Manufacturing Knowledge: A History of the Hawthorne Experiments (Studies in Economic History and Policy: USA in the Twentieth Century) [Paperback]

Richard Gillespie (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 28, 1993 | ISBN-10: 0521456436 | ISBN-13: 978-0521456432

What motivates workers to work harder? What can management do to create a contented and productive workforce? Discussion of these questions would be incomplete without reference to the Hawthorne experiments, one of the most famous pieces of research ever conducted in the social and behavioral sciences. Drawing on the original records of the experiments and the personal papers of the researchers, Richard Gillespie has reconstructed the intellectual and political dynamics of the experiments as they evolved from the tentative experimentation to seemingly authoritative publications. Manufacturing Knowledge raises fundamental questions about the nature of scientific knowledge, and about the assumptions and evidence that underlay debates on worker productivity.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This is a scholarly, detailed, historical analysis of the famous 1924-1933 Hawthorne experiments and the literature of criticism and commentary that followed the initial accounts. Gillespie argues that numerous interpretations of the experiments and their relevance for management theory evolved because "scientific knowledge is produced in specific social, institutional, and ideological contexts and that these contexts leave their imprint on the knowledge claims made by scientists." Since the findings of the Hawthorne experiments continue to influence personnel management, this work will be of interest to those concerned with worker motivation and productivity. Highly recommended for academic libraries, particularly those with graduate collections.
- Jane M. Kathman, Coll. of St. Benedict Lib., St. Joseph, Minn.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"By systematically deconstructing the Hawthorne experiments--from their inception to their effects on industrial relations and the social sciences--Richard Gillespie successfully shows the complex processes at work in the production and consumption of knowledge. His work is both smart and persuasive and offers little comfort to those who subscribe to the notion of value-free science, for he contends that it is impossible to 'separate facts and values when manufacturing knowledge'." Historian

"Richard Gillespie's thoughtful and thoroughly researched history of the Hawthorne experiments and their legacy utilizes insights from the sociology of knowledge to challenge the notion fostered by Mayo and his colleagues that the experiments and the lessons drawn from them were the logical product of a purely objective scientific methodology....Gillespie presents an extremely effective case study of the way in which scientific knowledge is manufactured, not discovered....the richness of his historical account of the ideological and institutional setting in which the human relations school developed contributes significantly to our understanding of the evolution of the American system of industrial relations." Larry G. Gerber, The Journal of American History

"An original, broad, and often quite engaging study of the history of the Hawthorne experiments, Richard Gillespie's Manufacturing Knowledge ought to be taken seriously by historians of labor, business and the social sciences alike." Ronald Schatz, Wesleyan University

"Richard Gillespie has written a masterly account of how scientific language is produced. It will surely become the definitive history of the Hawthorne experiments." Science

"Gillespie's account of the Hawthorne experiments is highly informative and delightfully written....Readers will gain a solid understanding of the Hawthorne studies, the ensuing heated controversies among the researchers in finalizing conclusions, and social scientists' continuing debate over the 'correct' interpretation." Choice

"This is a scholarly, detailed historical analysis of the famous 1924-1933 Hawthorne experiments and the literature of criticism and commentary that followed the initial accounts....Since the findings of the Hawthorne experiments continue to influence personnel management, this work will be of interest to those concerned with worker motivation and productivity. Highly recommended for academic libraries, particularly those with graduate collections." Library Journal

"...an excellent book....probably presents the most balanced, most objective portrayal of the historic Hawthorne experiments ever written....there may be more books and articles written about the Hawthorne experiments in the future. However, this reviewer, at least, feels that this book will be hard to top." Wayne K. Kirchner, Personnel Psychology

"...an indispensable guide to the Hawthorne studies and a fascinating contribution to the history of mid-century social science research and academic professionalism." Journal of Economic History

"This very brief review cannot do justice to this excellent and compelling book, which will stand as a model of its genre." Ronald Schultz, History

"One of the many virtues of Richard Gillespie's careful examination of both the experiments and the experimenters is that it reveals how many interpretations of the evidence there have been." H. M. Gitelman, Business History Review

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (May 28, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521456436
• ISBN-13: 978-0521456432
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,223,791 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars useful but sometimes difficult to read, September 19, 2000

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VkpVkp - See all my reviews

This review is from: Manufacturing Knowledge: A History of the Hawthorne Experiments (Studies in Economic History and Policy: USA in the Twentieth Century) (Paperback)

Gillespie's _Manufacturing Knowledge_ illuminates an important chapter in the history of early 20th-century theory-driven empirical social science. This concerns the Hawthorne experiments of the 1920s and 1930s. They influenced industrial psychology, sociology and political science. Except for those already converted to the extreme version of Gillespie's central claim (he waffles), the author's style may drive away some readers unwilling to make the effort to read the book. _Manufacturing Knowledge_ neatly and valuably reveals the public relations involved in convincing academics and corporate leaders of a single interpretation of the Hawthorne experiments. That achievement and Gillespie's exposure of political power in the research networks underlying earlier and later Hawthorne experiments nicely show how corporate and academic biases affected the research of the Hawthorne researchers.

Gillespie's tediousness in repeatedly claiming that all knowledge is imposed makes some chapters very dry reading. (Indeed, he seems unaware of his apparent ambivalence, backing off the extreme version of his claim more than once.) Although chronology is important in his narrative, Gillespie will sometimes leave the reader unsure about the point in time to which his examples and claims refer. And more than once, Gillespie leaves crucial findings from his extensive archival research half-digested. That's unfortunate.

Gillespie assumes a lot: The more familiar one is with U.S. social history during 1900-1940, the more one will benefit from this unevenly written book. References to Japanese workplaces have potential but come across as an afterthought - attached but not deeply integrated into the rest of the book. More than one reading will be necessary. It's worth the effort.

1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thanks Richard Gillespie for your Hawthorne Contribution!, October 15, 1998

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[e-mail] (Chicago, Illinois - USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Manufacturing Knowledge: A History of the Hawthorne Experiments (Studies in Economic History and Policy: USA in the Twentieth Century) (Paperback)

The historical look at the Hawthorne Experiment is especially important to me as a relative of one of its participants. As a thirty-eight year veteran of quality control, I am struck by the many quality control and employee envolvement break-throughs that occured at the Hawthorne plant of Western ELectric during the 1920's. From the SPC work of Walter Shewhart and W.E. Deming, to the human relations advances found during the T room experiments, we see a forward looking company.

Richard Gillespie has captured the extensive documentation of these experiments and brought them to life.

Thanks once again.