The importance of employing international approach is growing as the globalization tendencies become dominating. Every person involved in managing services has to know specifics of globalization process as they can influence the potential decisions. The development of globalization processes leads to the extension of transnational companies and corporations.
Such tendencies cause the need for changing the methods and techniques employed in management and stimulate the transition from classic management to systematic management. Future impacts of globalization can include the growing demand for specialists able to work with employees of different nations and professionals aware of the specifics of providing appropriate management services in the particular cultural area.
Hawthorne experiments and their relevance for management and organizational behavior
The main conclusions that can be drawn from the Hawthorne experiments include the notion that money should not be regarded as the only power able to stimulate the enthusiasm of workers (Liang, 2014, p. 91). Social and psychological factors also play an important role in motivating the workers. People need to have the sense of security and belonging. Paying special attention to people helps to develop a positive attitude and stimulate them to strive for better performance.
The Hawthorne experiments proved to be highly relevant as they encouraged managers to search for methods of increasing productivity in combination with striving for providing appropriate job satisfaction (Williams, 2009, p. 57).
The findings of the experiments contributed to better understanding of the role of organizing healthy working conditions in promoting excellent working performance. Besides, the findings of the studies helped to understand that presence of observers could influence the behavior of groups (Hutzschenreuter, 2009, p. 26). Therefore, the results of the Hawthorne experiments demonstrated the exceptional importance of control and the role it plays in stimulating better performance.
The relevance of the experiments for modern management and organizational behavior can be considered as rather high, as the concepts developed from their findings apply to the modern system of organizing companies and corporations. The findings of the experiments agree with leader theories that were developed later and that are widely used in modern management.
The Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) theory defines leadership as a process of interaction between leader and follower and “centers on the dyadic exchange relationships between both” (Winkler, 2010, p. 47). In other words, the theory emphasizes the influence of the quality of these relationships on the responsibility of the follower. This concept stresses the importance of providing satisfaction from personal relations with leaders at work for stimulating good performance. The findings of Hawthorne experiments coincide with this statement.
However, as the Hawthorne experiments were held in the first half of the twentieth century, they cannot be fully relevant to system of modern management and organizational behaviour due to the tendencies developed during the second half of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first century.
The experiments paid no special attention to the specifics of multicultural organizations and the ways of organizing their management in the most efficient way. The need for emphasizing these specifics rose later when the processes of globalization started dominating the world community.
Therefore, the Hawthorne experiments cannot be found as relevant as newest studies such as Hofstede’s validate research. Hofstede managed to address the issues related to the specifics of relations in multinational organization and developed a cultural map to be used as a guide assessing suitability of Management theories in different cultural contexts (Sheldrake, 2005, p. 222).
References
Hutzschenreuter, Jens. (2009). Management control in small and medium-sized enterprises. Berlin, Germany: Springer Science & Business Media.
Liang, M. (2014). The microeconomic growth. New York: Springer Science & Business Media.
Sheldrake, J. (2005). Management theory. London: Cengage Learning EMEA.
Williams, C. (2009). Management. Mason, Ohio: South-Western Cengage Learning.
Winkler, I. (2010). Contemporary Leadership Theories: Enhancing the understanding of the complexity, subjectivity and dynamic of leadership. Berlin, Germany: Springer Science & Business Media.