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HAWTHORNEEXPERIMENTS
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TheHawthorneexperimentsweregroundbreakingstudiesinhumanrelationsthatwereconductedbetween1924and1932atWesternElectric
Company'sHawthorneWorksinChicago.Originallydesignedasilluminationstudiestodeterminetherelationshipbetweenlightingandproductivity,
theinitialtestsweresponsoredbytheNationalResearchCouncil(NRC)oftheNationalAcademyofSciences.In1927aresearchteamfromthe
HarvardBusinessSchoolwasinvitedtojointhestudiesaftertheilluminationtestsdrewunanticipatedresults.Twoadditionalseriesoftests,the
relay(/knowledge/Relay.html)assemblytestsandthebankwiringtests,followedtheilluminationtests.ThestudiesassumedthelabelHawthorne
experimentsorstudiesfromthelocationoftheWesternElectricplant.Concludedby1932,theHawthornestudies,withemphasisonanew
interpretationofgroupbehavior,werethebasisfortheschoolofhumanrelations.

ILLUMINATIONTESTS
Intheearly1920sChicago'sWesternElectricHawthorneWorksemployed12,000workers.Theplantwasaprimarymanufactureroftelephones,
andin1924thecompanyprovidedasitetocooperatewiththeNRConaseriesoftestroomstudiestodeterminetherelationshipbetween
illuminationandworkerefficiency.Thebasicideawastovaryandrecordlevelsofilluminationinatestroomwiththeexpectationthataslighting
wasincreased,productivitywouldtoo.Inanothertestroom,illuminationwasdecreased,withthecorrelatingexpectationthatefficiencywould
decrease.Theelectricpowerindustryprovidedanadditionalimpetusforthesetests,hopingtoencourageindustriestouseartificiallightinginplace
ofnaturallight.TheIlluminatingEngineeringSociety'sCommitteeonResearchalsosupportedthetestsandcooperatedwiththeNRC.Fromthe
fallof1924tothespringof1927,threeseriesoftestswereconductedandcarefullymonitored.ThreedepartmentsattheHawthorneplantwere
involvedrelayassembling,coil(/knowledge/Coil.html)winding,andinspection.Workerswerenotifiedofthetestsinordertoattempttocontrol
interferencefromhumanfactors.Whenproductionincreasedineachtestperiod,researcherslookedtootherfactorssuchasincreased
supervision(../StrThe/Supervision.html)andasenseofcompetitionthatdevelopedbetweenthetestandcontrolgroups.Buttheone
conclusiontheimpressiveteamofindustrialspecialistsandacademicsdiscoveredwasthelackofaconsistentcorrelationbetweenlightinglevels
andproductoutput.Nofurthertestswereplannedoriginally,butresearchersweresurprisedattheunanticipatedresults.

NRCrepresentativesandtheengineersinvolveddrewseveralconclusions.First,illuminationwasonefactorinoutputbutnotthemostimportant.
Moreimportanttothetestswastherealizationtherewasnotasimpleanswertotheissueofilluminationandworkerproductivityandthatother
factorsthatwerenotcontrolledpresentedaproblemwiththetestresultstheissueofhumanfactors.Inretrospect,researchersfromtheNRCand

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theIlluminatingEngineeringSociety(/knowledge/Illuminating_Engineering_Society_of_North_America.html)(whichtogetherformedtheCommittee
onIndustrialLighting)statedtheywerenotsurprisedbythetestresults.Theyevenpredictedthatotherfactorswouldaffecttheresults,buttheir
mandatewastoisolateothervariables,andtheHawthornestudiescontinued.

RELAYASSEMBLYTESTS
Inordertoobservetheimpactoftheseotherfactors,asecondsetoftestswasbegunbeforethecompletionoftheilluminationstudiesonApril25,
1987.Therelayassemblytestsweredesignedtoevaluatetheeffectrestperiodsandhoursofworkwouldhaveonefficiency.Researchershoped
toansweraseriesofquestionsconcerningwhyoutputdeclinedintheafternoon:Didtheoperatorstireout?Didtheyneedbriefrestperiods?What
wastheimpactofchangesinequipment?Whatweretheeffectsofashorterworkday?Whatroledidworkerattitudesplay?Hawthorneengineers
ledbyGeorgePennockweretheprimaryresearchersfortherelayassemblytests,originallyintendedtotakeplaceforonlyafewmonths.Six
womenoperatorsvolunteeredforthestudyandtwomorejoinedthetestgroupinJanuary1928.Theywereadministeredphysicalexaminations
beforethestudiesbeganandtheneverysixweeksinordertoevaluatetheeffectsofchangesinworkingconditionsontheirhealth.Thewomen
wereisolatedinaseparateroomtoassureaccuracyinmeasuringoutputandquality,astemperature,humidity,andotherfactorswereadjusted.
Thetestsubjectsconstitutedapieceworkpaymentgroupandeffortsweremadetomaintainsteadyworkpatterns.TheHawthorneresearchers
attemptedtogainthewomen'sconfidenceandtobuildasenseofprideintheirparticipation.Amaleobserverwasintroducedintothetestroomto
keepaccuraterecords,maintaincordialworkingconditions,andprovidesomedegreeofsupervision.

