Humanistic Era Reflection - Research Paper Example

The ‘20s was a booming economic time. Employees had been pushed during The Classical Era to focus on meeting production demands and maximizing their efforts. The scientific methods were in place and the human element in the workplace was secondary. Management did not care how the worker was feeling at the end of the day. There were no regulations on the length of a work day or the number of breaks employees were entitled to. The company could demand and get whatever it wanted from the workers at that time, if that person wanted a job.

Then the stock market crash came, followed by the Great Depression, and World War II. The employee was feeling very much at the employers’ mercy while at the same time dealing with the ups and downs of economic times. Pro-union legislation was put in place during The Humanistic Era, much as we know it today. The concept of the social person (a human existing within an organization as a person and a worker) and the relations between workers and managers did not exist prior to The Humanistic Era theorists. . As the historical frame took place, leading from the scientific methods of measurement and driving the worker to be most productive, the worker became burdened with long work days and thoughtless management decisions.

Theorists believed that workers needed more than simply a day’s pay to stay motivated to do more (McShane & Von Glinow, 2005). From a certain perspective, it is surprising that union legislation was instituted during this time in history as it doesn’t seem to fit with The Humanistic Era. Unions represent the group rather the individual person. However, as union representatives learned early on, a group of employees had more power with management than did one lone employee. Laws such as the Taft-Hartley Act (Labor-Management Relations Act) and The Wagner Act (National Labor Relations Act) (Noe et al., 2003) were part of the pro-union legislation that came to be during this era.

The Wagner Act was put in place first, 1935, establishing the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the general guidelines that continue to be used today in unionizing activities. Taft-Hartley Act (1947), was an amendment to The Wagner Act. This amendment allowed workers to report to work without being required to join the union. Simply put, The Wagner Act established the allowance for “right-to-work laws”. Some states have these laws and some do not. By law, all members in the jobs covered by the bargaining unit have to be covered by the same benefits, pay, and policies whether they are dues paying or not.

This Amendment was passed to prevent coercion with those unsure as to whether they wanted to be part of a union. Mary Parker Follett published in 1924, the management theory that would “facilitate the growth of individuals and the