motivated by much more than economic self interest • All aspects of industrial environment carry social value • Impact on Management Theory • Represent the beginning of the human relations movement in the study of management

12. Criticisms of Mayo and the Hawthorne Studies • Dispute about Mayo’s role in the Hawthorne Studies • Rejected as outmoded and simplistic • Argued that Mayo simply put together and applied existing Sociological theories and applied them to research

13. Criticisms, Cont. • Borrowed concepts from Emile Durkheim • Founder of the French school of sociology • Mayo’s grasp of Durkheim’s work was poor • Only read one of hundreds of works by Durkheim • Read the original one work in French with a poor grasp of French

14. Fame and Fortune 1933-1939 • Peculiar Family Life • Most notable contributions to management theory emerge • Rockefeller Foundation Funding

15. War and Retirement 1939-1949 • Personal and family crises • Works published • The Social Problems of an Industrial Civilization (1945) • Introduction to the Second Edition, The Human Problems of an Industrial Civilization (1946) • The Political Problems of an Industrial Civilization (1947) • Notes on the Psychology of Pierre Janet (1948)

16. The Mayo Mystique • His work and findings • Major criticisms of his work • Major contributions to management theory