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May free-access article

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Please find details of this month's Human Relations free-access article below – we hope you will enjoy reading it.

Rethinking the Hawthorne Studies: The Western Electric research in its social, political and historical context 
John S Hassard 
Human Relations 2012; 65 (11): 1431–1461
DOI: 10.1177/0018726712452168 

http://hum.sagepub.com/content/65/11/1431.full.pdf+html

This article won the Human Relations Paper of the Year Award 2012.

Abstract

In primary accounts of the Hawthorne Studies (1924–32), the host organization, Western Electric, is treated as a largely anonymous actor. Through case-based historical research we find such treatment masks the distinctive profile of the company in the years preceding and encompassing the Hawthorne investigations. Besides its significant industrial standing, when Western's reputation for welfare capitalism is considered alongside a tragedy that galvanizes its Hawthorne workforce, the company emerges as an iconic manufacturer with a singular cultural inheritance. Unlike previous retrospective studies, this research explains a range of social and political factors that shaped the Hawthorne Works at this time. In particular, it describes how an ostensibly 'human relations' philosophy had been espoused at Western prior to Elton Mayo's arrival in 1928, but that this outwardly 'progressive' ethos was underpinned by hard-edged paternalism and tough-minded anti-unionism. Later, during the 1930s, an increasingly challenging organizational climate developed at Western as a result of the Great Depression coupled with exigent AT&T policies. Findings from this research can be contrasted with 'enlightenment' or 'revelatory' narratives on Hawthorne as expressed in management textbooks. The article offers, at once, fresh insights into the history of Western Electric and new interpretations of the Harvard-influenced research conducted therein. 

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Special issue call for papers

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Submission deadline: 31 May 2014

30th Anniversary – Beyond Morgan's eight metaphors

http://www.tavinstitute.org/humanrelations/special_issues/Morgan.html

Guest Editors:

Anders Örtenblad (University of Nordland, Norway)

Linda Putnam (University of California Santa Barbara, USA) and

Kiran Trehan (University of Birmingham, UK)

Invited commenter: Gareth Morgan, York University, Canada

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Free-access podcasts and articles

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Workplace mindfulness podcast (posted March 2014):

http://hwcdn.libsyn.com/p/a/d/2/ad2147af2c27cc22/Human_Relations_Podcast_7_67.1_Workplace_Mindfulness.mp3?c_id=6987183&expiration=1396362063&hwt=4119f19c11c824c429ec766acab37f5c

Dr Erik Dane and Dr Bradley J Brummel discuss their research on workplace mindfulness, published in Volume 67 Issue 1:

http://hum.sagepub.com/content/67/1/105.full

Obesity in organizations podcast (posted December 2013):
http://hum.sagepub.com/content/suppl/2013/12/09/0018726713496831.DC1/Human_Relations_Podcast_6_Obesity_in_Organizations.mp3

Dr Charlotte Levay discusses her research on obesity in organizations, published in Volume 66, issue 12:

http://hum.sagepub.com/content/early/2013/11/21/0018726713496831.full

Abusive supervision podcast (posted November 2013):

http://hum.sagepub.com/content/suppl/2013/11/22/0018726713493027.DC1/Human_Relations_Podcast_5_Abusive_Supervision.mp3

Dr Stefan Klaussner discusses his research on how supervisor-subordinate interaction can escalate in organisations, published in Volume 66, issue 11:

http://hum.sagepub.com/content/early/2013/11/21/0018726713493027.full

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May 2014 issue articles

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The May issue (Vol. 67, No. 5) of Human Relations is available online at: http://hum.sagepub.com/content/67/5?etoc

Making the ideal (local) entrepreneur: Place and the regional development of high-tech entrepreneurial identity 
Rebecca Gill and Gregory S Larson

http://hum.sagepub.com/content/67/5/519?etoc

Expressing religious identities in the workplace: Analyzing a neglected diversity dimension 
Diether Gebert, Sabine Boerner, Eric Kearney, James E King, Jr, Kai Zhang, and Lynda Jiwen Song

http://hum.sagepub.com/content/67/5/543?etoc

Obesity in organizational context (free access)
Charlotta Levay

http://hum.sagepub.com/content/67/5/565?etoc

Free-access podcast: http://hum.sagepub.com/content/suppl/2013/12/09/0018726713496831.DC1

An 'emerging challenge': The employment practices of a Brazilian multinational company in Canada Roberta Aguzzoli and John Geary 
Roberta Aguzzoli and John Geary

http://hum.sagepub.com/content/67/5/587?etoc

Subversive functionalism: For a less canonical critique in critical management studies 
Rasmus Koss Hartmann

http://hum.sagepub.com/content/67/5/611?etoc

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Recent OnlineFirst preview articles

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April 23, 2014

Expanding the boundaries of boundary theory: Regulative institutions and work–family role management

Matthew M Piszczek and Peter Berg

Human Relations 0018726714524241, first published on April 23, 2014 as doi:10.1177/0018726714524241

http://hum.sagepub.com/content/early/2014/04/22/0018726714524241.abstract

Abstract

With the changing demographics of the labor force, management of work and family role boundaries has become an important area of research. However, the literature surrounding boundary theory – one of the most prevalent theories of work–family role management – has evolved too narrowly. Although early boundary theory development acknowledged the importance of higher level social institutions, they have been largely omitted from the current research, which is predominantly individual-focused. The present article further develops the role of international regulative institutions in managing work and family role boundaries, including the consequences of their omission in the current literature for individual employees, organizations and the fit between them.

April 22, 2014

Resistance and struggle in leadership development

Brigid Carroll and Helen Nicholson

Human Relations 0018726714521644, first published on April 22, 2014 as doi:10.1177/0018726714521644

http://hum.sagepub.com/content/early/2014/04/22/0018726714521644.abstract

Abstract

That leadership development is a contested terrain, like any organizational terrain, can scarcely be considered a new idea, yet research into the intricacies of resistance in this context is very much in its infancy. This article takes recent critical scholarship on resistance as its starting point to explore the interdependencies of power, resistance and struggle in a leadership development environment. Drawing on extensive online interactions collected from an 18-month, cross-sector programme with emergent leaders, this article asks whether the different stakeholders in leadership development could benefit from a more open exploration of power and resistance. Such dynamics offer new insights into the relationship between participants and facilitators and raise a series of alternative questions, challenges and strategies for leadership development.

You can access all current OnlineFirst preview articles here: http://hum.sagepub.com/content/early/recent

Best wishes,

Claire Castle

Managing Editor, Human Relations 

Email: c.castle@tavinstitute.org

Website: www.humanrelationsjournal.org

Submission guidance: http://www.tavinstitute.org/humanrelations/submit_paper.html

Human Relations 2012 Impact Factor:
2-year impact factor: 1.938

5-year impact factor: 2.901

Source: 2012 Journal Citation Reports® (Thomson Reuters, 2013)