Hawthorne Studies

1. Hawthorne Studies Elton Mayo’s Study on Employee Motivation and Work Productivity

2. What Will Be Covered • Definition of the Hawthorne Studies • About Elton Mayo • Experiment that Mayo conducted • Results • Brainstorming: How this can be used in organizations • Nuts and Bolts: Explanation of topic • How it works in the field • Real World Example • Conclusions

3. George Elton Mayo (December 26, 1880 - September 7, 1949) was an Australian psychologist, sociologist and organization theorist.He lectured at the University of Queensland from 1919 to 1923 before moving to the University of Pennsylvania, but spent most of his career at Harvard Business School (1926 - 1947), where he was professor of industrial research.Elton Mayo is known as the founder of the Human Relations Movement, and is known for his research including the Hawthorne Studies, and his book The Social Problems of an Industrialised Civilization (1933). 

4. Definition of the Hawthorne Studies “The Hawthorne Studies were conducted from 1924-1932 at the Western Electric Hawthorne Works in Chicago, where Harvard Business School Professor Elton Mayo examined productivity and work conditions.”

5. “Mayo wanted to find out what effect fatigue(weakness) and monotony (variation) had on job productivity and how to control them through such variables as rest breaks, work hours, temperatures, lighting and humidity.”

6. The Hawthorne Plant Airplane View of Hawthorne Works, ca. 1925

7. Human Relations and Harvard Business School

8. Women in the Relay Assembly Test Room, ca. 1930

9. Cord Finishing Department, ca. 1925

10. The Hawthorne Studies can be conveniently divided into five major parts. The five studies are referred to as: • Experiment on Illumination (Lighting) • Relay Assembly Test Room a)Second Relay Assembly Test Room b)Mica Splitting Test Room 3. Mass Interviewing Program 4. Bank Wiring Observation Room 5. Personnel Counseling

11. Illumination Studies • 1924-1927 • Funded by General Electric • Conducted by The National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academy of Sciences with engineers from MIT • Measured Light Intensity vs. Worker Output • Result : • Higher worker productivity and satisfaction at all light levels • Conclusions: • Light intensity has no conclusive effect on output • Productivity has a psychological component • Concept of “Hawthorne Effect” was created

12. Relay Assembly Test Experiments 1927-1929 • Western Electric wanted more information • Harvard researchers brought in to analyze the results – Elton Mayo & Fritz Roethlisberger • Group of 6 Women – (5) Assemblers and (1) Layout Operator • One Observer – Explained every incremental change and recorded results • Manipulated factors of production to measure effect on output: • Pay Incentives • Length of Work Day & Work Week • Use of Rest Periods • Company Sponsored Meals • Results: • Higher output and greater employee satisfaction • Conclusions: • Positive effects even with negative influences – workers’ output will increase as a response to attention • Strong social bonds were created within the test group. Workers are influenced by need for recognition, security and sense of belonging

13. Relay assembly test room operators 1927

14. Relay Assembly Room #2 • 1928-1929 • Measured effect on output with compensation rates • Special observation room • 1st Session- Relay Assemblers changed from departmental incentive to small group incentive • 2nd Session - Adjusted back to large group incentive • Results: • Small group incentives resulted in highest sustained level of production – 112% over standard output base • Output dropped to 96.2% of base in 2nd session • Conclusion: • Pay relevant to output but not the only factor

15. Mica Splitting Test Group • 1928-1931 • Measured output with changes to work conditions only: • Special Observation Room • Length of Work Day • Use of Rest Periods • Workers stayed on established Piece-rate compensation • Result: • Productivity increased by 15% over standard output base • Conclusions: • Productivity is affected by non-pay considerations • Social dynamics are a basis of worker performance

16. Plant Interview Program • 1925-1927 – Objective Questions • Work Conditions • Work Relationships • Yes/No Answers • 1928-1932 – Conversational / Non-directive • Attentive Sympathetic Listening • Concern for personal needs • Increased in time from 30-90 minutes • Result: • Remarkable positive employee perceptions • Conclusions: • New Supervisory Style improved worker morale

