THE HAWTHORNE STUDIES Ronald G. Greenwood, GMI Engineering & Management Institute Charles D. Wroge, Rutgers University asteAcT ‘Tale to 9 description of the Hawthorne Studies from the, prestudtes through the Bank Wiring Room research, with "particular esphasts on the Relay Assenbly Test xtaooucTroN ‘The Hawthorne Studies (Figure 1) were not so much planned as they were product of evolution, and led Bove revolution in managenent theory. No’ group of studies has been 0 widely discussed nor Alsrepresented as those perforned at Hawthorne. Nonerout weitere have incorrectly claimed that Hervard, Mayo, and even Roethlisberger concetved the dea. for these studies and adaintatered them. Nothing could be further froa the truth, Hence the actual IMetory andthe proper credit has rarely been awards The malyats here not only clarifies the hatoric Gvolution of the studies, but also presente evidence that wage incentives, os'well ae behartoral. factors chased’ the unugual Gutput' achievenents tn the Relay ‘Tent Roo STUDIES LEADING TO MAWIHORNE Te war General Electric Company’ deaize to sncren the “aale of fed. generators that Led eventually Thee campatn began in 1910, but tn 1913, tn the hope of proving that increased’ {Illumination would reault in increased production and afer conditions, GE convinced the National Electric Light Assoctatton and the Resoctation of Edison Tilvainatiag Coupantes to test the vielbiltty of objects on streets under different conditions of tilusination, ‘The tests were under the Gteection of Hugo Munsterberg and hie asetatant Harold Burtt, The results of the observational tests vhtch began’ in 1914, were startling. Where illumination was poruntform and. of less intensity, the targets were jon more frequently (Report, 1914]. Burtt conducted the tests on Intervale Avenue in the Broax and tn the Harvard laboratory im the winter of 1914, its teats demonstrated that merely providing an individual with hgirintensity, waifora {liuminatton ae a way to tneresse visual effietency vas wrong. The electrical Conpentes and ‘Uluainating engineers, interested primarily tn {ncreasing Lighting revenoes, ignored his Findinge, As remule, tllumtnation tests on streets Were halted and were ‘only conducted tn industry for The, next. ten years, Leading eventually to the studies Hawthorne, In 1918, tn an effort to increase electrical revenues, Wiltian "A. Durgin, of the Commonwealth Edteon Company bf Chicago, conducted s serten of tests to prove that higher levels of {Lluntastion would lead to greater productivity in factories. Durgin selected four Gnteago. fectortee where the average intensity vaa 2.5 foot-candles. Two of these were Pyott Foundry Company and. Foote Brothers” Gear and Mackinery Corporation. The teste were run for four months tn each of these Companies: the flret month. uring exiating Lighting, the second with 50% greater Light intensity, the third 2% at original levels of intensity, and the fourth at the higher intensity Level. This four-step approach test program vas used Tater in the Havthorne {Llumination fadier with Durgin scting a6 advisor. The results of these studies showed an’ increase in productivity of 10°20t “With” increases of Light iatenatty renging from lov of less than a foot candle at Pyott and 4.6 at Foote to highs of 4.8 (Pyott) and 12.7 (Foote). The reruite of Durgin's tests were startling. Electric companies, convinced of the findinge, urged further fnvestigation. The General Electric Company. was eepectally impressed and in 1919. tnteiated an fedueattonal campaign to. sell. the {dea of better Idugtrtal Lighting. Eventually they” used ther research findings in their advertisenents and Continued the research under corporate direction, (ovenber 24, 192-Apetl 30, 1927) The success of the {Llun{nation testa, conducted by the electrical industry fron 1920 to 1923, left sone executives skeptical of the resulta. To overcome this Gkepticten, ‘the electrteal todustry adopted a nev program combining both industrial snd. Laboratory {llumination tests, While financtal support cs General Electric aod other electric companté made to appear that the ests were atrictly aclentifte by having” then conducted by the National. Rest Counesi under” ® spectally foraed unit “The Comittee fou Industrial Lighting.” Dr. Ernest Fox Nichols, past president of MIT and the Director of the General Electric Nela Park Lighting Laboratory tn Cleveland, war chosen to head the comfttee, The Committee waa Sffscally, formed on January i, 1924, Nichols, ecogutzing the advantage of having’ a nationally known tetentiat assoctated with the tests, invited Thomas Bateon to. become the Honorary Chairman. Edteon Secepted and the first meeting of the comittee ws held’ in his West Orange, NJ, laboratory on October 31, 1924," Frank’ Jevert of ATAT, committee menber, volunteered ‘The Hawthorne Works ofthe Westera