How do the theories proposed in your chosen reading inform your understanding of contemporary management functions and the employer-employee relationship?
Bramel’s theories on the Hawthorne Studies help to inform my understanding of contemporary management functions and the employer-employee relationship by providing a critical analysis of the Hawthorne Studies, which were a major contributor in the development of management practices and the human relations movement.
The Hawthorne Studies were a group of experiments undertaken in the 1920's and 1930's at Western Electrics Hawthorne Plant that provided new insights into individual and group behaviours. The study was lead be George Elton Mayo, he concluded that individual and group behaviour are closely related. Mayo concluded that social standards in the workplace were a greater factor in determining the production output of individuals then other factors such as money and environmental factors. The results of the Hawthorne studies are widely disputed due to mismanagement and corruption of some of the experiments.
Bramel highlights the corrupted elements of the experiments, particularly the removal and replacement of participants mid experiment, and holds the studies in a negative light. Bramel is not the only one to cast doubt on the validity of the experiments however, there have been many opponents to the hawthorn studies’ findings over the years. Alex Carey was one of the most vocal opponents of the validity of the Hawthorne studies’ findings. Carey was particularly vocal on the dismissal and replacement of experiment participants and the subsequent corruption of the experiments results “The dismissed girls were replaced by two girls of a special motivation and character who immediately led the rest in a sustained acceleration of output.” (The Hawthorne Studies: A Radical Criticism) page 415 Alex Carey.

While the results of the study are questionable due to interference on the part of the observers, the contribution of the Hawthorne studies to contemporary management practices and the employer-employee relationship is unquestionable. Whether the studies are academically sound is not relevant, the Hawthorne Studies made organizations pay more attention to human behaviour and its effect on production. Jeffery A. Sonnenfeld emphasized the importance of the Hawthorne Studies in his work ‘Shedding light on the Hawthorne studies’, while conceding to Bramel and other opponents of the study that while the experiments weren’t academically sound he stresses that the studies still had a major impact on management practices throughout the years. The result of the studies caused organizations to pay more attention to the human element in the workplace and away from more traditional methods of management such as scientific management where workers are viewed as “just another machine” to a more worker friendly model.
Prior to the Hawthorne studies most organizations had taken a scientific approach to management, not taking several variables into account when considering the production levels of individuals that worked for them. This approach started to change after the Hawthorne studies revealed that social interaction was crucial to increasing production. Contemporary businesses now seek a medium between positive social interaction and increased production.

Bramel’s work on the Hawthorne studies shows a more realistic representation of the average worker than the original studies conducted by Mayo and his associates. While Bramel’s view of the employer-employee relationship is very left-wing and there is a noticeable anti-capitalist undercurrent, the insight Bramel provides into the workers relationship with and feeling towards management and being observed is seemingly more accurate than the views of Mayo.
To use Douglas McGregor’s assumption of human nature formula it is easier to see that Bramel holds to theory X, which is a negative view on people assuming they have little ambition and motivation to work for the sake of working whereas Mayo and the observers of the Hawthorne experiment seem to hold to theory Y which is the opposite.
In conclusion Bramel’s theories on the running of the Hawthorne studies and the results those studies generated help promote my understanding of contemporary management functions and the employer-employee relationship by providing a more realistic interpretation of the average worker’s needs, an insight into the interaction between employer and employee over the years and by applying critical arguments to such an influential study.

Bibliography

Hawthorne, the Myth of the Docile Worker, and Class Bias in Psychology
D. Bramel,
American Psychologist, 36(8) D. (1981) pp. 867-878.

Shedding Light on the Hawthorne Studies
Jeffrey A. Sonnenfeld
Journal of Occupational Behaviour, Vol. 6, No. 2 (Apr., 1985), pp. 111-130

Human Relations in the Workplace
Julio J. Rotemberg
Vol. 102, No. 4 (Aug., 1994), pp. 684-688

Management: core concepts and skills
Paul Davidson ... [et al.]" Australasian ed., Chapter 1, (2006) pp. 2-38

The Hawthorne Studies: A Radical Criticism
Alex Carey
American Sociological Review, Vol. 32, No. 3 (Jun., 1967), pp. 403-416

Worker Interdependence and Output: The Hawthorne Studies Re-evaluated
Stephen R. G. Jones
American Sociological Review, Vol. 55, No. 2, (Apr, 1990), pp.176-190