<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: useful but sometimes difficult to read
Review: Gillespie's _Manufacturing Knowledge_ illuminates an important chapter in the history of early 20th-century theory-driven empirical social science. This concerns the Hawthorne experiments of the 1920s and 1930s. They influenced industrial psychology, sociology and political science. Except for those already converted to the extreme version of Gillespie's central claim (he waffles), the author's style may drive away some readers unwilling to make the effort to read the book. _Manufacturing Knowledge_ neatly and valuably reveals the public relations involved in convincing academics and corporate leaders of a single interpretation of the Hawthorne experiments. That achievement and Gillespie's exposure of political power in the research networks underlying earlier and later Hawthorne experiments nicely show how corporate and academic biases affected the research of the Hawthorne researchers. Gillespie's tediousness in repeatedly claiming that all knowledge is imposed makes some chapters very dry reading. (Indeed, he seems unaware of his apparent ambivalence, backing off the extreme version of his claim more than once.) Although chronology is important in his narrative, Gillespie will sometimes leave the reader unsure about the point in time to which his examples and claims refer. And more than once, Gillespie leaves crucial findings from his extensive archival research half-digested. That's unfortunate. Gillespie assumes a lot: The more familiar one is with U.S. social history during 1900-1940, the more one will benefit from this unevenly written book. References to Japanese workplaces have potential but come across as an afterthought - attached but not deeply integrated into the rest of the book. More than one reading will be necessary. It's worth the effort.
Rating:
Summary: useful but sometimes difficult to read
Review: Gillespie's _Manufacturing Knowledge_ illuminates an important chapter in the history of early 20th-century theory-driven empirical social science. This concerns the Hawthorne experiments of the 1920s and 1930s. They influenced industrial psychology, sociology and political science. Except for those already converted to the extreme version of Gillespie's central claim (he waffles), the author's style may drive away some readers unwilling to make the effort to read the book. _Manufacturing Knowledge_ neatly and valuably reveals the public relations involved in convincing academics and corporate leaders of a single interpretation of the Hawthorne experiments. That achievement and Gillespie's exposure of political power in the research networks underlying earlier and later Hawthorne experiments nicely show how corporate and academic biases affected the research of the Hawthorne researchers. Gillespie's tediousness in repeatedly claiming that all knowledge is imposed makes some chapters very dry reading. (Indeed, he seems unaware of his apparent ambivalence, backing off the extreme version of his claim more than once.) Although chronology is important in his narrative, Gillespie will sometimes leave the reader unsure about the point in time to which his examples and claims refer. And more than once, Gillespie leaves crucial findings from his extensive archival research half-digested. That's unfortunate. Gillespie assumes a lot: The more familiar one is with U.S. social history during 1900-1940, the more one will benefit from this unevenly written book. References to Japanese workplaces have potential but come across as an afterthought - attached but not deeply integrated into the rest of the book. More than one reading will be necessary. It's worth the effort.
Rating: 
Summary: Thanks Richard Gillespie for your Hawthorne Contribution!
Review: The historical look at the Hawthorne Experiment is especially important to me as a relative of one of its participants. As a thirty-eight year veteran of quality control, I am struck by the many quality control and employee envolvement break-throughs that occured at the Hawthorne plant of Western ELectric during the 1920's. From the SPC work of Walter Shewhart and W.E. Deming, to the human relations advances found during the T room experiments, we see a forward looking company. Richard Gillespie has captured the extensive documentation of these experiments and brought them to life. Thanks once again.
Rating:
Summary: Thanks Richard Gillespie for your Hawthorne Contribution!
Review: The historical look at the Hawthorne Experiment is especially important to me as a relative of one of its participants. As a thirty-eight year veteran of quality control, I am struck by the many quality control and employee envolvement break-throughs that occured at the Hawthorne plant of Western ELectric during the 1920's. From the SPC work of Walter Shewhart and W.E. Deming, to the human relations advances found during the T room experiments, we see a forward looking company. Richard Gillespie has captured the extensive documentation of these experiments and brought them to life. Thanks once again.
<< 1 >>
| 