Hlectric Company as a test site, Nichols - dted before the tests began and active Cchairmanehip of the committee was shifted to Dugald C. Jackson of MIT's Electrical Engineering Department. Tale sift Teaulted in the selection of former MIT students a field engineers, with Charles Snow as the ngineer for Mawehorae. The distance between the headquarters of the comittee at MIT and the Navthorne Plant proved” important because as the teste Snow, isolated in Chicago, was left to his a result, Snow developed methods to the Havthorne Tests which were. adopted Sm peculiar The initial stages of the Relay Asseably Test. Roum, Under the _dtrection” of Snow, the Hawthorne Illunination Teste vere initiated on Novenber 26) 1924, tn three departeente of the plant: Receiver and Induction Coit Winding, Relay Assembly, and Jack Shell fund Jack Spring Inspection. The three departments speared to be typical of factory. operation Fequiring considerable, use of the eyes: In addition, the operators in these departaente were paid under three different incentive ayatens!” coil” winding on straight ptece work, relay assembly under group plece jack shell thapecting on a straight day rate9961, poomvaaig S20 aL NOULyNAT Ld Trt veo cost zee see mm ozak weak eahS ent camhwemk=ezmkSamkCLCLSCwKG «LAB SCuS Cy et ‘S31GNLS SANYOHLMVH t aunoissnow, 1925]. Clarence Stoll, Havthorne Works Manager, {naiated that all employees should be given Mranced {nformetion on the teste through an article ‘fm the AMTHORNE MICROPHONE (the company nevepaper), ‘euch an article was published on Noveuber 26, 1924, Tiawenorne]- ‘THE TEST PROCEDURE. Although the tests were destgned dy Charles Snow,” he worked closely with Stoll'e ststatane George "Pennock. Each test group worked Under the existing {lluntnation of 5 “foot candles Getth 50° vate Lamps) for a pertod of five weeks. The second period lasted two weeks and used 100 vate lamps, followed by successive pertods of Laapn of 200 watts, 300 vatts, 100 watts, 50 watts, 200 watts, ond 300""yatts. “These ‘teste were run from Hovenber 24y fo. April 11, 1925, Snow kept records of Cetve tines “aatly), on attendance, work, hourly illumination "(foot candles), teaperature, Mumidity, sid att conditions. He also kept a log covering’ euch ‘tone ao octal pressures vused by foremen £0 increase production, physiological nd peychological factors, and influences of the hone ‘environment. Some of his data were discovered by & sew method of tntervtewing. FINDINGS. The 1924-25 testa revealed no direct Felationshtp between intensity of iiluainetion and Fate of output. The gost striking case vas the Induction “Goll Winding “Control Group.” The group of ten fensle operators worked under the Original Lighting of 5” foot candles at two segregated benches fn the regular department. throughout the testa: The output. figures reveslad “increases in production rate St all of the tines that an increase in the Test Group. ie obtained, the magnitude of the increases being, sonevat Lote than those of the (test) group s+ the Feason being, a determination not to let the Test, Group best thea ut!™ [Suov, 1925] MIMARCER'S SUWER TESTS. During the sumer of 1925, Western Electric conducted their om taste in the Coli Winding Departuent since Pennock was convinced output Inceases were due to supervision and not illumination. The tests vere designed by Snow, who left for his sumer vacation, and" the project’ vas supervised by Homer Uibarger’ of the Piece Hates Department of Hawenorne, The teste, consisting of a dttly record of production, temperature and huatdity, were conducted Ehrough February 16, 1926 (almost nine months) because Jackson vas having’ the 1924-1925 test regults studied emir TW 1926 THSTS. Since the analysis of the 1924-1925 teste revealed the necessity of controlling or eliminating the additional factors affecting output, nev teats vere initiated. In these teste investigation Of the Jack Shell and) Jack Spring Inspection vas Giscontioued win the ney teste only tn the Coil Winding and Helay Assembly Departuents. In Relay Assembly, operators worked under slowly Snereasing levels ""of ttlumination, “Tn Coil Winding, both AUlumination and “psychologtcal” tests were conducted. In the dlluninatton teste, the Induction Cotl Winders were divided into two parts: Control Group (aoved £0 ‘mother building) ond Test Croup (remaining tn the Fegular location). Both groups were subjected to HGeneical conditions” except for “{Lluaination Autensities. "The Control Group worked under 5 foot candles while the Test Group experienced increased Lighting "mixed with natural window Light. A test ‘group. of Recetver Co{l Winders remaining in the Fegular " departaent wae gubjected” to Adentical Alueination conditions es the Test Group of Induction Goll Winders. “A apectal “paychological test” group of Induction Coil Winders was provided with a constant