17. Bank Wiring Observation Group 1931-1932 • In this study, a group of fourteen men were engaged in 'bank-wiring,' i.e. attaching wires to switches for certain parts of telephone equipment. • The fourteen participants in the experiment were asked to assemble telephone wiring to produce terminal banks. • This time no changes were made in the physical working conditions. • The workers were paid on the basis of an incentive pay plan, under which their pay increased as their output increased

18. Bank Wiring Observation Group cont. • Limited changes to work conditions • Segregated work area • No Management Visits • Supervision would remain the same • Observer would record data only – no interaction with workers • Small group pay incentive • Result: • No appreciable changes in output • Conclusions: • Preexisting performance norms • Group dictated production standards - Systemic Soldiering • Work Group protection from management changes.

19. Personnel Counseling Sessions with a personnel counselor were scheduled for the staff, where problems with the job were discussed.

20. Results from Hawthorne Studies • Discovery that workplaces are social environments • Within workplaces, people are motivated by much more than economic self interest • All aspects of industrial environment carry social value • The group developed an increased sense of responsibility and discipline no longer needed to come from a higher authority, it came from within the group. • Impact on Management Theory • Represent the beginning of the human relations movement in the study of management

21. Results • Researchers found that output rates weren’t directly related to the physical conditions of the work. • Output went up when: • They were put on piece-work for eight weeks. • Two five minute rest pauses were introduced for five weeks. • Rest pauses were lengthened to ten minutes. • A hot meal was supplied during first pause. • They were dismissed at 4:30 p.m. instead of 5:00 p.m.

22. Results Cont. • It remained the same when they were dismissed at 4:00 p.m. instead of 4:30 p.m. • Mayo believes “what actually happened was that six individuals became a team and the team gave itself wholeheartedly and spontaneously to cooperation in the experiment. The consequence was that they felt themselves to be participating freely and without afterthought, and were happy in the knowledge that they were working without coercion from above or limitations from below.” http://courses.bus.ualberta.ca/orga417-reshef/mayo.htm

23. Brainstorming: How this can be used in organizations • Cooperation and communication with coworkers. • Rearrange/reorganize job functions. • Create an atmosphere of working as a team.

24. Nuts and Bolts: Explanation of Topic • Interviewing • Provide insight to workers moral, their likes and dislikes and how they felt about their bosses.

25. Explanation of Topic Cont. • Role of Supervisor • Retained the responsibility of making sure that their workers reached production levels, should lead their workers.

26. How it Works in the Field • Aspects of Hawthorne Studies • Workers • Management • Motivation • Productivity

27. How it Works in the Field Cont. • Workers • Insights, suggestions, likes and dislikes, moral, training. • Management • Transfer of power to workers, knowing their workers.

28. How it Works in the Field Cont. • Motivation • Incentives to increase productivity and quality. • Productivity • By increasing the output rate and keeping costs down, the company will be able to increase profits.

29. Real World Example • Swedish Case • Pay system didn’t fit the structure of jobs and organization. • Two years later an incentive system was added, productivity went up 45%.

30. Real World Example Cont. • Swedish Case • New incentive system provided motivation through tying cooperation and teamwork.

31. Exercise • Brainstorm ideas that can motivate employees to increase productivity and find ways to implement them. • Think of more efficient ways in which a process can be completed and who you might go to in order to find this out.

32. Summary • Hawthorne Studies dealing with worker motivation and work productivity. • Increase communication and cooperation among coworkers.

33. Summary Cont. • Motivation can cause an increase in productivity • Involve employees in decision making. • Create a sense of belonging by creating teams.

34. Conclusions. • Work is a group activity. • The social world for an adult is primarily patterned about work. • Need for recognition, security and sense of belonging • Attitudes and effectiveness are conditioned by social demands – workers are influenced by other workers. • Informal groups at work are strong social controls over the work habits and attitudes of a worker

35. Hawthorne Experiments by Elton Mayo THANK YOU! Are there any questions?