The Hawthorne Studies.

(btn 1927-1932)

ELTON MAYO (1880-1949)

In these studies the emphasis was on the worker rather than the work,These researchers
like Taylor + the scientific manager were concerned wit studying pple esp in terms of
their social rships at work.
They concluded tht pipo r social animals.both at work and outside ,at amembership of a
gp is important to individuals.
Gp membership leads to establishment of informal gps wit in the official,formal gps as
laid down in the organisational structure.
Their conclusions gave rise to the idea of social man (now the socialmode) and to the
importance of human rela..
They stressed the need for managerial strategies to ensure tht the concern for pple at work
was given the highest priority.
The social model was seen as a rebuttal ofie ideas of scientific management wit its
emphasis on the task + control of work.
The studies were carried out over several years in of diff stages.

First stage (1924~27).

Was concerned wit the effect of the effects of western Electric Co. lighting on out
put.2grps of comparable performace were isolated from the rest + located in separate
parts of the plant.
Gp 1.the control gp had a consistent level of lighting.

Experimental gp-had its lighting vaned.

The out of both gps increased.
ie Even when the lighting for the experimental gp was reduced in a very low level,thy stil
produced more-sought the help of Mayo.

Stage 2

To make a closer + more detailed study of the effects of differing physical conditions +
productivity.At this stage thre was no deliberate inte.. to analyse social rships or
employee attitudes.
Women workers were segregated from the rest in a room of their own and ..in working
conditions were observed.
Rest pauses were introduced +vaned.
Lunch times were vaned in timing + in length.
Productivity increased whether the conditions were improved or worse.
Resarchers realised were not just studying the rship btn physical working
conditions,fatigue,monotomy+output but had been entering into a study of employee
attitude + value.
The womens reactions to the changes _increased output regardless of whether conditions
improved or worsened,”The Hawthone Effect”.
The women were responding not so much to the …..as to the fact tht they were the centre
of attraction _a special gp.

Stage 3
Conpany decided to inplement an interview program designed to ascertain employee
attitudes towards working conditions.
The material gained was used to improve several aspects of working + supervision.
It also became clear from the responses tht rships wit pple were an imprit factor in the
attitude of employees.

Stage 4(1936)
This was known as the bank wiving obse….room.
14 men on bank wiving were removed to a separate observation rm,were apart from a few
diffs their principal working conditions were the same as those in the main wiring area.
The gp was soon developing its own rules + behaviour.It restricted pdn in accordance of
its own norms,it short circuited the co. wage incentive scheme + ingeneral protected.
Its own sectional interests ajst these of the co.
The supervisors concerned were powerless to prevent the situation.
The gp had clearly developed its own unofficial orgsn ..in such a way tht it was able to
protect itself from outside influences whilst controlling its internal life too.

Final stage(1936)

It focused on employee relars 2 took the form of personnel ,counselling.counsellors

encouraged employees to discuss their problems at work + the results led to
improvements personal adjustments employee_supervisor relans +employee_mgmt rela.

Main conclusionns from the Hawthorne Researchers.

1.Individual workers cant be treated in isolation ,bt must be seen as members of the grp.
2.The need to belong to agrp + have status wit in is more important and monetary
incentives or gd physical working conditions.
3.Informal(unofficial) gps at work exercise a strong influence over the behaviour of
workers.
4.supervisors + managers need to be aware of these social needs + cater for them,if
workers are to collaborate wit the official orgn rather than work agst it.
_Experiment began as a study into physical conditions + prdctivity.
_it ended as aseries of studies into social factors,membership of gps,relations wit
supervision.etc.
_ Findings at social relations at work were every bit as important as monetary incentives
+ good physical working conditions.
_demonstrated the painful influence of gps in determinig the behaviour at work.