Level of Stlumtnatton; however, Miberger took hourly Alumtnation reedings to convey the tapreaston to the wonen “that the test vac similiar to earlier tes The test results revenled” rhe increased supervision ‘and paychological factore attached to the teat, Condtttons completely masked any effect of, {Mluatnation on production, and thar shove 10 foot candles there wae no increate in production that could be definitely “attributed to tIlomination intensity. (Snow, 1926 and Jackson, 1926] MIBARGER'S INYORMAL TEST. In the sumer of 1926, Uibarger again kept records of tenpersture, muatdity ‘and output of a group. of Induction Cotl Winders, Roethlisherger and ‘Dickson incorrectly described the Rests as an elaborate procedure of evitching Laspe and {Mlumtnstion totensities [Roethlishberger, 1939] Ta 1955" Hdberger recalled there was. nd. elaborate fwltehtng of Lape, rather the electrictan appeared tn The departzent with » number of Laape io hte hand Just before quitting tine on Saturday. Although the Lampe ware not changed, sone of the. operators comented Sout the changed Lampe, the following week. One ‘operator said they were too bright [Htbarger, 1956]. While MANAGEMENT” AND. “THE WORKER reported that, Productivity did not matertally change at any stage of fhe expertnent, Snow's records reves! output declined snarply [Snow, 1927]. progressively {intensity fro 1926-1927 TESTS. The original plan called for decreasing levels "of {Lluntnation Il to 3 foot candies, which would be reversed} the Control Croup would be ander a content [evel of Il foot candles. However, to keep exployee morale “high and to prevent any disruption in the Organization, “the pertods of low fatensity vere much shorter then planned (Jackson, 1926]. To secure base period, the operators’ output vas recorded in the first ‘week of Septenber, © procedure Later used in the Relay Asseably Test Rooa, "Oa September 8, the groupe vere moved into their toons #0 they could become Sccustoned to thelr surroundings before the teat Started. Fron the very first day, despite the spectal fest conditions, the output of bath groups continually increased with the test group higher chan the control group (Snow, 1927). HIBARGER'S “MOONLIGHT TEST.” In the middle of the 1926-27 tests, ibarger conducted nis own special test. He convinced Pennock, vho was hia superior, Ehat” fone work could be dome with almost no Light at all and. thet cooperation was an important factor. To Svotd) the expense of moving a coil winding bench to a ew test “locstion, "Hiberger selected two relay ‘assembly operators willing to cooperate and placed then in a cloakroom in the Relay Assembly Department. Hiret the two operators reaained in the. regolar department one vesk to obtain a base outputs On February 4, 1927, they soved into the tert roam, working under an’ intensity of I foot candle in the forenoon and. .39 foot candle in the afternoon, There vas only "a light decreage in output. The next day The Inteneity” was reduced to «2 foot candle and Production increased. On February 7, from 7:30 Ae fo noon the intensity was «2 and productivity increased and tn the afteraoon frou 12:45 Eo m Alluminetion was reduced to -102 foot candles. and production decreased slightly. Finally, the intenatty Was reduced £2 06 foot candles resulting in a severe @ecline in output [iibarger, 1927) The reoulte of Hibarger'e teat influenced the 1926-27 Rests fron thts point. — In period 8 4Uumination intensity was reduced to" 1:4 foot candles, and vigorous protests by the operators concluded. the period with that one day. But output only declined Glighely, demonstrating that {Illumination waa not a rtttesl’ factor. In periods 8-11 the “Test Croup” and 6“control Grovy woved beck and forth between tex room and regular room, with a supervisor moving in snd Gut of the test and regular room to test the impact of Supervision. At the conclusion 4¢ was found thet the etictency of both groups was about the same, but the output of the Test’ Group was still higher than the Control group. Tha was quite discouraging to thove interected in "proving ‘the correlstion between ‘Alumtnatton and productivity.” MUMAKGER PLANS THE RELAY ASSEMBLY TEST ROOM. Batwaen April Il and 15, ibarger reviewed the resulte of periods 1 “to 10 of the 1926-27 illumination texts, and De ow test. He concluded {llumination had only ‘minor influence on outpot and perhaps supervision nad fe effect, yet unknown, on output. Hibarger reported these findings to Pensock stating thet at a modest he’ could acertain what influenced employes output if a enall number of relay assembly operstors, fn ‘asceably” bench,” ond spectally destgned recording equipment (with hinself as observer), were moved into the ‘room used tn the {llumination teats for the Test. Group. Pennock approved of thts plan snd on May Dy 1927,” ene next series of studies were initiated