Reference no: EM133144782

The Harwood Manufacturing Company was planning to recruit older workers to ease the labour shortage, created by the Second World War, at its pyjama factory in rural Virginia. The proposal was fiercely resisted by supervisors who feared that older workers would be inefficient and difficult to manage. The director of personnel responded by providing supervisors with scientific 'proof' that older workers did possess the skills and aptitude necessary to perform effectively. But the supervisors rejected the evidence and were not persuaded. However, rather than moving ahead and imposing the new hiring policy, the director of personnel decided to try to change attitudes by involving the supervisors in a research project designed to investigate the efficiency of older workers. The study focused on older workers already employed in the plant. Some had been with the company for many years and others had been employed more recently for social reasons, for example because they had been widowed. Members of staff were given full responsibility for designing the project and deciding how to collect the data. The findings of the study were a surprise to the supervisors. They found that it was not age but a range of other factors that were the main determinants of performance. Blake and Mouton report that while the supervisors had rejected 'expert' evidence, they were convinced by their own findings. Their involvement in the project helped them to unlearn some of the beliefs they had held to be true and changed their attitudes towards the employment of older workers.

Q1. in a structured presentation ( introduction, development, and conclusion) identify and describe wich focal issues is concerned in the above example ( other focal issues information will be mentioned only )then, you will explain how collaborators slowly have accepted the change at Harwood Manufacturing. you will conclude on the effectiveness of such a procedure.

Organizational development subject , chapter 13 Interventions classified by the problems they are designed to address