1. Discuss the original purpose of the Hawthorne studies as opposed to what they ended up showing. make a list of points illustrated by the Hawthorne Studies.
According to page 45 of the textbook, the Hawthorne studies was originally designed to study the effects of lighting (illumination) on workers productivity. But instead, the study revealed that productivity or output is not affected by changes in the physical working conditions, but rather by the direct treatment of the workers.
- During the first phase of the experiment, it didn’t matter what researchers did with the lighting conditions because both groups, the test group and the control group, had an increase in productivity. Researchers concluded that something other than illumination was affecting productivity
- During the next phase, researchers improved the working conditions of a group of women who assembled telephone relays. No matter what they did, work output increased. The researchers figured that because of the attention given to them by those conducting the experiments, they felt they were an important part of the company and had become a cohesive work group.
- The interview sessions proved valuable because (1) they were therapeutic since the workers were given the opportunity to express themselves, (2) they showed that the most significant factor affecting organizational productivity was found to be the interpersonal relationships that are developed on the job, not just pay and working conditions, (3) they helped answer many of the questions that had puzzled management about why some groups seemed to be high produces while other weren’t, and (4) they encouraged management to involve workers in planning, organizing, and controlling their own work in an effort to secure their positive cooperation.
2. Discuss McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y. What are the important limitations of each?
According to page 48 of the textbook, Theory X and Theory Y are based on certain assumptions about...