- Where did Elton Mayo and F.J.Roethlisberger conduct their famous studies which dealt the influence of work groups on performance?
Ans Elton Mayo & F.J.Roethlisberger conducted their famous stuides at the Hawthorne plant of the western electric company. Influence of social attitudes and relationships of work groups on performance.
For many years people have worked to improve productivity by promoting greater efficiency in the way things are done. Frederick Winslow Taylor and George Elton Mayo carried out an enormous amount of research and made a substantial contribution in this area. However, although their initial aims were very similar - to improve productivity, their methods and conclusions were very different. I will look at how Taylor hoped to solve the above problems, with his theory of Scientific Management. This will include his time and motion studies, his idea of ‘one best way’ to perform a job and ‘one best’ person to perform it, the fact that he thought people were primarily motivated by money, and the effects all of this would have on employees. Mayo initially seeked to prove Taylor’s theories right, however, due to the Hawthorne Experiments, he became more interested in the involvement and fair treatment of workers and their social environment. He found that people weren’t just motivated by money. The work of both Taylor and Mayo is still
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Researchers concluded that changes in output could be attributed to changes not only in work conditions but also work attitudes and social relations. From my experience, I would agree with the methods of Mayo. However, this does show the work of Taylor is still in use today as for some employees, the motivating factor is money. However, pieces can, and are taken from each and mixed together.
Sometimes an organisation can’t afford to give their staff monetary bonuses or a rise. Output rose from one phase of the study to the next regardless of the change in working conditions, including whether they were getting paid more or not.
Production lines, similar to those used by Taylor are still used all over the world today. This shows Taylor may have been wrong in focussing only on the wages of workers as a factor of motivation. After the study, output declined, but not to its original level. This theory combines those of both Taylor and Mayo and appears to work for them. Also include Union membership for each employee, a factor encouraged by both Taylor and Mayo, and I feel this would be a good starting point.
Taylor believed in the theory of Scientific Management. A person needs some sort of social environment during work, no matter what sort of work this is or how well educated a person may be. This fair treatment, combined with a bonus for hard work, may be the difference between the success of the methods used now, compared to those of Taylor. However, one problem with this particular situation, which is currently under investigation, is that some of the targets appear to be very easy to achieve, and some impossible, therefore not giving the workmen much incentive to work to their full potential either way.