week 6

Question 1

What are the benefits of rational design conundrum

Answer 1

efficiency, productivity and management control

Question 2

what are the drawbacks of the rational design conundrum

Answer 2

cost of employee satisfaction, dehumanising jobs, employer/employee conflict

Question 3

why does the research matter?

Answer 3

Fundamentally different view of human nature
Challenge assumptions of management
Laid foundations for Human Relations, interest in groups and informal organisation
Renewed interest in leadership, motivation, change and culture

Question 4

what is the background to the research?

Answer 4

Hawthorne Works (29,000 workers)
Elton Mayo, early business professor
Highly influential research
Funded by General Electric
Link to Harvard

Question 5

hawthorne experimental studies from 1927 to 1932 was what?

Answer 5

Employed 29,000 employees; men and women; skilled and semi-skilled
Produces Bell system telephone equipment; factory environment
Assemble relays or electro-magnetic switches, construct wiring ‘banks’ with units containing over 3000 terminals, split mica that was used as an insulator
Paternalist approach to industrial relations

Question 6

what was the program of the Hawthorne research studies

Answer 6

illumination, relay 1, relay 2, mica splitting experiment, interview program, bank writing observation

Question 7

what is the Taylorism 4 assumptions of the Hawthorne studies?

Answer 7

physical conditions - lighting and fatigue
self interest was pay
group is a problem

Question 8

what was the illumination studies

Answer 8

to test the link between lighting levels and output to discover optimum lighting

Question 9

what was the conclusion of the illumination studies?

Answer 9

lighting didn’t matter, more psychological than real

Question 10

what was the Relay 1 (relay assembly room tests) about

Answer 10

assumption that fatigue is key and to test balance work and rest

Question 11

what was the result of the relay 1 tests

Answer 11

fatigue not significant

Question 12

what was the relay 2 (relay assembly group) about

Answer 12

assumption of pay and paid incentives

Question 13

what was the result of the relay 2

Answer 13

paid incentives didn’t matter, was just a special group, people anxious of job losses impacted output, morale and supervisory relations considered vital

Question 14

Taylorist assumptions held physical conditions vital but what was the perspective needing to change too

Answer 14

change in atmosphere and mental attitude, psychological and social rather than just social

Question 15

what were the results of the 10,000 interviews attitudes to work

Answer 15

Dissatisfaction: Physical working environment; piece rate system
Fixated on home life
Discovered importance of personal life and personalities

Question 16

what was the results of the bank wiring room observation study?

Answer 16

those that worked too hard were excluded from the social group and those that produced too little were shouted at by the supervisor

Question 17

turning out too much work in group norms means you’re a rate buster, chisler or squealer?

Answer 17

rate buster

Question 18

turning out too little work in group norms means you’re a rate buster, chisler or squealer?

Answer 18

chisler

Question 19

telling a supervisor anything that gets someone in trouble in group norms means you’re a rate buster, chisler or squealer?

Answer 19

squealer

Question 20

what did roethlisberger and Dickson say about group norms

Answer 20

you should not attempt to maintain social distance or act officiously

Question 21

What did Miller and Form (1964) find about the social group at work

Answer 21

Output determined by informal group
The group standard reflected the culture
Group had more impact than management

Question 22

what are the features of the social being at work

Answer 22

Primary social unit
Involved in all aspects of life
Social interaction
Safety in numbers
Sense of belonging
Shapes norms, perceptions and identity formation

Question 23

the person turns from a what person to a social person

Answer 23

economic

Question 24

the social organisation has more power than…

Answer 24

management/anything management did

Question 25

what were the features of the social organisation

Answer 25

It has social control over work habits and attitudes of the individual worker Major factor in the group’s productivity Belonging to the group Managers role in changing group norms Social relations a resource for managers

Question 26

what is another way of saying the social organisation

Answer 26

the informal organisation

Question 27

what were the findings of the study

Answer 27

Business organisation is a social system Employees’ satisfactions and dis-satisfactions impact productivity Employees are more than machines Want to use their own initiative

Question 28

managerial competence includes the importance of what

Answer 28

soft skills

Question 29

what are soft-skills

Answer 29

People skills, respect, social skills, appreciating individual differences and personalities, leadership, communication & listening skills, emotional literacy, empathy, being self-aware, understanding the dynamics of teamwork, self-management and punctuality.

Question 30

what were the 4 skills a survey in 2023 found companies said workers need in the next 5 years

Answer 30

big data, AI, leadership and social influence

Question 31

what are the 4 things Kaplan and Norton (2004) argue is the most critical aspect of strategy?

Answer 31

operations, customer relationships, innovation and regulatory and social processes

Question 32

Kaplan and Norton (2004) found through this you can improve the processes most critical to success which are?

Answer 32

investments in human, informational and organisational capital

Question 33

what are the claims

Answer 33

Workers naturally cooperative and form groups spontaneously (assumptions 1, 2 & 3) Worker motivated by social not financial needs (assumptions 1 & 2) Findings can be replicated (assumption 5) Discovered social person (assumption 1) Progressive alternative to Taylorism (assumption 5)

Question 34

what are the counter claims

Answer 34

Evidence highly selective and uncooperative workers removed from study Financial concerns, especially job security dismissed as irrational Not a natural setting, observation changes behaviour Presupposed social person A more subtle form of control as it assumes workers and managers interests are the same and anyone with other views is irrational

Question 35

what are the downsides that underpin Mayo's theory

Answer 35

Material comfort But – destruction of individual significance Family ties broken Potential chaos Individual unhappiness Pent-up emotions Ultimately cooperative Management role = saving Western civilization

Question 36

in the sense of underpinning mayo's theory - reinforce management's role means

Answer 36

an administrative elite

Question 37

in the sense of underpinning mayo's theory - conflict =

Answer 37

psychological deficiency

Question 38

Bruce and Nyland said mayo's theory of human relations was based almost entirely on his own...

Answer 38

political interpretation of worker's motivation

Question 39

in the sense of underpinning mayo's theory - using a group will

Answer 39

secure cooperation

Question 40

what's based on assumptions

Answer 40

all the research

Question 41

its important not to...

Answer 41

take findings for granted

Question 42

what did mayo get from the Hawthorne studies

Answer 42

New, more progressive form of management Cooperation is empowering Need for administrative elite This is the best way to manage

Question 43

what did bell get from the Hawthorne studies

Answer 43

Adjusting men to machines Actually a stronger form of control Need alternative ways to manage Mayo did not consider increasing workers’ freedom and spontaneity

Question 44

who was a progressive rationalist who talked about industrial democracy

Answer 44

Mary Parker Follett

Question 45

Mary Parker follett said management should consider the what side

Answer 45

human

Question 46

Mary Parker Follett also said employees should be involved in...

Answer 46

job analysis

Question 47

Mary Parker Follett also claimed whether it is up the line or down the line authority should...

Answer 47

go with knowledge

Question 48

what are the positives of the Hawthorne studies summed up

Answer 48

One of largest pieces of research ever conducted Offered new perspective on management A more humane approach

Question 49

what are some negatives of the Hawthorne studies summed up

Answer 49

Some of the interpretations questionable Based on pre-existing assumptions Arguably a more subtle form of control

Question 50

what are the implications and relevance of the Hawthorne studies today

Answer 50

Work and home conditions influence attitude and social interaction at work Managerial control Human Resource Management Investors in People Industrial psychologists and sociologists

Question 51

the Hawthorne studies are the cornerstone for

Answer 51

human relations