Hawthorn Studies

Additionally, laboratory experiments in social research can cause the Hawthorne effect which can reduce the validity of the research and also make them seem undesirable. The Hawthorne effect is when the presence of a researcher changes the behaviour of the group that is being studied. The participants are not showing their true behaviour and one reason why they may be altering their behaviour when in the presence of a researcher is because they think that they have guessed what the researcher is studying and therefore wants to help them with their research by acting in the way that they think the researcher wants to see. Their assumptions though are not always correct.

On September 6th, 1971, President Richard Nixon gave the “Address to the Nation on Labor Day.” In this speech, he determines that there is a change in the work environment air. Nixon claims that workers in this developmental time deserve new opportunities to grow within their work. He reached the conclusion that job satisfaction should be a company's main focus. As the work environment evolves, worker satisfaction becomes increasingly more important. Employees have expectations, such as raises, insurance, and paid time off, so if a company is not willing to comply with these new demands, then it will become increasingly difficult to generate decent productivity rates. Nixon defined this word by stating that “Productivity really means getting

This report summarizes the history of work attitude for hourly workers and managers, who controlled the quality of the products and sale growth, at Ford Motor Company during and before Economic recession. It is representative of how Ford Management has run the manufacturing sector since 60s in order to meet demand. The purpose of this report is to analyze how Sharonville Plant of the Ford Motor Company can advance work behaviors, enhance training, establish work environment, and motivate workers.

Behavioral Management Theory is the understanding and response of employee needs to enforce motivation. This theory guides management in a better understanding of the human aspect. It involves management to treat employees as important resources in the workforce. The goal is to raise productivity and to do this by motivating employees. Motivating employees can involve incentives like employee bonuses, promotions, and the collection and redeeming of points for rewards. As the management takes interest in employees, it makes them feel like an important part of the puzzle, and in turn motivates employees to work harder. Like in most cases, if the employees are satisfied and working conditions are good, productivity raises automatically. A theorist by the name of Mayo Hawthorne devised an experiment that allowed a group of telephone line workers to be separated and observed in a private room. The controlled group of employees increased greatly in productivity. This brought the human relations movement that involved management spending time, showing interest, and rewarding employees to increase productivity. Employees felt management was

What were the Hawthorne Studies and how can the result is applied to the work place. pg 259-260; slide 10-5

Amazingly, productivity rapidly raised in the first 24 hours. The study concluded that for maximum productivity, the best worker had to be chosen to perform that task and had to be provided with training for efficient work. Every worker and his output had to be closely monitored and he had to be rewarded for greater productivity. Taylor also wanted to reduce conflicts between managers and workers by convincing them that they would benefit mutually from a rise in productivity, as this would favour society and the organisation as a whole.

One of the valued but demanding customer, who had considered Engstrom as a certified supplier, was requesting a large order but Engstrom was unable to deliver on time due to the low productivity problem. The plant manager along with his assistant were already dealing with the troubling numbers when this happened. While the task was a tough bone and not easy to tackle, and there were a lot of factors needed to be taken in to consideration. The leadership started to analyze and break down the main causations other than the overall economic trend that dragged the company into the turmoil, as it turned out, it was the low, frustrated employee morale and diminished work satisfaction.

The year 1911 saw Frederick Winslow Taylor publish a book titled ‘The principles of scientific management’ in which he aimed to prove that the scientific method could be used in producing profits for an organization through the improvement of an employee’s efficiency. During that decade, management practice was focused on initiative and incentives which gave autonomy to the workman. He thus argued that one half of the problem was up to management, and both the worker and manager needed to cooperate in order to produce the greatest prosperity.

Managers throughout history have been interested in studying ways to increase productivity. For example, Frederick Taylor began the movement of scientific management in the 1880’s. Scientific management looked to improve productivity through means of scientific analysis of worker’s tasks and work processes rather than the old “rule of thumb” (Taylor, 1914). Taylor believed that he could maximize worker efficiency and productivity through focusing on workers specific hand motions and patterns. After this period, beginning in about the 1930’s, managers looked to take productivity to yet another level by studying worker physiology and motivation. This new movement came to be known as the human relations movement.

     Work change is further complicated by the fact that is does not produce a direct adjustment as in case of air molecules. Instead, it operates trough each employee’s attitudes to produce a response that is conditioned by feelings toward the change. This relationship was illustrated in a series of classic experiments by Roethlisberger and his associates. In one instance lighting was improved regularly according to the theory that better lighting would lead to greater productivity. As was expected, productivity did increase. The lighting was decreased to illustrate the reverse effect-reduced productivity. Instead, productivity increased further! Lighting was again decreased. The result was still greater productivity! Finally, lighting was decreased to 0.06 of a footcandle, which is approximately equivalent to moonlight. According to Roethlisberger, “Not until

Although production needs are being met, improvements in productivity are always at the forefront of management’s thoughts. Doing more with less is a constant effort for middle management and hourly laborers. Over all the

The studies failed to prove any positive correlations between workplace conditions and productivity. The results of the studies demonstrated that innate forces of human behavior may have a greater influence on organizations than do mechanistic incentive systems. The legacy of the Hawthorne studies and other organizational research efforts of that period began to emphasize the importance of individual and group interaction, humanistic management skills, and social relationships in the workplace.

time in which it took to answer the calls and also the levels of call

The scientific management theory have an assumption that workers are lazy, not smart in analyzing tasks, only prefers simplified work and only works for money (Miller & Form, 1964). According to Taylor (2004), workers are unable figure out the most efficient way in doing work. Therefore, they are thought as replaceable working parts like a machine in the production line and can be trained to specialize in a certain procedure in the production. They are assumed to adopt the Protestant work ethic, working for long hours and not taking any breaks. Whenever a worker or a ‘part’ failed to perform its tasks, they

The classical approach’s viewpoint of the workers has become different in the 21st century as the modern era is more focused on the social needs and welfare of the workers. Human’s rights are being advocated, henceforth making it necessary for organisations and their management to take care of the needs of the workers. Workers from the past were also less educated, whereas 90% of the population in the 21st century living in cities are literate. As such, it is more important for managers to focus more on improving the interactions and relations between management and workers at the workplace. This is developed in Hawthorne studies by Elton Mayo, who discovered the importance of informal working group. When workers feel more important at work and being taken care of, their productivity will improve, resulting in an increase in output. This is therefore different from the viewpoint of the classical approach when the social needs of the workers are being neglected.