Human (Employee) Relations Management, How it Originated

Definition of Human Relations Management Theory

Human Relations or Employee management theory is a proposition of organizational psychology from the early 20th century, which suggests that employee productivity and motivation can be increased through positive social bonds in the workplace and acknowledgement of the worker as a unique individual. It holds that improved working conditions (empowerment, participation, positive treatment) lead to increased productivity.

Human Relations management theory originated between 1924 and 1932 during experiments conducted at the Hawthorne plant of the Western Electric Company in Cicero, Illinois. These studies were started by scholars from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), in 1927 Elton Mayo and Fritz J. Roethlisberger of the Harvard Business School got involved and eventually popularized the subject (Anteby, M and Khuran R. | n.d).

HBS Archives Photograph Collection
Elton Mayo at Executive Weekend Conference, Harvard Business School, ca. 1950
Image source: HBS Archives Photograph Collection


During the time, Western Electric had begun to look for ways to “inspire company loyalty, discourage high employee turnover and unionization, and present a good face to the public (Bright, D. S., & Cortes, A. H. 2019). They attempted to accomplish these goals by increasing total compensation and improving employee well-being in the workplace. The latter of the two methods, increasing employee well-being in the workplace, is what prompted the Hawthorne Experiments and marked a shift in management theory from strictly scientific to multidisciplinary. (Ward, P | Nanoglobals. 2021)

As The Harvard Professors, Michel Anteby & Rakesh Khurana mentioned in their essay on the human relations movement there are two distinct aspects of vision characterize the Hawthorne Studies.

  • The first is the more conventional definition of the term—vision as the act of perceiving a particular object or event. 
  • A second definition of vision is when one talks about a vision of the future. Here, vision operates in the realm of possibility, not actuality—creating, in effect, a new vocabulary of human motives.


What did Mayo and Roethlisberger actually hope to gain in the way of describing the patterns of organizations as systems and human beings with sentiments and connections?

As Fritz Roethlisberger later revealed in his autobiography, his aim, as well as that of Elton Mayo and others working in the organizations group at Harvard Business School, was nothing less than an absolute commitment to lessen the gap between the possibilities grasped and the actualities illuminated through the application of theory and careful observation.
 
The Harvard Gazette
Elton Mayo (left) with Fritz J Roethlisberger, ca. 1940
Image source: The Harvard Gazette


Hawthorne Experiments' impact Human Relations

“Instead of treating the workers as an appendage to ‘the machine’,” Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (1985) notes in his detailed analysis of the studies, the Hawthorne experiments brought to light ideas concerning:

  • Motivational influences
  • Job satisfaction
  • Resistance to change
  • Group norms
  • Worker participation
  • Effective leadership

These were cosidered groundbreaking concepts in the 1930s.


In what ways is human relations theory relevant today?

Develop a positive employee relations framework. It’s important that organisations develop an effective, holistic employee relations framework, for example:
  • Set up multiple and complementary mechanisms for employee voice, including direct methods with individuals and indirect methods for collective voice, via employee representation.
  • Establish structures and processes for communicating with union and non-union representatives and employees at all levels of the organisation.
  • Have a system to evaluate the feedback, to ensure that people’s feedback is captured and listened to from across the different voice channels.
  • Train and guide managers so they understand the organisation’s aims and practices for information and consultation, and have the skills and knowledge to promote effective employee voice.
  • Ensure a positive joint working ethos is cascaded throughout the organisation, so that managers at all levels approach working relationships with representatives in a constructive way and build trust.


No one formula can capture the idiosyncrasies of the companies and the ways of telling that they motivate employees. below are some common ideas that are put are forwad by some companies.

  • Put People First
    • The best places to work provide people with life satisfaction as opposed to job satisfaction alone.
    • A healthy culture is as important as a healthy balance sheet.
  • Help Workers Find and Pursue Their Passions
    • Rejuvenate employees by helping them identify their “calling,” or the area of work that provides them with the greatest fulfillment. Doing so not only increases productivity, it makes people feel happy — lucky even — to be at work
  • Bring People Together on a Personal Level
    • Organizations today realize that their effectiveness relies upon the goodwill and solidarity of groups, so they put quite a bit of effort into bringing people together.
  • Empower People to Own Their Work
    • Organizations are letting their employees to think and act like owners, allowing them to control aspects of their work.
  • Create a Space Where People Can Be Themselves
    • Find ways to integrate people’s natural talents into the regimen of organizational life. Employees should be able to emphasized how satisfying it is to be able to share a personal piece of themselves with others at work.


Conlcusion

While there have been several advances in management theory ever since, Human Relations Theory has been certainly relevant till date. 

If human relations practices can be incorporated into the organizations, Employees will surely be able to enjoy better workplace relationships and have increased performance.




Reference

Baker Library. (n.d.). The Human Relations Movement: Harvard Business School and the Hawthorne Experiments. Harvard Business School. https://www.library.hbs.edu/hc/hawthorne/

Black, J. S. & Bright, D. S. (2019). Organizational Behavior. OpenStax. https://openstax.org/details/books/organizational-behavior

Bright, D. S., & Cortes, A. H. (2019). Principles of Management. OpenStax. https://openstax.org/details/books/principles-management

O'Malley, M. (2019). Harvard Business Review. What the “Best Companies to Work For” Do Differently. https://hbr.org/2019/12/what-the-best-companies-to-work-for-do-differently

Comments

  1. Mahinda MBAMay 2, 2023 at 11:23 AM

    your effort to explain theory part is very successful, well explained.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Srimali MBA 2023May 2, 2023 at 11:49 AM

    Nice content .Very informative and well planed article .Well done.Thank you for sharing the knowledge here.

    ReplyDelete

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