The human problems of an industrial civilization

The complexities of human relationships in industry and society, of which Elton Mayo treats in this classic volume, cannot be solved by any sovereign remedy, but can be far better understood in the light of this study. The questions raised by Mayo have gained in importance since this book first appeared in 1933. In summarizing what Mayo has to say to the reader of the 1960s, F. J. Roethlisberger, in his introduction to this Compass volume, addresses queries as follows: To the ideologically inclined: Are you as concerned with the development of society's leaders as with society's masses? To the scientifically inclined: Are you as concerned with the growth ideas of the scientific enterprise as with its products? To the political leader: Are you as concerned with the social development of your people as with raising their standards of living? Similar questions are asked of leaders of unions and management, business educators and students, the action-oriented, and of the individual himself. The result to the thoughtful reader should be a valuable new self-assessment, whatever his status in our contemporary industrial civilization.