with the “First stoges on procedures and sethods devised by Snow [iitberger, 1929]. In Noveaber of 1927, Pennock reported to. Stoll that Jackson and the Comittee os Industrtal Lighting were “allowing the project to die fn the hope thet {twill be forgotten” (Stoll, 1957]. THE RELAY ASSEMBLY ROOM TESTS (APRIL 25, 1927- FEBRUARY, 1933) In designing Roo, Hbarger task’ to" study, the tents tn the Relay Assembly Test ‘selected the assembly of relays 4s the ‘Although ents task vas economical to Study, Snov had earlier discarded it because he had gathered evidence that output had continually {nereased in the Relay Assembly Department since 1924, even when no teats were in progress. To Snow, this emonstrated that some factor (perhaps the incentive systen) was influencing output in this depsrtaent. Mbarger "selected this operation because of his fanillarity with tt and because it was a repetitive Jab. ALL employees were engaged in the sane operation even ore uniform by reducing the Felay types assembled by four of the tn the test roan), a complete operation performed tn 4 short time (oo nore than find no machine work was tnvolved. The Cents vas “made somber operators could. be of Of the operators, hovever, vas probably. an Mibarger “since Show hed discovered in 1926 for ‘unknown, output tn the Relay output fntttally achteved tn 1924, when. the fllumtnation tests vere begun. This was one reason for Snov's decision not to include the operators in the 1926-1927 tests, Tes that because of the existence of thts unknown factor, Utbarger should have selected a different operation t0 tavestigate, The operators for the Relay Test Room vere not. elected sctentifieally. An experienced operator vac Chosen (operator #4) "and anked to pick other “gitls that T thought’ wouldn't be married soon. Therese Layman accepted, and the other two.-.” remembers Wande Blazejak [Greeuvood, 1983], The original test room consisted of Five wowen’ operators and a. Layout operator. At the conference before the test began, the vonen vere given a brief description of che AMlumtnation tests and thelr mususl rewulte, The operators ware "told that ve had no very clear ‘otton of just what aight come out of the teats, but we were willing to get started and avait developments. [t]nat any changes «+. would be discussed with the Operators with the idea of getting thetr thoughts and coments before thet we would tog cell the change. We assured then ‘then all ve ourselves knew about the results as ve went slong... The group wae ascured that “the test was not being setup to determine the suaximun output, and they were asked to vork along st a confortable pace and particularly not attenpt to see how much they could possibly do. -.+ We told them thet, ve had no idea how Long the teat might run; perhs ix aoathe or Longer." [Hawthorne Micoftche #3A-1] TEST ROOM OBSERVER. wtbarger, orginally aided by Obte Hunt, and later by Lester Larson and Donald Chipman, cted as au observer in the test room. AS far as’ possible, he kept accurate records of all that happened,” crested” and maintained «friendly atmosphere, and exercised practical supervisory Function. ' The mere fact that the room observer vee le nd_assoctated with management placed him tn 0 ‘oupertor” position, The operators, however, did not think of him or any of the other sbeervere' as, thett boeses (Greenwood, 1985]. TEST. ROOM. workbench, for stort The teat room was small, contatning one benches {or the recording apparatus, a desk ‘the’ observer, clothes Lockers and. space for parts. The workbench and assenbly equipeent Identical to that used in the regular department except, for holes and chutes at the right of each Worker's “workplace tnto which she would’ deop each completed ‘relay. The room was in the corner of Butlding 47-5" and wae enclosed by a tenporary wooden partition about” etght feet high which hung from the cetling. ‘PHYSICAL EXAMINATION. The operators vere examined tn he cospany hospital before the experiaents began, and thereafter at intervals of about #ix weeks. Pennock and “Wtbarger belteved ie would be important t9 know whether tncreased output, if it occurred, would be accomplished at the expense of the operators! health. There” was also interest in the menetrusl cycle effect on productivity. The physical examination’ were objected “to at ftrat, but shortly after they started operators began bringing in cake of cookies, thereby turning the event {nto a “party, ‘TEST ROOM VS REGULAR DEPARTMENT. In the Relay Test after periods 1 and 2, the operators were paid the baste of | suall group tneentive plece-rate watch included all oie operators (operatore 1-5 ‘the Layout operator). This weant each operator Tecetve weekly earnings nore to proportion to her tndividual effort, since she was. paid’ on the baste of a group of six inatead of « group of 100 or more operators th the