Thewomenwereemployedinassemblingrelaysorelectromagneticswitchesusedinswitchingtelephonecallsautomatically.Thewomen
assembledthemorethan35partsoftherelaybyhand.Therelayswerethencarefullyinspected.Theentireprocesswashighlylaborintensiveand
thespeedofassemblyhadanobviouseffectonproductivity.

Initiallythewomenweremonitoredforproductivity,thentheywereisolatedinatestroom.Finally,theworkersbegantoparticipateinagroup
paymentrate,whereextrapayforincreasedproductivitywassharedbythegroup.Theotherrelayassemblersdidnotshareinanybonuspay,but
researchersconcludedthisaddedincentivewasnecessaryforfullcooperation.Thissingledifferencehasbeenhistoricallycriticizedastheone
variablehavingthegreatestsignificanceontestresults.Theseinitialstepsintherelayassemblystudieslastedonlythreemonths.InAugust,rest
periodswereintroducedandotherchangesfollowedovertherestofthetestperiod,includingshortenedworkdaysandweeks.Asthetestperiods
turnedfrommonthsintoyears,workerproductivitycontinuedtoclimb,onceagainprovidingunexpectedresultsfortheHawthorneteamtoevaluate.

Productivityincreasedinexcessof30percentoverthefirsttwoandahalfyearsofthestudiesandremainedsteadyforthedurationofthetests.
Thephysicalsindicatedimprovedworkerhealthandabsenteeism(../AAr/Absenteeism.html)decreased.Bytheirowntestimony,thewomen
expressedincreasedsatisfactionwithallaspectsoftheirjobs.Researcherstentativelyconcludedthatperformanceandefficiencyimproved
becauseoftherestperiods,relieffrommonotonousworkingconditions,thewageincentive,andthetypeofsupervisionprovidedinthetest
environment.Afteradditionalstudyandconsideration,thefirsttwofactorswererejectedandfurthertestswereconductedinanattempttoverifythe
effectsofincentivesandworkingconditions.Theresultswerestillnottotallyconclusive.Finally,researchersrealizedworkerattitudeswithinthe
groupwereinfluentialaswasthemorepersonalatmosphereofthetestroom.Theyconcludedfactorssuchaslighting,hoursofwork,restperiods,
bonusincentives,andsupervisionaffectedworkers,buttheattitudesoftheemployeesexperiencingthefactorswereofgreatersignificance.Asa
result,theHawthorneteamdecidednottopursuesimilarstudies.Almostassignificantduringtherelayassemblytestswastheintroductionofa
teamofacademicsfromtheHarvardBusinessSchoolintotheexperiments.LedbyprofessorsEltonMayoandF.J.Roethlisberger
(/knowledge/Ben_Roethlisberger.html),thisnewgroupofresearcherswouldhaveanenormousimpactontheHawthornestudiesandthefutureof
humanrelationsintheworkplace.

Mayo'scontributionsbecameincreasinglysignificantintheexperimentsduringtheinterviewingstagesofthetests.Earlyresultsfromthe
illuminationtestsandtherelayassemblytestsledtosurveysofworkerattitudes,surveysnotlimitedtotestparticipants.From1928to1931,more
than21,000individualswereinterviewedtosurveyworkermoraleinanattempttodeterminespecificfeaturesoftheirjobsworkerseitherlikedor
disliked.Theobjectivewastoidentifyareaswherereasonableimprovementsmightleadtogreaterjobsatisfactionandthusincreasedefficiency
andproductivity.

