ABSTRACT

The small number of Elton Mayo’s writings belies the extent of his influence since coming to Harvard in 1926. The influence of Mr. Mayo has been notable in the work of those social scientists who apply to their study of modern society the techniques and concepts developed in the analyses of simpler cultures. Mayo’s emphasis on the human side of worker-management relations has had a considerable effect upon the literature and perhaps the practices of personnel relations. In the hands of Mayo the charge becomes really comprehensive. Australia as Mayo saw it in 1919 exhibited on all sides the growth of conflict and the decline of civilization. Mayo deplores industrial conflict, but any government intervention to relieve it is an empty if not a dangerous delusion. For Mayo the conditions necessary for a healthy social organism are present when each individual has a sense of social function and responsibility.