From Emancipating to Domesticating the Workers: Lewinian Social Psychology and the Study of the Work Process Till 1947

Elteren, Mel van

doi:10.1007/978-1-4612-2746-5_31

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Workers were granted autonomy and free choice in determining their output, so long as this conformed to the overall goal of increasing productivity, with no necessary increase in compensation. In the Harwood experiments which were supposedly exercises in selfmanagement, managers set clear limits as to the required minimum (Van Elteren, 1997: 346/347). Coch & French (1948) framed the problem for the experimental groups as dramatically as possible by asking them to compare two garments "one was produced in 1946 and had sold for 100% more than its fellow in 1947" (ibid.…”

Section: A Unitarist Versus Plural View Of Organization?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Democracy and worker representation in the management of change: Lessons from Kurt Lewin and the Harwood studies

Desmond

Wilson

2018

Human Relations

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This article revisits the famous Harwood studies overseen by Kurt Lewin to include the neglected union perspective that differs markedly from conventional accounts. We explain this discrepancy as arising from unitarist and pluralist views, which assume very different understandings of organization. The researchers framed the Harwood organization from a unitarist perspective as monolithic, assuming its members are bound by allegiance to a common cause represented by management. This helps explain their relative indifference to unions and framing of concepts in a manner conducive to management that was incomprehensible from a union perspective. From this we contend that the Harwood studies are best understood as a cautionary tale against the assumption of a monolithic view that equates the interest of management with that of the organization. This is especially relevant given the dominance of a unitarist perspective across several fields of organization today, when management are argued to be increasingly authoritarian and union membership in several countries approaches an all-time low. Recognizing that organization is a balance struck between partially conflicting interests represents a more ethical stance to forestall accusations of partisanship and manipulation and to build towards the establishment of a fairer and more sustainable workplace for all.

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Section: A Unitarist Versus Plural View Of Organization?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Democracy and worker representation in the management of change: Lessons from Kurt Lewin and the Harwood studies

Desmond

Wilson

2018

Human Relations

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“…This is true as well for his interest in the involvement of psychologists in conflict resolution at the workplace. Recently historians have argued that Lewin's approach is best described as technocratic rather than as truly democratic; for in that model the experimenter and not the subjects decide what situations to investigate and how, just as managers and not workers determine the organization of production (Graebner, 1986(Graebner, , 1987van Elteren, 1990b; for replies to Graebner, see Lippitt, 1986;M. Lewin, 1987).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cultural contexts and scientific change in psychology: Kurt Lewin in Iowa.

Ash

1992

American Psychologist

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Kurt Lewin's scientific biography after his 1933 emigration from Nazi Germany and his move to the United States exhibits a complex mix of continuity and change. In his work at the Iowa Child Welfare Research Station between 1935 and1944, Lewin tried to recreate the scientific microculture that had formed around him in Berlin. In the process, he converted biography into theory, adapting to current cultural concerns, to then-prevailing research styles, and to changing institutional and funding networks in American psychology. However, despite their considerable impact at the time, the later reception of Lewin's ideas and methods by American psychologists was ambivalent.

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“…However, socio-technical systems principles do not find wider application. Several sources indicate that powerful forces are ranged against STS principles of self-management (Trist, 1981, p. 14;Van Eijnatten, 1998). This is the case both at various levels of coal industry management, among the trade unions and among rank-and-file employees.…”

Section: The Tavistock Researchers' View Of Powermentioning

confidence: 99%

Action Research in Organizations

Kristiansen¹,

Bloch-Poulsen²

2020

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An electronic version of this book is freely available, thanks to the support of libraries working with Knowledge Unlatched. KU is a collaborative initiative designed to make high quality books Open Access for the public good. The Open Access ISBN for this book is 978-3-8474-1663-0. More information about the initiative and links to the Open Access version can be found at www.knowledgeunlatched.org

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From Emancipating to Domesticating the Workers: Lewinian Social Psychology and the Study of the Work Process Till 1947

Cited by 5 publications

References 22 publications

Democracy and worker representation in the management of change: Lessons from Kurt Lewin and the Harwood studies

Democracy and worker representation in the management of change: Lessons from Kurt Lewin and the Harwood studies

Cultural contexts and scientific change in psychology: Kurt Lewin in Iowa.

Action Research in Organizations

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