The Findings Of The Hawthorne Experiments

During the course of interviews, it was discovered that workers’ behaviour was being influenced by group behaviour. However, this conclusion was not very satisfactory and, therefore, researches decided to conduct another series of experiments. As such, the detailed study of a shop situation was started to find out the behaviour of workers in small groups. Using a study group other experiments were conducted to examine what effect of monotony and fatigue on productivity and how to control those using variables such as rest breaks, work hours and incentives. The Hawthorne Effect refers to the fact that people will modify their behavior simply because they are being observed. The effect gets its name from one of the most famous industrial history experiments that took place at Western Electric’s factory in the Hawthorne suburb of Chicago in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

Hawthorne Experiment by Elton Mayo

This could include bonuses, gift cards, or even just a simple thank-you note. By the experiment hewthrone experiment was conducted by recognizing and rewarding good performance, employees are more likely to feel valued and motivated to continue performing well in the future. While the Hawthorne Effect can be a useful tool for improving productivity, it can also have negative consequences. For example, workers may feel that they are being spied on or that their privacy is being invaded, leading to resentment and decreased productivity. Demand characteristics describe the phenomenon in which the subjects of an experiment would draw conclusions concerning the experiment’s objectives, and either subconsciously or consciously alter their behavior as a result (Orne, 2009). On the one hand, letting employees know that they are being observed may engender a sense of accountability.

In 1927, researchers conducted an experiment where they chose two female workers as test subjects and asked them to choose four other women to join the test group. Until 1928, the team of women worked in a separate room, assembling telephone relays. These experiments were conducted to find out the impact of small groups on the individuals. In this experiment, a group of 14 male workers were formed into a small work group. The men were engaged in the assembly of terminal banks for the use in telephone exchanges.

1. They highlighted the importance of psychological and social factors in workplace productivity, such as employee attention and group dynamics, leading to a more human-centric approach in management practices.
2. The interview programme gave valuable insights about the human behaviour in the company.
3. In 1927, a group of researchers led by Elton Mayo and Fritz Roethlisberger of the Harvard Business School were invited to join in the studies at the Hawthorne Works of Western Electric Company, Chicago.
4. Conducted by Elton Mayo and his team at the Western Electric Company in the 1920s and 1930s, the experiments aimed to investigate the effects of various working conditions on employee productivity.
5. The following video from the AT&T archives contains interviews with individuals who participated in these studies.

Introduction to Business

These girls were friendly to each other and were asked to work in a very informal atmosphere under the supervision of a researcher. Productivity and morale increased considerably during the period of the experiment. Productivity went on increasing and stabilized at a high level even when all the improvements were taken away and the pre-test conditions were reintroduced. The researchers concluded that socio-psychological factors such as feeling of being important, recognition, attention, participation, cohesive work-group, and non-directive supervision held the key for higher productivity. During the 1920s, a series of studies that marked a change in the direction of motivational and managerial theory was conducted by Elton Mayo on workers at the Hawthorne plant of the Western Electric Company in Illinois. Previous studies, in particular Frederick Taylor’s work, took a “man as machine” view and focused on ways of improving individual performance.

This reversed the assumptions long held by managers who believed that economic issues were at the heart of employee motivation. Although the methods of Mayo’s research have been criticized, the results have led managers and scholars to study the human relations that affect employee motivation. The Hawthorne effect is a physiological phenomenon that produces an improvement in human behavior or performance as a result of increased attention of superiors and colleagues. As a combined effort, the effect can enhance results by creating sense of teamwork and a common purpose.

Workers apparently had become suspicious that their productivity may have been boosted to justify firing some of the workers later on.13 The study was conducted by Elton Mayo and W. Lloyd Warner between 1931 and 1932 on a group of fourteen men who put together telephone switching equipment. The researchers found that although the workers were paid according to individual productivity, productivity decreased because the men were afraid that the company would lower the base rate. Detailed observation of the men revealed the existence of informal groups or “cliques” within the formal groups. These cliques developed informal rules of behavior as well as mechanisms to enforce them. The cliques served to control group members and to manage bosses; when bosses asked questions, clique members gave the same responses, even if they were untrue.

Human and social motivation can play even a greater role than mere monitory incentives in moving or motivating and managing employee group. The workers in a group develop a common psychological bond uniting them as £ group in the form of informal organisation. Pressure of a group, rather than management demands, frequently has the strongest influence on how productive workers would be. It was expected that highly efficient workers would bring pressure on less efficient workers to increase output and take advantage of group incentive plan.

Hawthorne Experiment by Elton Mayo

The first and most influential of these studies is known as the “Illumination Experiment”, conducted between 1924 and 1927 (sponsored by the National Research Council).

Bank Wiring Observation Room Experiment:

1. These experiments were conducted to find out the impact of small groups on the individuals.
2. The Hawthorne effect is named after a set of studies conducted at Western Electric’s Hawthorne Plant in Cicero during the 1920s.
3. It’s named after a study at the Hawthorne Works factory, where researchers found that workers became more productive when they realized they were being observed, regardless of the actual working conditions.
4. One way to try and avoid the Hawthorne Effect is to use covert observation so that the subjects of the study are unaware that they are being studied.

Others have suggested that the experiments were biased towards the interests of management, and that they ignored the perspectives and experiences of workers themselves. While it is true that individuals may modify their behavior as a result of being observed, the extent and nature of this effect can vary depending on a number of different factors. For example, the type of task being observed, the degree of attention given to the individual being observed, and the level of interactivity between the observer and the observed can all have an impact on the nature of the effect. While the Hawthorne Effect is taught in business schools and sociology courses around the world, recent scholarship has begun to question its validity. According to Scientific American, out of the first three original experiments, only one showed improved productivity, the second found no improved productivity, and in the third productivity actually worsened. What is suspicious is that the sponsors of the study ordered the destruction of all data, including everything that had been sent to MIT, and for no report to be written.

What Were Some of the Flaws of the Original Hawthorne Study?

This movement, which was led by figures like Frederick Winslow Taylor, sought to improve workplace efficiency through the application of scientific principles. Taylor and his followers believed that workers were inherently lazy and inefficient, and that their productivity could only be improved through careful measurement and management of their work processes. Overall, the Hawthorne Effect is a complex phenomenon that has important implications for the field of Organizational Behavior.

This term refers to the tendency of workers to perform better when they know they are being observed or studied. The Hawthorne Experiments showed that workers’ behavior could be influenced by a range of factors, including the presence of researchers, the attitudes of their supervisors, and the social dynamics of the workplace. Another key finding of the Hawthorne studies is the power of group dynamics in the workplace. The researchers found that workers’ attitudes and productivity were heavily influenced by the social dynamics of their workgroups. This has led to the development of team-building approaches and the promotion of a positive work culture that fosters collaboration and teamwork. However, if employees perceive ulterior motives behind the observation, a different set of outcomes may ensue.