regular department. Another important factor was that” operators. I-4 aesenbled, primarily, 5 or 6 types of flat-type relays, with every effort being nade by the observers to 2beain @ Constant Flov of only a few aclect types of flat-type relays nto the Test Room. On the other hand, Operator 5 assembled a Large vartety of barrel-type relays. In the Test Room the workers realized the experinent was recetving the attention of the company Offictals, “and that they were being. notteed. ae individuais. "At the begtaning of the study Pennock and other company officials frequently vistted the test "room. "There wee continued contact between theoe operatore and the people who were conducting the Such contact’ between managers and operators occur tn the Life of the ordinary shop The greatest” change ‘was in the mature of Supervision. In" the test room there vas no Croup Chief, and” the operators worked ‘under “the generat dtrectton of Wtbarger oF hie agstetante, Discipline was secured primarily through, leadership and Understanding. The operators felt free to leave thee Bench whenever necessary and were not coopelled toOpen ‘up parts from the floor when they vere dropped. conversation developed an understanding among the operators and an eeprit de corps grew up within the Group. In the regular department’ talking between operators was forbidden. RECORDING OF OUTPUT. Sssenbled in the teat reduced” to. 5 difference sesenbled, large relays tise of type of the unite the piece assembled, ‘The number of relay types to be Foon by operators 1 to 4 was Or 6 flat-type relays so that the only vould be tn the number of parts to be ‘Operator 5, on the other hand, seseabled a hnunber “of relay types, primarily barrel-type ‘A untt of meagurenent vas used to enable the comparable output’ figures regardless of the relay assenbled. The E-901 relay vas used 25 ‘of messurenent; couveraion factors based on rater were established for the other types 29. thet all output figures could be shown of E801 (or standard) relays. The anseably of Felays tn the Relay Test Room was automatically Fecorded ty peas of a spectal output recorder designed by Obie Hunt 4a April, 1927. The wae a converted MorkruprKletnschatdt Printing Telegraph Feperforator with a continuously moving half ineh paper tape where the competition of each relay was Fecorded” by” holes” punched in the tape by the feperforators The only tape available for’ this purpose in 1927" had only 3 channele £0 record this Mnformatton, Because the recorder wae notey only one could be used in the @ reoule, oaly Five operators could As the holes were punched in the also recorded tn. registers where the munerical output vas recorded, These numbers could be ead” at” any time, but the operators could also keep track of thetr output by counting the empty partitions of the cotl boxes by theft werk bench, malt room anda A number sucomatic observers of records were kept, besides those from the Fecorder. A. log sheet was kept by vartous Usting a daily” record of esch operator's activities, type of relay vorked on, tine she started on tt, tntervals of non-productive tine, ete. A Detly Mistorieal Record vas also nade recording the events nich seamed ‘portant, the changes ntroduced, 8 Selectton of remarks ade by the operators, and’ the Kinds. of ‘questions the tnvastigatore were asking thenselves at various stages of the experinent. DIVISION GF THE STUDIES INTO PERIODS. The entire course of the studies was tot mapped out in advance but developed as they progressed, In the beginning, Pennock and ibarger vere tuterested tn the effect of shorter working’ day and week. Periods I-11 were introductory to get the operators used to the test. soot Perloda IV=VIE (24 vecke) were experiments with Fest” periods and shorter working days and weeks, Knterepersed” with “check” periods of sormal vorkiag, hours (see Figure 2). INTRODUCTION TO TEST ROOK. Period T (2 weeks, April zoeMay 10, 1927): During’ Period 1 the operators remained in ‘the regular department, Their’ output Gnder “normal conditions was, recorded and they had thete fdret physical examinations, which revealed they Were tm good health. Pertod 11 (5 weeks, May 10-June 11): “Duftag Pertod IX the operators in the test room were getting used to working by themselves, The Investigators vere making adjustments to the recording nechantaes and making plane for Keeping records of all hat happened during the tests. Pertod TIT (8 weeks, June I3eAugust 6): At the beginning of Pertod IIL, the six operators were formed” into a separate wage {incentive group. Th the regular department they were part’ of a large group, which vas Little affected by bee person's effort. In the amall group, thelr carninge wore wore directly affected by thelr outputs 28 EXPERIMENTS WITH REST PERIODS Fertod IV (5 veeks, August’ B-Septenber 10): At the beginning of Period IV the