Human Relations: Hawthorn and After

Question 1

What was The Hawthorne works (6 points)

Answer 1

• telephone manufacturing plant, Western Electric Co.
• subsidiary of American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T)
• located in Chicago, United States
• location of the Hawthorne investigations, 1924-33
• gave its name to the ‘Hawthorne Effect’
• gave rise to the ‘Human Relations’ school of thought

Question 2

Economic and corporate context (8)

Answer 2

• emergence of the large-scale corporation in the US
• over 40,000 employees at Hawthorne by end of 1920s
• rapidly growing telephone industry
• AT&T part of the Bell System
• principles of bureaucracy increasingly adopted
• how to organize production
• replacement of contract system by centralization
• achievement of standardisation

Question 3

Managing people in the bureaucratic organization (8)

Answer 3

• ‘welfare capitalism’ in AT&T
• social facilities and encouragement to buy shares
• in part to discourage development of trade unions
• growing importance of personnel management
• following Taylor, calls for ‘scientific’ management
• emergence of industrial psychology
• UK research into industrial fatigue
• development of ‘scientific’ research programme

Question 4

The (main) Hawthorne experiments (3)

Answer 4

1. The industrial illumination tests (1924-27)
2. The relay assembly test room (1928-32)
3. The bank wiring room (1931-32)

Question 5

The industrial illumination tests

Answer 5

• promoted nationwide by the electrical industry
• series of experiments, 1924-27
• what happened to production as lighting increased?
• how far could lighting be reduced?
• limited impact of lighting changes
• conventional interpretation: discovery of ‘human factors’
• but this based on fitting results into positive narrative?
• The relay assembly test room
• emerged from Hawthorne’s own production concerns

Question 6

What were the Hawthorne Investigations?

Who was the main interpreter and what did he argue?

Conclusions

• The Hawthorne investigations represented a shift from the ___________ _______________ ________, which viewed workers as _________ and ________ beings, to the _________ relations approach, which recognized workers as _________ and ________ beings.
• The human relations approach influenced the development of _____________ _________ , _________ ___________ management, and ______________ _________.

Answer 6

What were the Hawthorne Investigations?

• A series of experiments conducted at the Hawthorne works of Western Electric Company in Chicago from 1924 to 1932, aimed at studying the effects of various physical and social factors on workers’ productivity and morale.

Who was the main interpreter and what did he argue?

Elton Mayo and Human Relations: The main interpreter of the Hawthorne investigations, who argued that the increase in output was due to the workers’ psychological and social needs being met by the experimenters, rather than the physical changes in the work environment. He emphasized the importance of the ‘informal’ organization, the social and emotional bonds among workers, and the role of leadership and communication in managing people.

Conclusions

• The Hawthorne investigations represented a shift from the classical management theory, which viewed workers as rational and economic beings, to the human relations approach, which recognized workers as complex and social beings.
• The human relations approach influenced the development of organizational behaviour, human resource management, and organizational culture.