It would be difficult nowadays to single out a successful organisation or company that isn’t
productive on a daily basis (hence why they’re successful). In today’s corporate world it is
usually a given that satisfied employees tends to equal a well accomplished firm, but the
thing is the world of management didn’t actually fully understand this concept until the
Hawthorne Studies were conducted from 1927-1932. Although the experiments were heavily
criticised e.g. there was poor research design, the findings from the studies were quite
significant in the turning point for management. For example the studies influenced a shift
away from the structural and technical concerns (of the classical approach) for a business,
towards the fact that added attention for the employees of a firm was a key component to
increasing workplace productivity. The study concluded that there was a direct relationship
between worker’s attitudes and feelings and the overall productivity of a company. An
important conclusion made from the study indicated that positive relationships between co-
workers would ultimately have a positive impact on a workplace which is why in this day and
age many employers tend to value likeable personalities as well as the typical requirements
companies look for (work ethic, smarts etc) when interviewing possible employees. For
instance first year health science students at Otago University are required to take a
mandatory personality test if they wish to be a candidate for medical school which
commences the following year. The Hawthorne studies was key in shaping today’s
management world as now managers are more empathic with their workers as they are treated
more as equals as opposed to parts to an assembly line. It has also helped more companies
become more productive leading to ridiculous profits and many multinational corporations.