operators were called to Pennock's office to plane for two five-ninute rest periods during ‘They voted to have the rests at 10 Adm. and 2''Pile Taene tines wete very close to what the records revealed as thelr potnts of Lovest output. The operators enjoyed the rest’ periods, but still complained of drowsiness tn the early afteruoon. They Ehought longer rest pertods would be better, but were afraid they” vould. not be able to “make their rate.” During this period there was evidence that sone of the operators were developing « free and easy relationship with the Cont room observers. After f1ve veoks of two five-ainite rest periods shoved a slight Increase in the day. output, it was decided co try two ten-minute rest periods. The operators were consulted snd were tn favor. Period V (4 weeks, September 12-ctober 8): For the four weeks of Period V, the operators had a ten-minute feet period at 10 A.t and? PaM. Tomedtately there was a" definite rise im output, both in the hourly and Total average. Pertod VI (4 weeks, October 10-Novenber 5): It vat decided to try six’ fivermimte reat periods. The operators were’ consulted and they were opposed £0 the hore periode, but agreed to try thos. For four weoks they folloved this schedute, They consistently expteased thetr dtaepproval both by critical remarks ‘and by excessive Laoghing late from rest pertode. and talking and returning Pertod VII (11 weeks, Noveaber J-January 21, 1928): During the 11 week” period the operators had TS-minate rest in the morning, @ lunch provided by the conpary restaurant, and a teratnute break in the Sfternoon. The operators were enthusiastic about the Fest pertode and. the lunch "on. the company.” Operstora TA and 2A, Rovever, produced Less and tn this period “they “demonstrated” an uncooperative fttitude of which there had been occastonal evidence fn the erlter pertods, It van decided, therefore, to transfer them to the’ regular departncnt. They vere Feplaced with others vho wanted to Join the test group find had “output records comparable with thowe of operators 3 and 4. SHORTER VORKING DAYS AND WEEKS Period VIIL (7 weeks, Sanwary 23-Harch 10): With Period VILE there benen 2 series of experiments with a shorter working day and Weeks, The 5 and. lO-ninate rest pertode continued except in Period XII. In Period VIL, with exo new operstors (1 and 2) “nov part of the aroup, the operator were offered the chotce of starting 1/2 nour Tater than usual of stopping 1/2 hour earlier. The operatora ‘chose the latter and vere very happy about Deepite the fact thet working time was nov 10% than standard,the total production increased. continued for } weeks, The investigators, who had been planning to go” back to the original working condéttons of 48 ours and no rest pertods, decided instead fo try a further reduction in hours to see where the total weekly output vould begin to fall off. Period 1X (4 weeks, March I2-Apetl 7): Daring Pertod IX, he operators again chose to atop early — one hour “earlier than usual. Although encouraged to vork st a natural pace, the operators seemed to feel the Reed” to hurry. “Operetor 2 began to adaontah the other girle to stop talking and to work faster. A contest for Leadership developed between her and Operators 3 snd 4) who bad nad exerctaed Snore proved formerly been the fastest operators and sone Leadership. Although the girle sd thete Nourly output, the cut fn working. Cine to ‘be too drastic. and weekly production wiSchedule of Test Periods—First Relay Assembly Group FIGURE 2 Daily Total No. of Rest Net Experi- Dura- Length Days Daily Period Weekly ‘mental tion of Day Per Rest Time Working Dates Special Period (Weeks) (Hours) Week Periods (Min.) Hours Included Feature 1 Appr? 8453S None None 4 $2527 w 5.10 ‘Regular dept. 2 ‘S845 5% None None 48 510 well Test room 3 8 845 Si None None 48 63 wee Special gang rate 4 5 845 Sh 2 1 470888 w 9.10 Two S min. reste 5 4 84 5A 2 20 46:10 9.12. wo 108 Two 10 min. rests 6 4 845 Sh 6 30 4515 1010 ws Six $ min, rests 7M B45 Sh 2545407 121-28 Rests (1S min. A.M. lunch and 10 mi. PM. ress) 8 7 IS SR? 24310 123-28 to 3:10 Rests and 4:30 stop Original operators 1 a2 replaced 1.2628 4 74s 5H 2 25 40M wae Rests and 4:00 stop 2 su 2 454049620 Rests—check period 9 - a 2S 4M 72 wo Rests and Sat. AM. off 1212 45S. None None 8: 93 wit No rests fll 48 brs. (check pe.) BoM Bas SK? 25 4540-11-26 1096-29-29 Rests (opers. furish own lunch, com= pany furnishes beverage) “ a ee | 2 4140 7-1-2910 831 Rests and Sa AM. off Iso 4s SK? 28 4540 9.2 045.20 Ress 16 4 sn 2 25 45404. 