Foundations of Social Science - Hawthorne Studies
FOUNDATIONS OF SOCIAL SCIENCE
Assessment
“The Hawthorne Studies are often identified as the single most important piece of empirical industrial social science ever undertaken. To what extent would you agree with this appraisal?”
“There is a single light of science, and to brighten it anywhere is to brighten it everywhere.” – Isaac Asimov. Science (from Latin scientia - knowledge) is most commonly defined as the investigation or study of nature through observation and reasoning, aimed at finding out the truth. Social Science can be considered to be the branch of science that studies society and the relationships of individual within a society. However, we are interested in seeing how Social Science can be applied in an organization. An organization is a system of two or more persons engaged in co-operative action, trying to reach a goal. The study of individuals and group dynamics in an organizational setting, as well as the nature of the organizations themselves is said to be organizational behavior. Like all social sciences, organizational behavior seeks to control, predict, and explain.
(Wikipedia).
The exact date of when the Behavioral Science or Human Relations Movement came into being is difficult to identify; however, it was not until the second half of the nineteenth century that much attention was paid to workers’ needs, since prior to that time, most managers viewed workers as a device that could be bought and sold like any other possession, without realizing how their needs affect total worker productivity. Then, at the beginning of the twentieth century, Frederick Winslow Taylor introduced and developed the theory of Scientific Management. Its basis was technological in nature, emphasizing that the best way to increase output was to improve the methods used by the workers. It also emphasized the importance of the needs of the organization rather than the needs of the individual worker. Scientific Management was criticized on the
Assessment
“The Hawthorne Studies are often identified as the single most important piece of empirical industrial social science ever undertaken. To what extent would you agree with this appraisal?”
“There is a single light of science, and to brighten it anywhere is to brighten it everywhere.” – Isaac Asimov. Science (from Latin scientia - knowledge) is most commonly defined as the investigation or study of nature through observation and reasoning, aimed at finding out the truth. Social Science can be considered to be the branch of science that studies society and the relationships of individual within a society. However, we are interested in seeing how Social Science can be applied in an organization. An organization is a system of two or more persons engaged in co-operative action, trying to reach a goal. The study of individuals and group dynamics in an organizational setting, as well as the nature of the organizations themselves is said to be organizational behavior. Like all social sciences, organizational behavior seeks to control, predict, and explain.
(Wikipedia).
The exact date of when the Behavioral Science or Human Relations Movement came into being is difficult to identify; however, it was not until the second half of the nineteenth century that much attention was paid to workers’ needs, since prior to that time, most managers viewed workers as a device that could be bought and sold like any other possession, without realizing how their needs affect total worker productivity. Then, at the beginning of the twentieth century, Frederick Winslow Taylor introduced and developed the theory of Scientific Management. Its basis was technological in nature, emphasizing that the best way to increase output was to improve the methods used by the workers. It also emphasized the importance of the needs of the organization rather than the needs of the individual worker. Scientific Management was criticized on the
Bibliography: http://www.accel-team.com/motivation/hawthorne_01.html as on 29.11.05 Ballantyne P.F, 2000, “Hawthorne Research” Brown, J.A.C. (1986). The Social Psychology of Industry. London, England: Penguin Group. Buchanan, D & Huczynski, A. (2004) Organizational Behavior: an introductory text. (5th Edition). Prentice Hall International, UK. Gillespie, R. (1991). Manufacturing Knowledge: A History Of The Hawthorne Experiments. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Jones, S. R. G. (1992) ‘Was There a Hawthorne Effect?’ American Journal of Sociology. November, Vol.98 Issue 3, pp. 451-468. Thompson, P. & D. McHugh. (2002). Work Organisations: A Critical Introduction. (3rd Edition). Palgrave. Yunker, G. (1993) ‘An Explanation of Positive and Negative Hawthorne Effects: Evidence From The Relay Assembly Test Room And Bank Wiring Observation Room Studies’ Academy of Management Proceedings, pp. 170-183.