The Implication of Hawthorne Study in 21st Century
Assignment
The Implication of Hawthorne Study in 21st Century
Ashab Anis Joy ID: 2012-1-10-255 Class: MGT Course Code: 101 Sec: 7 Semester: Fall East West University
Bachelor of Business Administration East West University 20th November 2012
Introduction
The Hawthorne Experiments were conducted between 1927 and 1932 at the works of the Western Electric Company in Chicago. Basically the aim of these experiments was to ” attempt to reduce worker dissatisfaction and resist trade union influence by the putting in place of a paternalistic package of social and recreational benefits calculated to sustain workers “loyalty” (Sheldrake 105:1996). Many little assignments were conducted in hope of putting into practice the above theory. Despite the economic progress brought about in party by Scientific Management, critics were calling attention to the severe labour/management conflict, apathy, boredom, and wasted human resources. These concerns lead a number of researchers to examine the discrepancy between how an organisation was supposed to work versus how the workers actually behaved. In addition, factors like World War I, developments in psychology (e.g. Freud) and later the depression, all brought into question some of the basic assumptions of the Scientific Management School. One of the primary critics of the time, Elton Mayo, claimed that this ‘alienation’ stemmed from the breakdown of the social structures caused by industrialisation, the factory system, and its related outcomes such as growing urbanisation. The most famous of these studies were the Hawthorne Studies which showed how work groups provide mutual support and effective resistance to management schemes to increase output. This study found that workers didn’t respond to classical motivational approaches as suggested in the Scientific Management and Taylor approaches, but rather workers were also interested in the rewards and punishments of their own work group. These studies conducted in the
The Implication of Hawthorne Study in 21st Century
Ashab Anis Joy ID: 2012-1-10-255 Class: MGT Course Code: 101 Sec: 7 Semester: Fall East West University
Bachelor of Business Administration East West University 20th November 2012
Introduction
The Hawthorne Experiments were conducted between 1927 and 1932 at the works of the Western Electric Company in Chicago. Basically the aim of these experiments was to ” attempt to reduce worker dissatisfaction and resist trade union influence by the putting in place of a paternalistic package of social and recreational benefits calculated to sustain workers “loyalty” (Sheldrake 105:1996). Many little assignments were conducted in hope of putting into practice the above theory. Despite the economic progress brought about in party by Scientific Management, critics were calling attention to the severe labour/management conflict, apathy, boredom, and wasted human resources. These concerns lead a number of researchers to examine the discrepancy between how an organisation was supposed to work versus how the workers actually behaved. In addition, factors like World War I, developments in psychology (e.g. Freud) and later the depression, all brought into question some of the basic assumptions of the Scientific Management School. One of the primary critics of the time, Elton Mayo, claimed that this ‘alienation’ stemmed from the breakdown of the social structures caused by industrialisation, the factory system, and its related outcomes such as growing urbanisation. The most famous of these studies were the Hawthorne Studies which showed how work groups provide mutual support and effective resistance to management schemes to increase output. This study found that workers didn’t respond to classical motivational approaches as suggested in the Scientific Management and Taylor approaches, but rather workers were also interested in the rewards and punishments of their own work group. These studies conducted in the
References: Carey A. (1967), "The Hawthorne Studies: A Radical Criticism", American Sociological Review, Vol.32, No.3, Jun. 1967, p.403-416. Franke, R. H. & Kaul, J. D. (1978). The Hawthorne experiments: First statistical interpretation. American Sociological Review, 1978, 43, 623-64. Mayo, Elton. (1933), The Human Problems of an Industrial Civilization. New York: Macmillan. Whitehead, T. N. (1938) The Industrial Worker: A Statistical Study of Human Relations in a Group of Manual Workers. London: Oxford University Press. Web Sites http://www.enotes.com/hawthorne-experiments-reference/hawthorne-experiments [18 November 2012] [11:07pm] http://www.nwlink.com%2F~donclark%2Fhrd%2Fhistory%2Fhawthorne.html&h=IAQE32Bzo [18 November 2012] [11:35pm] http://www.mbaknol.com%2Fmanagement-principles%2Felton-mayos-hawthorne-experiment-andits-contributions-to-management%2F&h=IAQE32Bzo [18 November 2012] [12:00 am]