Republic of the Philippines

BULACAN AGRICULTURAL STATE COLLEGE

Institute of Education
Pinaod, San Ildefonso, Bulacan, Philippines 3010
Cert. No. 19.67.PH212501.00

EDM 220- THEORIES AND PRINCIPLES OF EDUCATIONAL MANAGEMENT

Subject Professor: Dr. Viverly Estarez-Mata

Topic: Management Yesterday and Today

Subtopics: Hawthorne Studies

Life and career
An Australian by birth, Mayo read psychology at Adelaide University> He
was appointed lecturer in Logic, Ethics and Psychology (and later Professor of
Philosophy), at the University of Queensland in 1911.
Anxious to move to the USA for professional reasons, he took a post at Pennsylvania
University in 1923. Here, he became involved in one of the investigations which
seemed to act as a dry-run for Hawthorne. In one department at a spinning mill in
Philadelphia, labour turnover was 250% compared with an average of 6% in other
departments of the company. A series of experimental changes in working conditions
was introduced in the department, most notably rest pauses. These changes led to
successive increases in productivity and the raising of morale. After one year, labour
turnover was down to the average level for the company as a whole. It was
assumed that the explanation for this improvement was the introduction and
modification of rest pauses. This explanation was to undergo substantial modification
as a result of Hawthorne.
The Hawthorne Experiments began in 1924, Mayo's involvement started in 1928
after he had moved to the Harvard University School of Business Administration as
Associate Professor of Industrial Research. Later awarded a Chair, he remained at
Harvard until his retirement in 1947. During the Second World War, Mayo
contributed to the development of supervisor training within his Training Within
Industry (TWI) programme, which was widely adopted in the USA. The last two
years of his life were spent in Britain as an advisor to the British government on
problems within industry.
Mayo wrote about democracy and freedom and the social problems of industrialised
civilisation. It is as the author of Human problems of an industrial civilisation which
reports on the Hawthorne Experiments, that he is known for his contribution to
management thinking, even though he disclaimed responsibility for the design and
direction of the project.

What is the Hawthorne Effect?

The Hawthorne Effect is used to describe a change in the behavior of an individual
that results from their awareness of being observed. The effect suggests that
workers tend to change their behavior at work in response to the attention they
receive from their supervisor.
The Hawthorne Effect derives its name from industrial experiments that were carried
out in the Hawthorne suburb (now called Cicero) of Chicago in the 1920s and 1930s.
____________________________________________________________
www.basc.edu.ph / Email: info@basc.edu.ph
Telefax Nos: (044) 762-1427 / (044) 762-0120

BASC-IED-QSF-01/Rev.00 (02.03.2020)
 Republic of the Philippines
BULACAN AGRICULTURAL STATE COLLEGE
Institute of Education
Pinaod, San Ildefonso, Bulacan, Philippines 3010
Cert. No. 19.67.PH212501.00

The research comprised several productivity studies that tested the impact of
changes in lighting and work structures, such as break times and working hours, on
employee productivity.
 
 

 
Later interpretations by different researchers
revealed that being the subjects of a study and
getting increased attention from researchers can
result in a temporary improvement in worker
productivity. However, a 2009 experiment by the
University of Chicago revealed that the results of the
original study were likely overstated.
 
History of the Hawthorne Effect
Lighting Experiment at Hawthorne Works
The term “Hawthorne Effect” was coined by researcher Henry A. Landsberger in
1958 when he was conducting an analysis of earlier experiments conducted in the
1920s and 1930s. He named the effect he discovered after the Hawthorne Works
Electric Company in Hawthorne, Illinois, where the first experiment took place.
The electrical company sponsored a study of its workers to see if
their productivity would increase when the lighting was changed. During the study,
employee productivity increased both when the lighting was increased and when it
was decreased. However, productivity decreased when the study ended.
Other complementary experiments such as the effect of changes in working hours
and work breaks also resulted in increased productivity, but again, worker
productivity declined after the conclusion of the study. Ultimately, the researchers
concluded that employees were actually responding to the direct attention they were
getting from the researchers and supervisors during the study, rather than to any
changes in the environmental variables.
When he coined the term, “Hawthorne Effect,” Landsberger defined the term as a
temporary improvement in employee productivity resulting from being observed
while working.
 
