Becoming a management legend by making history through the Hawthorne Studies: a conversation with Alfred A. Bolton

Executive Summary Dr. Alfred A. Bolton was known in academia as a guru of management history. His research concerning the Hawthorne Studies and his contributions to the Academy of Management History Division earned him the respect and admiration of his colleagues in academia. Dr. Bolton was born in Thorold, Ontario, Canada on November 12, 1926. In 1930, his family moved to Clarksburg, West Virginia, where his father was employed as a window glass cutter. In high school, Bolton entered an apprenticeship program to become a window glass cutter like his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather before him. In 1945, Bolton entered the U. S. Army Signal Corps, where he was stationed in Japan from June to October 1946. Bolton supervised a shift at the 8th Army ship-to-shore radio station in Yokohama. After leaving the Corps, Bolton finished his apprentice program. In 1950, Bolton returned to the Army Signal Corps where he supervised a staff of 250 government workers in Philadelphia. Bolton eventually left the Army as a first lieutenant. Bolton completed his undergraduate degree in management at West Virginia University (WVU) in 1951. He finished his coursework for the MBA program at WVU; however, he left before finishing his thesis to take a job with Bell Telephone. Starting in 1954, Bolton worked as a management trainee. By the end of his 35-year career at Bell, Bolton had climbed the corporate ladder to become a director and supervised over 400 long-distance telephone operators. In 1979, Bolton graduated with a MA in management from Goddard College in Washington, DC. Upon graduation, he received the Outstanding Graduate Student Award. At the age of 54, Bolton entered the doctoral program at Nova University, which is now Nova Southeastern University. It was at Nova that Bolton met Dr. Ronald G. Greenwood, who sparked his interest in the Hawthorne Through his connections at AT&T, Bolton arranged and interviewed three of the original participants in the Relay Assembly Test Room experiments with Dr. Greenwood. In 1983, Bolton published his findings with Dr. Greenwood and Regina A. Greenwood. Bolton interviewed many other participants connected with the Hawthorne Studies to complete his dissertation. Upon earning his doctoral degree, Bolton began his career in academia in 1985, teaching at Trinity College as an adjunct professor. He also taught at George Mason University, American University, and eventually became a full-time faculty member at Averett University in Danville, Virginia. Dr. Bolton lived in Danville after his retirement. He was active in the Academy of Management, where he had been a member since the early 1980s. Dr. through his humor, intellect, and experience, provided inspiration to many doctoral students, who aspired to enter the world of academia. Dr. Bolton gave this interview just two weeks prior to his death in July 2007. His many students, colleagues, and friends will deeply miss him. Authors: How did you become interested in management history? Bolton: That's interesting. Ron Greenwood was a great friend and I still miss him. It was my first day in class. I was 53 years old. I really wanted to have a doctorate. I was sitting in the front row of the class and Ron Greenwood was the professor. He looked at me and said, Bolton, you worked for the telephone company? and I said, Yes, sir. He said, Tell me about the Hawthorne Studies. And I sat there and said, Oh' lord I don't know. I think they turned the lights on and off. He just went like this (waved his arms) and walked away from me. Well, that wasn't a very good start, and I decided that I would find out something about the Hawthorne Studies, and so I did. From that, he and I developed a relationship. I had a chance to interview some of the people. From there, we did a lot of work on the Hawthorne That was the beginning. Authors: Why should managers and students learn about management history? …

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