Theinitialconclusionsweredisappointing.Interviewerslookedforfactorsconcerningjobsatisfaction,workingconditions,andsupervision.What
theyfoundwasacomplexbatteryofattitudesinfluencedbyoutsidefactorssuchasconditionsathomeorwithinthecommunity,aswellasone's
socialsituationatwork.Researchersbegantoconcludethatpriorlifeexperiencehadanimportantinfluenceonworkerattitudes,andthat
manipulationoflighting,pay,supervision,andworkingconditionscouldnotsolelybringaboutadesiredchange.Theoneconsistentconclusionwas
thatemployeesfeltmorepositiveabouttheworkenvironmentwhenaninterviewerorlistenershowedinterest.Thisinterviewingtechnique,the
nondirectivemethod,provedusefultolaterresearchersatHawthorneandeventuallyledtoanemployeecounselingprogram,nowwidelypracticed
inpersonnelmanagementcircles.

BANKWIRINGTESTS
Thefinalstageofthestudieswasthebankwiringtests,whichbeganinNovember1931.Theforemanofthebankwiringdepartmentresistedthe
intrusion(/knowledge/Intrusion.html)ofobserversintohisworkspaceandabankwiringtestroomwassetup.Thetestroomhousedninewirers,
threesolderers,andtwoinspectors.Allweremalebetweentheagesof20and25.Theirjobwastowireconductorbanks,arepetitiveand
monotonoustask.Thebankswereoneofthemajorcomponentsofautomatictelephoneexchange.Between3,000and6,000terminalshadtobe
wiredforasetofbanks.Theworkwastiringandrequiredtheworkerstostandforlongperiodsoftime.Payincentivesandproductivitymeasures
wereremoved,butaresearcherwasplacedintothetestroomasanobserverandtheworkerswereinterviewed.Thepurposeofthebankwiring
testswastoobserveandstudysocialrelationshipsandsocialstructureswithinagroup,issuesraisedbytwoothersignificantmembersofthe
researchteam,W.LloydWarner(/knowledge/W__Lloyd_Warner.html)andWilliamJ.Dickson.WarnerwasonMayo'sHarvardteam,trainedasan
anthropologistandprimarilyinterestedinHawthornefromanentirelydifferentperspective,thatofanobserverofthesocialbehaviorofagroup.
DicksonwasaHawthorneemployee,withanevenkeenerinterestintheteststhantheHarvardteamheremainedwiththecompanyuntilretiring
in1969.Theircontributionsweretoadaptsocialanthropologyresearchmethodstoindustrialconditions.Dicksonconductedtheinterviewphaseof
thetests.Perhapsthemostrevealingaspectofthebankwiringtestswasthattheworkerscombinedtoslowdownproductionaclearindicationof
theneedforanalysisofthesocialrelationshipsofworkers.Researchshowedthemostadmiredworkeramongthegroupwastheonewho
demonstratedthegreatestresentmentofauthoritybyslowingdownproductionthemost.

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Thebankwiringtestswereshutdowninthespringof1932inreactiontolayoffs(../KorMan/Layoffs.html)broughtonbythedeepening
depression.Layoffsweregradual,butbyMaythebankwiringtestswereconcluded.Thesetestswereintendedtostudythegroupasafunctioning
unitandobserveitsbehavior.Thestudyfindingsconfirmedthecomplexityofgrouprelationsandstressedtheexpectationsofthegroupoveran
individual'spreference.Theconclusionwastotietheimportanceofwhatworkersfeltaboutoneanothertoworkermotivation.Industrialplantswere
acomplexsocialsystemwithsignificantinformalorganizationsthatplayedavitalroleinmotivatingworkers.Employeeshadphysicalaswellas
socialneeds,andthecompanygraduallydevelopedaprogramofhumanrelationsincludingemployeecounselingandimprovedsupervisionwith
anemphasisontheindividualworkers.Theresultswereareinterpretationofindustrialgroupbehaviorandtheintroductionofwhathasbecome
humanrelations.

THEHAWTHORNELEGACY
TheHawthornestudieswereconductedinthreeindependentstagestheilluminationtests,therelayassemblytests,andthebankwiringtests.
Althougheachwasaseparateexperiment,thesecondandthirdeachdevelopedoutoftheprecedingseriesoftests.NeitherHawthorneofficials
norNRCresearchersanticipatedthedurationofthestudies,yettheconclusionsofeachsetoftestsandtheHawthorneexperimentsasawhole
arethelegacyofthestudiesandwhatsetsthemapartasasignificantpartofthehistoryofindustrialbehaviorandhumanrelations.