7.301053 Rests & opes. changed positions ii ow 5 2 25 SS 5S wo 10.25 Rests 4:15 stop & Sa. AM. off wos an 2 25 M439 1027 27.31 Rests 4:15 stop Fa. PM. and Sa. AM. off, wos &: an 2 25 M38 2931 05.2331 Rests 415 stop Fa. PM. & Sat A.M. off| —opers. returned to sxigina postions mo 2 6 5 2 25 HSS 528-81 Ww 11-1431 Rests 415 stop Sa AM. off a 2a? 8 a2 25 3020 11-16-31 10 12-4317) Rests, 415 stop Mon, off and Sat. A.M. off 2 on? «4 Boise 12-7310) t0 1-29-32(2) Every other Mon, off and Sat_ A.M. off. Many “novice” workers 3B we? 4 a. 4 24-32(7) © 613.3207) Only #2 of orginal sat working 24 June 1932—-February 1933All new workers—short hours, Monday, Saturday other days off as depression deepens ‘Note Periods 1-20 are from The Industrial Worker by TN. Whitehead, Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1938, p. 39. Reprinted by permission of the publisher. Periods 21-24 have been developed from original data in Hawthorne Test Records. 29 Greenwood 1983reductog the operators! earnings. Pertod x (12 weeks, April S-June 30): The Unveetigators decided tow to go back to standard Working hours after an extended period of Noure,, but the rest periods were retatned, opetatore at firet felt very tired working longer fours. In. the First weeks coments on tiredness we very frequent, but diminished aa” tiae went on and Weekly. production reached a vey high for alk Dperatores At this time, Drs Claire Turner of MIT became consultant to the’ Test Room. Thinking about thio, high production, which did not show the effect of Fatégoe resulting {rou longer ours of work, Turner wondered “Af the frequent physical examinations had Glade the operators more conscious of thetr health and thus Improved thet health practices. A questtonnatre wos prepared asking thes about changes in their diet, Hours’ of sleep and so on. No particular change vas tvidest’ in the anavers, but they euggested their Thereased output ‘was caused by. “greater” freedoa,” Sthsence of Bosses,” “opportunity ‘to. ect one'e ovn pace and to earn ‘what one makes without being held Back “by a Big group.” A second quest tonnatre, Concentrating on conditions tn the test room, brought out very. staftsr anevers with respect to" relaxed more freedoe,” the “aualler group,” “the treated" with one operator mentioning hee Se teres yreinge ao an important factor. Daring thts period there was {noreasing amount of soctal activity. among” the operators, both {aside and outside of the “plant, and this” algo affected their Felationshipe at work. A fttendly opirtt, a “illingness” to Nelp” each other, and other’ signs of solldartty appeared. fone operator vas absent, two others arigned ‘ive the Job of Keeping. up ‘the group earnings eye be Sener oe land Joking were moe general and private conversations Gatnteneds The Joking and” banter was extended to tnolode the test room investigators and other suthortetes with whom they had contact. Tt was during Ents period “thst” Elton Mayo first visited the Relay ‘Test Room, We had only heard of Ene tests tn Noveaber 1927 and asked to vintt. He had no tapact on the tests at thin point and was to have very Little, tf any, on the Test Room after this Clee, Wis baste Coniection. with the Hawenorne tests was as advisor to the interviewing prograe beginning tn 1929. way we 4 Period x1 (9 weeks, July 2-Septenber 1): The obvious next step was to. remove reverting t0 Standard. working conditions, But {t was the end of Sune, and the operators had been promised expefteent with a “fiverday yoek during the camer. Tne fiverdsy schedule Was matntatned for 9 weeks, tvo Of which were vacation veeks for the whole group.” The Operators Liked this arrangement very mich, since they Seceived thett base rate for the Saturday mornings. They did “not. work” and thie there was mo spprectable oes of earnings. ccondittons, (12. wweks, September I-Novenber 24): Im ‘he operators reverted to. standard 48 hovrs per week and np rest pertods mach "opposed co” the change, though they Gnderstood that It" was teaporary. They became very fongsy. and generally” restless. Eventually, they developed ways” of adjusting to the conditions by Geting, at “9130 "A.M. After lunch they #ltcked off work, talked, and joked, at tines quite botaterously. Atteupte of the observer to stop che excessive talking by threats were not effective, end the operators, {gnored nts theests since they did not think of N= as Period XETT G1 weeks, November 26-June 29, 1929): During Pettod XIIT the operators worked standard hours the 15 and I0-atnute rest pertods. The ‘supplied their ova morning Lunch, vith the ‘They welconed the return of except for operators company providing hot te the "test, periods; morale reached {tm nighest pea They ‘took "pride in their work, tried to best their former output records, and helped each other to fuaineatn the group earnings. Operator 2 acquired an tnoffteal position of leadershtp’ and exerted pressure on slower, operators. The soetines resulted tn Ertettony but eventually the operators achteved an equilibrium so some could speed up and others «low down without antagonton. During this pertod both hourly output and total output exceeded all previous records. Perlods