Hawthorne Studies

By : Ren Mar F. Lozano

Origin
Where : Western electric’s Factory at Hawthorne

Between 1920s and 1930s

Elton Mayo, sociologist, Eventually became a professor in Harvard

Purpose
To know the effects of physical conditions on workers’ productivity.

Discovery

AN EXPERIMENT WAS CONDUCTED ON CONTROLLED GROUPS.

BASICALLY THEY WERE THE guinea pigs in a science experiment. So what the
sociologists did is to let one group have more light on their workplace then a normal
lighting on the other group.

After the experiment they discovered that the group with more light improved and
did more work than the other.

“Physical conditions on the environment affect the work of a person”

Discovery and Examples

Another experiment was held but with a different scenario. A company was looking
for an employee to take a Open high position, in other words, Promotion Opportunity.
They Discovered that these workers improved their work and became more productive
than usual. But once the position was taken, these employees worked normal.

Example : When a driver sees a police car, they drive slowly and at normal speed but
when they have passed through already, they drive fast and furious.

Result
Workers increase productivity not because of the Physical Conditions but rather the
idea that someone takes care of them and their workplace.
 An individual trying to outgrow another worker contradicts the Hawthorne Effect
because management on the research team’s idea is a group knowing that each of them
has a concern on one another. Making one feel that he/she is an integral part of the
group.

Impact on the Business World

This became an important topic in any Business related subjects in school. Many
factories and other company improved their workplace for employees to reach the peak
of productivity and be a top competitor in business.

Reference:

Dr. Douglas Hawks

https://study.com/academy/lesson/hawthorne-studies-in-management-summary-
conclusions.html