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The Hawthorne Studies

The Hawthorne studies was a research conducted on workers on the Hawthorne plant of the Western Electric Company. The studies were conducted by Elton Mayo and Fritz Roethlisberger during the 1920s. The studies focused on the managerial impacts of socio-psychological aspects of human behavior in organizations. The studies examined both the physical and environmental impacts of the workplace. For example, it sought how factors such as humidity and brightness of light can affect the behavior of individuals while at work before studying how the social-psychological factors like managerial leadership, working hours, work breaks, working hours and others affect the performance of individuals. The ideas drawn from the studies about the social dynamics were established to be having a huge influence on labor-management relations and employee motivation.  Generally, the studies established that regardless of the manipulation of the experiment, the rate of production of workers improved and workers got pleased with researchers for having an interest in them. The research was meant for a year, however, there were setbacks associated with manipulation of the physical conditions affecting work efficiency. As a result, the project lasted for five years. This paper outlines the major findings of the study and their influences on organization theories.

Study Findings

Hawthorne experiment established four major issues. First, the studies found that Informal organization impacts on productivity: The research revealed that the relationship that supervisors develop with the workers affects how workers carry out their duties. Second, the researchers revealed that individuals’ aptitudes are not the perfect predictors of job performance. Although aptitudes can show the physical and mental ability of individuals, the rate of productivity is much dependent on social factors. Further, the study revealed that norms of the workgroups and teams impacts on productivity. Although the researchers were not the first groups to discover the relationship between group norms and productivity, they proved that what the previous researchers were true. They also revealed ta the work teams arrive at the norms of the fair day’s work. Finally, the research established that workplace and organizations are social systems. The experiments discovered that organizations provide a suitable environment where people interact and relate at different levels (Peak, 2016). Therefore, organizations are made of independent parts that enable people to socialize and establish relationships.

Hawthorne Experiments and Traditional Organization Theories

The traditional organization theories developed different concepts about work, organizations, and individuals. However, the Hawthorne studies introduced new concepts and thoughts about individuals and the work environment. The experiments marked the beginning of a change of thoughts about work and productivity. The traditional organizational theories and experiments focused much on individuals and various ways of improving the performance of individuals at work (Hassard, 2017). Nonetheless, the Hawthorne researchers concentrated on the social contexts of organization and human behavior. They, therefore, concentrated their studies on the relationship between the work environment, people working in the systems and how they influence productivity. Indeed, the researchers established that the organization is a social unit where people interact and relate. Therefore, the level of interaction, formal or informal, the social systems of the organization, norms, and values of the workgroups affect the performance of employees.

In short, social factors influences the motivation level in the organization. The Hawthorne studies revealed that employees work harder since they thought they were being monitored individually. Working in groups was more special and having a supervisor that sympathizes and understands employees increase employees’ motivation towards work, leading to increased productivity.