The Politics of Management Thought: a Case Study of Harvard

Summary of The Politics of Management Thought A pillow slip Study of the Harvard Business School and the Human Relations School HBR and HRS achieved an early success under lead of Mayo and Donham, where HRS positioned HBS as solution to pressing genial, economic and political issues. Historical context in oblige is about contemporary events to business leaders reacted. Alongside postwar, physical and philosophical reconstruction and labor concessions came. afterwards few days armistice was signed, presidents announced end of labor concessions.Dewey et al advocated application of civic democracy principles to workplace, cal conduct idealists, where idealists advocate role of labor and realist advocate greater control by administrators. These debates played role in construction of HBS and HRS. Wallace Donham, was appointed as dean of HBS in 1919. At that time HBS was suffering from severe pecuniary worrys and was under attack from academicians and businessmen. The scholars crit icized academic men valuing their work just to earn money to counter this problem he hired faculty from well-kn give disciplines such as history and philosophy.Businessmen criticized business schools, giving cypher but useless knowledge. Donham successfully brought HBS out of financial crises building congenericships with CEOs of big corporations. In 1926, Donham purposed hiring of Elton Mayo, who enjoyed a strong support in unified circle. Beardsley Ruml, Director of LSRM felt that Mayos flush toilet fill the space left in the area of industrial psychiatry. Thus addressing psychopathic factor obscure in industrial discontent at that time and bringing stability in industrial relation to overcome dissatisfaction and strikes.Donham being very eagerly expectant of HRS wanted to project its role as a Savior. Whereas, Mayo focused the Executives, concerned about the workers irrational and agitation-prone head word. In Hawthorne studies Mayo was criticized for having a mindset struc k with class conflict, industrial unrest, threats to social, political and economic orders. Mayo was of the view that the human factor in industries cadaver highly neglected. Mayo explained contemporary events with the help of psychology.In one of his articles mayo criticized classical economic science, he was of the view that economics ignore human factor. In his second article he identified uncontrolled mind as the most dangerous thing, leading to crime war and social revolution. His third article was about mind of agitator, in his view agitator is the person who blame society for the troubles he face, and as a resolve his mind becomes obsessed with rage. In the fourth article Mayo elaborated on the dangers of democracy that it leads to social disintegration.In the final article Mayo linked democracy with psychopathological tendencies. Mayo cited industry as having a social function and identified labor unrest a result of individuals unsounded disorientation to life and disint egration of personality leading to disordering of values and maladaptaion to the industrial environment. Mayo argued that labor is incapable of understanding his own problems and these cannot be solved through his participation in management, opposing the stance of industrial democrats.Mayo through his research demonstrated that fatigue causes reveries producing psychological agitation leading to social unrest. This conclusion led him using psychological theories to work place. Through Hawthorne studies Mayo persuaded that clinical interview was a treatment allowing interviewee to simply know his real problem. Mayo was influenced by psychology to view workplace problems as symptoms of underlying unconscious(p) disorientation. On this premise he developed agenda of research for industry and convinced leaders that it entrust solve their worries about labor strife.We find this article very interesting, as we got to know, how Mayo and Donham fulfilled their own needs ( i. e. Mayo wa s dropped out of the Medical school and was virtually broke, he struggled to gain foothold in academic community whereas Donham struggled to build HBSs financial security, as well as academic and corporate prestige, and he countered the criticism of academics and corporate) by proposing solutions for contemporary social political and economic issues.