One of Last Century’s Most Influential Social Science Studies Is Pretty Bad

Posted by & filed under Communication, Control, Decision Making, Ethics & Social Responsibility, International Business, Leadership, Management, Organizational Behavior.

Description: Research done at the Hawthorne Works in the 1920s and 30s, which yielded the “Hawthorne effect,” is a mess of sloppiness and misogyny

Source: McGill.ca/oss

Date: Feb 17, 2023

Link: https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/critical-thinking-history/one-last-centurys-most-influential-social-science-studies-pretty-bad

Questions for discussion:

  • Why is the writer critical of the “science” used in these studies?
  • Why do you suppose the theories still carry weight in management courses?
  • How would you summarize a revised description that would be acceptable in today’s academic environment?