ABEN, CHRISTIAN LOUIE B.

BSME 5

The Hawthorne Studies were developed as a human relations movement in

organizational management to identify strengths and competencies in workers and to better
manage, measure, develop, and improve worker capabilities (Baack, 2012). The primary focus of
the Hawthorne Study was centered on an individual in the work place, not the individual’s rate
of productivity, like that of the Scientific Management approach, which was based on
punishment and fear. The scientific method created stressful conditions. The employee’s
occupation was determined solely on productivity results. Workers were considered expendable
with motives based primarily on financial gain.

The Hawthorne Study focused on the alteration of employee conditions. It concluded

subjects were more productive when experiencing enjoyable conditions and positive
interactions. Employees that had fun at work and were not called out for poor for performance
had less stress and were inclined to form cohesive groups that remained loyal to the firm. Unlike
the Scientific Management approach that dehumanized employees by focusing on productivity
alone, the Hawthorne approach concluded that workers are motivated by more than money
(Baack 2012).

Components of this study have can have great impact on individuals not motivated by
money or power who build trust based on professionalism and performance. These individuals
thrive in an environment that reflects a positive and enthusiastic attitude. They are more
productive in an atmosphere where people express gratitude and appreciation to co-workers
and employers equally. They are happy to work where they are valued, respected, the leader
displays ethical behavior and cares deeply about the institution, staff members and the
environment. These are the mechanisms that impact our lives and create long term
relationships personally and professionally within and outside of the organizations we are
affiliated with. The interpersonal relationships and ethical competence of a company and its
leaders is the pretext to why people offer loyalty and experience endurance with an
organization.

The Hawthorne studies helped conclude that workers were highly responsive to
additional attention from their managers and the feeling that their managers actually cared
about, and were interested in, their work. The studies also concluded that although financial
motives are important, social factors are equally important in defining the worker productivity.

REFERENCES:

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-management/chapter/behavioral-perspectives/

https://mayrsom.com/2012/12/24/organizational-behavior-analysis-of-the-hawthorne-studies/