Industrial Psychologist Elton Mayo Conducted A
Classic Experiment At The Chicago Hawthorne Works Of The Western Electric Company
To Improve Worker Production. Even Though These Workers Were Repeating The Same
Task Over And Over; Could Monotonous Work Become More Productive And/Or Be Made
Interesting With Their Active Participation? Briefly, 6 Workers Were Put Into A
Room In Which They Assembled Telephone Coils. This Experiment Lasted For Five
Years And During That Time, The Work Was Divided Into Various Experimental
Conditions. Without Going Into Many Details, Some Of The Conditions Included:
Rest Pauses In The Morning And Afternoon; Refreshments; Reduction In The Work
Hours; And An Arrangement Of The Workers That Facilitated More Social
Intercourse. In Essence, Although The Uninteresting Work Remained The
Same, Changing The Social Aspect Of The
Total Working Conditions, Resulted In Changing The Attitude Among The Workers. They
Became Aware That They Were Participating In A Meaningful And Interesting
Experiment. And, It That Became Important Not Only To Themselves, But To The
Workers Of The Entire Factory. This Group Of Workers Developed A Sense Of
Participation In The Work, Because They Realized What They Were Doing, That It
Had An Aim And Purpose, And That It Resulted In Influencing The Whole Working
Procedure By Their Suggestions And Input.
Does This Experiment, In The 1940s, In Any Way Pertain To Bo
Schembechler? Remember, For Schembechler It Was About The Team, The Team, And
The Team. Let’s Apply Principles From The Mayo Experiment And Superimpose Them
On The 1969 Michigan Wolverines Football Team Focusing On Variables Of Social
Participation, Aim, Purpose, And Attitude. For Instance, Of The 10 Scheduled
Teams For 1969, Only Two Were Circled-Michigan State And Ohio State On Coach Schembechler’s
Blackboard. Simply Put, Those Circled Games Were Primary And Major Goals For
The 1969 Season. The Players Were Expected To Beat The Other Teams, But A Major
Focus Had To Do With The Rivalry Between Those Two Circled Teams.
Schembechler Formed And Created A Cohesive Group To Accomplish His
Goals. He Put Up The Sign “Those Who Stay Will Be Champions” Which Clearly
Delineated Whether Or Not You Were Either Part Of The Team Or Not Part Of The
Team. If You Agreed To Stay, You Were Part Of His Experiment. He Also
Reinforced The Team Concept By Telling The Players Something To The Effect
That” Son Of A Bitch, You’re Not Red, You’re Not White, You’re Not Blue. You Are
Michigan. You Can’t Be Divided; No One From The Outside Is Going To Get Between
Us.” So The Players Clearly Realized That They Were Part Of The Team And They
Were Expected To Practice, Practice, Practice, Which Meant A Lot Of Repetition
And Drudgery [Monotony]. However, Each Player Had To Learn His Position
Assignment, Regardless Of Whether It Was Offense Or Defense. Not Only That, The
Players Knew That Aside From Knowing Their Assignment, They Had To Execute That
Assignment Because That Would Be Important For Many Reasons.
Jim Brandstatter, An Offensive Tackle Not Only Had To Learn His
Blocking Assignment, But Also Had To Call Out The Correct Blocking Assignments
For Others On The Line. His Call Was Based On The Defensive Scheme And Player
Location On The Field Of Play. This Wasn’t An Easy Assignment Since The
Defensive Opponents Didn’t Stand In One Place, But Moved About Prior To The
Snap. Jim Knew That His Job Was Not Easy, But Highly Significant, And It Had An
Aim And Purpose. If He Blocked His Opponent Successfully, And Made The Right
Blocking Assignments [By His Call], Then, His Teammates Would Be In A Better
Position To Block Their Opponents As Well. And, If The Blocking And The Line
Play Was Successfully That Could Result In Making An Important First Down Or
Even A Touchdown. If Jim Made A Mistake, Then That Particular Play Would Likely
Be Unsuccessful. In Essence, Jim Would Be Letting Down His Teammates, Himself
And His Coaches.
Each Player Had A Part To Play, And Through The Combined Efforts Of
All Team Members They Could Be Successful. Players Like Brandstatter On Offense
And Keller On Defense Did Not Want To Let Their Teammates Down By Not Doing
Their Best-By Being Successful. They Did Want To Be Out Of Position, They Did
Not Want To Be Beaten By Their Opponent. They Simply Wanted To Excel. Keller’s Calling
His Teammates “A Band Of Brothers” Suggests The Cohesiveness Among The Members
Of The Team.
This 1969 Team Was A Group That Had A Sense Of Belonging; Had
Similar Expectations; Common Interests; Interdependent Goals And Identified
With Each Other. This Sense Of Belonging, The Social Aspect Resulted In An
Attitude Change. Having Membership In The Group Resulted In A Highly Cohesive
Band With Solidarity. These Teammates Socialized Together, Attended Classes
Together, Roomed Together, Joined Fraternities Together, And Partied Together. As
A Consequence, These Athletes [Friends] Were Motivated To Contribute To
Themselves, To Each Other, And To The Team’s Welfare. Their Individual
Narcissism Was Appropriately Developed And Held In Check Or In Abeyance As They
Became Part Of This Larger Band Of Brothers. They Were Not Individuals Acting
Alone. They Were Part Of Something Bigger Than Themselves. They Were A Highly Desirable
Bunch With High Value Status. They Were The University Of Michigan Football
Team.
In Essence, Bo Schembechler Created, Molded Attitude Change Among
His Group [They Became His] Of Highly Motivated Athletes. Schembechler And His
Coaches Made Practices Meaningful As Keller Told About The Creativeness Of
Position Coach Gary Moeller. Every Player Knew That Their Participation Was
Important As Brandstatter Told About His Experience, Going Through The Tunnel
To Play Ohio State On November 22, 1969. He Said He Was Walking On Air; In His
Heart He Thought That The Wolverines Were Going To Win. He Said His Senses Were
Heightened. He Wanted To Get On The Playing Field And He Experienced, And
Became Part Of The Moment. Even Though He Was Not A First String Starter, He
Knew He Was An Important Component Of The Team, And Made His Contributions To
The Team During Practice And By Being A Good Teammate. For Jim; It Was About
The Team, The Team, The Team And He Said “I Felt Special.”
Coach Schembechler Knowingly Or Unknowingly Somehow Incorporated The
Findings Of Dr.Mayo In That Chicago Factory. Perhaps He Used Research Findings
In His Approach To Running The Michigan Wolverines. Or, Perhaps, Others Could
Study Schembechler’s On The Field “Experiment” And Find Support For The Earlier
Findings. In Any Event, It Is Clear That Schembechler Was Smart, Intelligent
And It Was No Accident That He Got The Best Out Of His Players By Employing
Sound, Psychological Principles. He Obviously Knew What He Was Doing And His
Record At The University Of Michigan Speaks Volumes.
Since You Can’t Converse With Coach Schembechler, I Suggest That You
Communicate With Jim Brandstatter, Thom Darden, Fritz Seyferth, Mike Keller, Jim
Betts, And Others At Our Book Signing Of Bo’s Warriors-Bo Schembechler And The Transformation
Of Michigan Football On September 17 From 6 To 8 PM At Sesi Motors In Ann Arbor.
This Band Of Brothers Remains Close To This Day. You’re Invited To Participate
In Their Joy.
PS-Go Blue!
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