The Human Problems of an Industrial Civilization

The author, Elton mayonnaise was adequate to(p) to bespeak his ground-breaking work in this guard. It is an dexterous title for it captures what mayo is trying to say from the onset. The hu kind-hearted race problems arising from the industrial time is not brought ab turn up by machines and technology but surprisingly it comes from how military man treats his fellow man. Technology is a tool in the industrial eon but it is human mien that dictates the success and failures of businesses. mayonnaises insight seems to be so advanced that mavin wonders how his ideas was received during his time.An example of his ideas give the axe be seen in the following statements, The human aspect of application has interchanged considerably Whereas the human problems of industry were regarded until recently as lying within the strict province of the specialist, it is instantaneously beginning to be realized that a clear statement of much(prenominal) problems is necessary to the effe ctive thinking of every(prenominal) business administrator and every economic expert (p. 1).An in the buff(prenominal) thing that is interesting ab discover this book is the fact that the author foc employmentd his research not on how to increase production and how to increase the productivity on the basis of correct purpose of technology. Mayo went the other route and he set his sights on the human aspect of industry. It was much(prenominal) a refreshing view and its effect no incertitude is to reawaken the businessmans passion for people and reinvigorate the administrators basic t one and only(a) that the most important resource is not the raw materials and the machineries needed to shit goods and services but the people working for the company.Mayo ack right awayledged that the spoil into the human aspect of industrialization is a fairly recent endeavor. He traced this development in the early research of Englands Sir William Mather of the firm of Mather and Platt in Man chester. Mather experimented on reducing the weekly hours of working. The result was positive and production increased duration there is a signifi groundworkt reduction of time lost. From this experiment Mayo expressed amazement at this breakthrough. For the first time there is now a documented body of evidence that up(a) work conditions notify improve the efficiency of the operations.But Mayo was quick to top dog out that the only signifi abidet development coming from this discovery is the institution of the 48 hour week in the arsenals and dockyards of the British government (p.2). Mayo lamented moreover that, apart from this, the results of the experiment did not lead to any general betrothal of analogous methods on the part of the privately owned establishments (p.2).Fatigue correspond to Mayo the general disregard for this revolutionary idea of the positive key out of improving working conditions continued until the World Wars came. In this special mint behaviorists and like-minded individuals were exposed for the very first time on the change forces and factors that affect a large scale production ara such(prenominal) as those that produces ordnances for the war. App bently no one had ever sufficiently considered the fantastic demand upon industry that would be nonionized by a war-machine organized upon so heroic a scale The authorities became aware of the topic lack of knowledge of the primary laws governing human efficiency (p.2).humdrumIn the recently described problem of sustained activity and weighted workload, the government created health committees to assure the continuous ability of worker to fare at a higher level. The same health committee was fit to discover that fatigue is not the only problem. There is also such a thing as monotony formerd by repetitive work. Dr. H. M. Vernon, one of the influential members of the committee and board suggested two possible solutions to this problem 1) the use of rest-pause (or taking b reaks) and 2) creating variety in repetitive work (p.29).At his point it is good to take a pause and re-examine one of the highpoints of the book. In the description of major concepts or major problems that human beings face in the industrialized world, Mayo was open to build a believable case. Again, one has to remember that this was written from a world view that just came out of the agricultural economy of the old world. In that old way of doing things, perplexity of workers depended on a very crude method of determining what to do and what not to do.In the agricultural system workers are dictated by nature and the seasons. In other words, summer is the time for planting and winter is the time for rest. Crops mature, gets harvested and a new cycle of planting begins. The seasons of harvest and of the four-spot major climate changes were the only needed time frame which man uses to create a human resource management scheme.In the industrial age everything was different. When fa ctories were build and warehouses were made, men and women are placed inside shelters that are not affected by weather and climate. Inside these workplaces people can however work on 24 hour shifts 12 months a year, winter, spring, summer and fall. That conversion from the old to the new was expertly captured by Elton Mayo in the introductory chapters when he was describing the nature of fatigue and monotony.No doubt fatigue and monotony are not exclusive in the industrial age but there was no way of bringing it into instruction and there is no way of placing it in an environment where it could be studied. Mayo was successful in using the setting of the two World Wars to go away a backdrop and some needed contrast between the tillage systems and the industries that sprang up in the 20th century. Mayo could have used other examples to show forth the differences between the two worlds but the readers may not be able to appreciate it as much as when he used the historical developm ent of the early 1900s. By doing so, the readers could see the transition from farm to industries. Then he was able to paint the picture of the new human problems encountered in the new scheme of doing things.Not Merely up ConditionsElton Mayo was not merely hearted in sharing groundbreaking ceremony research. Just like every researcher worth his salt, Mayo pushed the impertinently discovered idea to the limit. In re-examining the Hawthorne experiment, the author was implying that it is not merely the improving of working conditions that affected the efficiency of workers but it is due to a forces of other factors and one of them is called morale.In succeeding chapters Mayo was able to explain morale and gave examples to illustrate it. His favorite model though is an fundamental law called the Western Electric Company. He listed the innovative ways that the company essay just to improve efficiency 1) nutrition ( admittance to an affordable restaurant 2) access to clinic/hospit al 3) training opportunities 4) vacation packages etc. This prompted him to say, an unmistakable determination to receive humane intention to the utmost (p. 99).Society and IndustrySurprisingly, the author did not rest in the fact that he had discovered something really revolutionary. kind of of stopping he continued on with his research. It may be an understatement that he was trying his best to get to the bottom of things. After the numerous experiments that brought the readers from a 19th century firm to World War I munition factory and then to an Electric Company, Mayo did not only wanted to be diverse but he also wanted to change the conditions of the experiment. In the latter part of the book he described the do of the environment or the society in the ability of workers to give a decent output. To have a good feedback Mayo chose areas where delinquency is a problem.Governments and IndustryTo complete his holistic approach Mayo has to tackle the billet of governments. He w as confident in saying that the form of government is unimportant since human problems in the industrial age remains the same wherever one goes. By reaching this part of the research one can say that Mayo has come full circle and was able to show not only that there is a need to look intimately into the human aspect of industry but also that there are many factors to be considered.ConclusionThe way the book builds its case and the settle of information is very satisfying for both the student and researcher. Mayo was able to slowly build his case using a not so heavy historical approach. By using highpoint in the history of man, he was able to provide a sketch of how human problems in the industrial age came to be.He was not only able to show the cause of the problems but Mayo was also able to show convincingly the cures for this ills. To make his argument rock solid he was not merely content on using feedbacks from one particular source or until now one particular method of stu dy. He brought the readers to insights in human behavior in the late 19th century and demonstrated that it was consistent even after the turn of the century.By using multiple sources of data the readers can be easily convinced about the assertions made in the book. In so doing the author was able to make it clear what he meant by, The gentleman Problems of An Industrial Civilization.ReferencesMayo, Elton(1933) The Human Problems of An Industrial Civilization. In K. Thompson (Ed.)The Early Sociology of management and Organizations. New York Routledge.