Thetestschallengedpriorassumptionsaboutworkerbehavior.Workerswerenotmotivatedsolelybypay.Theimportanceofindividualworker
attitudesonbehaviorhadtobeunderstood.Further,theroleofthesupervisorindeterminingproductivityandmoralewasmoreclearlydefined.
Groupworkandbehaviorwereessentialtoorganizationalobjectivesandtieddirectlytoefficiencyand,thus,tocorporatesuccess.Themost
disturbingconclusionemphasizedhowlittletheresearcherscoulddetermineaboutinformalgroupbehavioranditsroleinindustrialsettings.
Finally,theHawthornestudiesprovedbeyondcertaintythattherewasagreatdealmoretobelearnedabouthumaninteractionsintheworkplace,
andacademicandindustrialstudyhascontinuedinanefforttounderstandthesecomplexrelationships.

BeyondthelegacyoftheHawthornestudieshasbeentheuseoftheterm"Hawthorneeffect"todescribehowthepresenceofresearchers
producesabiasandundulyinfluencestheoutcomeoftheexperiment.Inaddition,severalimportantpublishedworksgrewoutoftheHawthorne
experience,foremostofwhichwasMayo'sTheHumanProblemsofanIndustrialCivilizationandRoethlisbergerandDickson'sManagementand
theWorker.Otherbooksfocusedonthevariouspartsoftheexperiments,andresearchershavewrittencountlessanalysesandhistoriesofthe
Hawthornestudies.

TheHawthornestudieshavebeendescribedasthemostimportantsocialscienceexperimenteverconductedinanindustrialsetting,yetthe
studieswerenotwithouttheircritics.Severalcriticisms,includingthoseofsociologist(/knowledge/Sociology.html)DanielBell,focusedonthe
exclusionofunionizedworkersinthestudies.Sociologistsandeconomistswerethemostcommandingcritics,defendingtheirdisciplinaryturfmore
thanofferingseriouscriticisms.Forhispart,Mayocalledintoquestionresearchfindingsofbotheconomistsandpsychologists.Moreserious
questionswereraisedbysocialscientistswhotermedthestudiesbadscienceduetoMayo'sconservativeviews.Othersexpressedserious
concernsaboutunduepressurefromcorporateinterestsandcalledMayoandhiscolleagues"servantsofpower."Despitethesecriticalviews,the
flowofwritingsontheHawthornestudiesatteststotheirlastinginfluenceandthefascinationthetestshaveheldforresearchers.Thestudieshad
theimpactofdefiningclearlythehumanrelationsschool.Anothercontributionwasanemphasisonthepracticeofpersonnelcounseling.Industrial
sociology(/knowledge/Industrial_sociology.html)owesitslifeasadisciplinetothestudiesdoneattheHawthornesite.This,inpart,ledtothe
enormousgrowthofacademicprogramsinorganizationalbehavior(../OliPer/OrganizationalBehavior.html)atAmericancollegesand
universities,especiallyatthegraduatelevel.

SEEALSO:Industrial/OrganizationalPsychology(../IncInt/IndustrialOrganizationalPsychology.html)

[BoydChlldress]

FURTHERREADING:
Franke,RichardH.,andJamesD.Kaul."TheHawthorneExperiments:FirstStatisticalInterpretations."AmericanSociologicalReview(1978):623
43.
Gillespie,Richard.ManufacturingKnowledge:AHistoryoftheHawthorneExperiments.NewYork:CambridgeUniversityPress,1991.

Landsberger,HenryA.HawthorneRevisited.Ithaca,NY:CornellUniversity,1958.

Mayo,Elton.TheHumanProblemsofanIndustrialCivilization.NewYork:Macmillan,1933.

Pitcher,BrianL."TheHawthorneExperiments:StatisticalEvidenceforaLearningHypothesis."SocialForces(1981):13339.

Roethlisberger,F.J.,andWilliamJ.Dickson.ManagementandtheWorker:AnAccountofaResearchProgramConductedbytheWesternElectric
Company,HawthorneWorks,Chicago.Cambridge,MA:HarvardUniversity(/knowledge/Harvard_University.html)Press,1939.

Whitehead,T.N.TheIndustrialWorker:AStatisticalStudyofHumanRelationsinaGroupofManualWorkers.London:OxfordUniversityPress,
1938.

Wren,DanielA."IndustrialSociology:ARevisedViewofItsAntecedents."JournaloftheHistoryoftheBehavioralSciences(1985):31020.

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Whataboutthefourthexperiment"THEINTERVIEWINGPROGRAMME"?Youwrotenothingaboutit.
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