Bank Wiring Room
A study was conducted by Australian social psychologist Elton Mayo and American
anthropologist Lloyd Warner in the early 1930s. Its purpose was to find out the
effect of payment incentives on employee productivity. The study involved fourteen
male employees whose normal work routine involved assembling telephone
switching equipment. The employees were compensated based on their individual
productivity. To the surprise of both the researchers and the company, the study
found that employee productivity decreased with increased wage incentives.

____________________________________________________________
www.basc.edu.ph / Email: info@basc.edu.ph
Telefax Nos: (044) 762-1427 / (044) 762-0120

BASC-IED-QSF-01/Rev.00 (02.03.2020)
 Republic of the Philippines
BULACAN AGRICULTURAL STATE COLLEGE
Institute of Education
Pinaod, San Ildefonso, Bulacan, Philippines 3010
Cert. No. 19.67.PH212501.00

Apparently, the employees became suspicious of the unexpected wage incentive.

They saw it as part of a strategy to either fire some employees or cut wages at
some point in the future. The researchers were fascinated by the initial findings, and
decided to dig deeper into the cause of the productivity decline. They found that the
employees had formed informal groups that set rules of conduct and devised
strategies to ensure that the employees complied with the rules. The rules were
designed to ensure that productivity remained relatively stable, regardless of any
changes or inducements introduced.

The informal group controlled its members, managing how they interacted with their
bosses and how they responded to the experimenters’ questions. The researchers
concluded that employees were more responsive to the informal group than they
were to incentives offered by management.
 
Modern Research on the Hawthorne Effect
Several studies have been conducted in recent years to further analyze the
Hawthorne Effect. Some of the studies include:
 
Cerebellar Neurostimulators Study of 1978
This study was conducted to determine if cerebellar neurostimulators could mitigate
motor dysfunction in cerebral palsy patients. Initial findings showed the operation of
the Hawthorne Effect during the study. The test results showed that patients
reported an improvement in their motor functions due to the use of cerebellar
neurostimulators during the period of the study. However, quantitative analysis of
the study showed that there was little lasting improvement in patients’ motor
functions. Researchers concluded that study results were impacted by the
Hawthorne Effect. Temporary motor function improvement in motor function was
due to the increased attention given to the patients by the researchers and medical
professionals involved in the study.
 
University of Chicago Study (2009)
A study carried out by the University of Chicago analyzed the original Hawthorne
Effect and concluded that the findings of the earlier study were weak. The
Hawthorne Effect might not have played as significant a role as the original
researchers believe. The 2009 researchers ultimately came to believe that other
factors might have played a role in the change in worker productivity.
The 2009 study also revealed that some of the reported claims from earlier studies
were not supported by the research data. However, they did not completely rule out
the possibility that the Hawthorne Effect occurred in the experiment.

____________________________________________________________
www.basc.edu.ph / Email: info@basc.edu.ph
Telefax Nos: (044) 762-1427 / (044) 762-0120

BASC-IED-QSF-01/Rev.00 (02.03.2020)
 Republic of the Philippines
BULACAN AGRICULTURAL STATE COLLEGE
Institute of Education
Pinaod, San Ildefonso, Bulacan, Philippines 3010
Cert. No. 19.67.PH212501.00

Prepared and Report by:

JESTER C. MABUTI, MAEd

____________________________________________________________
www.basc.edu.ph / Email: info@basc.edu.ph
Telefax Nos: (044) 762-1427 / (044) 762-0120

BASC-IED-QSF-01/Rev.00 (02.03.2020)