Hawthorne Studies Analysis Essay Example

accused Taylor of exploiting the masses rather than benefiting them through his implementation of scientific management principles (Mullins, 2005).

In 1912, the implementation of Taylor's techniques at Watertown Arsenal resulted in a strike due to their negative impact on job morale and the creation of a divide between workers and managers. Henry Ford is famous for advocating scientific management theory, which involved dividing automobile production into distinct steps and treating workers as components of the larger Ford production machine. However, the extremely fast pace of production led to few workers being able to keep up, resulting in a high turnover rate.

Due to the company's unprecedented profits, Henry Ford was able to double his workers' wages, which served as a motivation for them. This led to an influx of new workers and contributed to the economic prosperity of the roaring twenties. Additionally, there was an abundant supply of labor from incoming immigrants. As a result, "workers on the line were as replaceable as the parts in the motor vehicles" (Degan, 2011). Consequently, Henry Ford could uphold his strict management approach without encountering any challenges.

During the 1920's, the fear of communism, also known as the red scare, was influenced by the Russian revolution in 1918. This fear had a significant impact on how managers viewed their relationships with workers. Communism was seen as a movement that advocated for the rights of workers. A passage from the Communist Manifesto (1848) conveniently summed up the challenges faced by modern industrial workers: "Modern Industry has transformed small workshops into large factories owned by industrial capitalists. These workers are slaves to the bourgeois class; they are enslaved every day by the machines,

their supervisors, and most importantly, by individual bourgeois manufacturers themselves." Marx emphasized worker unity and collective bargaining through unions.

These thoughts reached their zenith in 1919 during the Seattle General strike and the Boston Police strike. These strikes led corporate leaders to abandon personnel management. They began to believe that most workers were radicals, so they implemented harsh labor policies that prioritized worker discipline rather than morality. However, Elton Mayo was the first to realize that the monotonous and mechanized nature of a scientifically managed workplace, combined with the exhaustion from assembly-line production, would ultimately result in harmful daydreaming.

Elton Mayo conducted research at a Philadelphia mill plant and the Hawthorne plant to study the effects of working conditions on productivity and employee attitudes. Mayo found that introducing rest breaks and encouraging socialization among workers improved productivity and reduced absenteeism at the mill plant. Similarly, Mayo conducted interviews with employees at the Hawthorne plant to alleviate tension and promote harmony in the workplace. Some critics argue that Mayo's interpretations of the Hawthorne experiments were influenced by his personal views. However, it is important to note that Mayo did not personally conduct any research at the Western Electric works where the experiments took place. Mayo joined the Hawthorne plant after the studies had already begun.

The results were manipulated by Elton Mayo to be "based almost entirely on his own political interpretation of worker motivation." Consequently, there is a strong argument that Mayo used the Hawthorne studies' results as a platform to promote his ideas of industrial and organizational psychology. The Humans relations movement investigates the personal relationship between workers and their companies. To enhance worker productivity, companies should

consider workers' social needs and recognize that they have incentives beyond monetary rewards. The studies conducted at the Hawthorne works, a General Electric-owned factory in Illinois, are referred to as the Hawthorne studies.

According to Hassard (2012), the Hawthorne factory, which employed 40,000 workers, was seen as a "progressive" company that promoted various human relations style philosophies. However, this perception did not align with mainstream management theory. The factory had a significant migrant population and implemented social organization methods that were ahead of its time in workforce management. Employees at the Hawthorne plant enjoyed benefits such as company-paid pensions, vacations after five years of service, and sickness disability pay. Additionally, the plant supported a human relations approach through the establishment of social clubs, sports teams, and evening schools for recent migrants.

"The Hawthorne plant became known for its commitment to welfare capitalism" (Jacoby, 1997). This is evident in the company's employee relations policy, which states that as the company grows, it should prioritize humanity. In 1927, Elton Mayo was invited by George Pennock to help with studies conducted at the Hawthorne plant. According to Hassard (2012), Mayo did not significantly change the prevailing sociological perspective at Hawthorne but rather aligned with it. Hassard argues that Mayo's involvement in the studies was due to his impressive communication skills, as recognized by Western Electric executives. However, the Hawthorne studies' results were inconclusive, requiring reconciliation at Harvard (Gillespie, 1991). It was left to Mayo to interpret the results as he saw fit. Mayo's ideas have since been developed by other notable researchers, such as Maslow's widely used theory of the hierarchy of needs. Maslow explains that motivation begins when an

individual experiences a need and then sets a goal to satisfy that need upon achievement" (Maslow, 1943).

Furthermore, Douglas McGregor's theory X and Y were inspired by his study of worker attitudes. These theories can be linked to Elton Mayo's interpretations at the Hawthorne works and the studies conducted at the Philadelphia mill. One of the key insights that emerged from these studies was the recognition of a business organization as a social system, as stated by George Lampard of AT&T Archives. Elton Mayo used the "red scare" of the 1920s to demonstrate to upper management that workers should not be treated as machines and that their social needs must also be addressed.

Elton Mayo interpreted the findings of the Hawthorne studies in a way that revolutionized management thought, serving as a catalyst for future thinkers like Maslow and Douglas McGregor. Their contributions led to the establishment and refinement of the human resource movement, which still forms the core of management thought today.