XIV-GXIY (une 1, 1929-February, 1933): beste experiaenta of the first 13 periods vere re during ‘the next fev years, By late 1932 the depression Started ‘to have effects on Hauthorne and the test £00! In Period XXL, aterting tm the Last month of 1931, Riny of the original operators were laid off and Feplaced by “novices” or people from other departments. Vast period, XXIV, ‘which ren from June 1932 to February 1933, wae staffed by new workers, with"@hort hours. on Monday and Saturday and other days off. The mnt had 0. be digcontinued, but for all purposes the test results ‘are meaningless 1931; The Relay Test Room was continued from to 1933, for several reasons: Firat, the Nesters Company war still taterested tn the etween output and biological Functtontngy Second, they also desired to devise new methods of observing workers; and third, the tests vere also continues in ofder for Whitehead to investigate his ypotheste that {ncressed output in the Test Hoom vas funetion of attention by the operators. [Whitehead 1933, pe LJ. For those interested in the reaulte after Pertod XIV, see the various publications by Wnitenead as Listed nere. me tter 1931 relationahtp Sumastion of Periods I-KIII in Relay Assembly Test Room. In the two and one-half years of experimentation Svnumber” of changes in working conditions nad been tried, What were their effects in terme of output and the operators nealth and mental attitude? 1. Except for Pertods steadily except for X, XL, and XIT, output rose Operators’ 1A and 2A. In Fertod XIIL Operator, 4 resched an tncrease of about 40% over the base period and she was one of the moat skilled operators entering the test 2, tm Pertods VIL, X and KIL Sdenttcal conditions existed —— 48 houte per week, a [Svatnute rest in the Tunch, “and a l0-sinate rest in the afternoon. But hourly output was higher in Period X than in Pertod VIL, and in Period XIII {€ vas considerably higher. 3. In Periods X, XI and XII condtttone of work varted Widely, fron a S"day week with reat pertods co a 5 1/2 day week without rest periods, Yet there vas little ‘change 40 outputs Tn only one case did the hourly production output je" ae one might have expected. In Period XII, it declined “when the operators ‘the 48-hour fehedute With no rest period ‘output wa considerably Mgher than under the’ same conditions in Period g11. 1 appears there was no staple correlation between Working conditions and "hourly output. To. sum up, dutput Nad tncreased steadily for nearly 2.5 years in spite of numerous changes {0 houre of work. Morale in the test rove had steadily tuproved. The operators had averaged only. 3.5 attendance trregulartetes a year (otekkess “and personal absences plus tardiness) coopared with 15 a” year before coming {nto the testAMALNSIS OF INCREASED OUTPUT: THE BFPECE OF PERIODIC (GUANGES 18 HOURLY PAY RATES witn Period IIT the sethod of determintg the weekly pay of the operators wae altered. They nov were patd) on the basis of six operators (operstors 1-5, plus the layout operator) instead of s Large group "of 100° operators as in the main departnent’ Although thts “small group incentive aysten is described in “MANAGEMENT “AND THE WORKER, one eannot accurately deteraine the weekly pay of the operstors by the "method they describe, The periodic. rate changes (Daywork Rates) in the test foom are shown tn Figure 3 andthe actual method used at Haxthorne at this tine C0 calculate the operators earnings ts shown in Figure 4; these two data are required to deteruine the weekly pay of the operators. ‘An important feature of thts method ts “percentage of earnings” since it determined the actesl amount of Incentive earnings for each operator tn addition to "The tmportance of the “percentage of the operators "called the such that IE constantly te referred by. the operators as recorded in. the Daily Log maintained tn the Test Roo Tte incentive system, coupled vith » regular rertew of “the base rate of each operartor every tx months played a significant role in determining output Elton Mayo” and George Pennock, tn 1925, believed. that relief fron fatigue and "ratees in pay had not wholly determined production changes." [Trahair, pe 238] Therefore, the increases must be due to changes in, employees’ mental attitude and thts was “the major accomplishment of our enttre study.” [Trahatr, po 238) Wovever, the pertodic reviews of the hourly tates were significant. "Te appeara that Mayo and Hoethitaberger 41 not know of “the pertodte revtew of hourly base rates, or if they did, did not consider them taportant Probably becwuse if they included these changes. in thetf thinking the general increase in output vould GE have seemed such a miracle. Importance of the pertodte review of hourly base ‘in the Test Room every six months and the effect Of “these changes on output” in the Test Roon can be Seen in Figure 5. Pron ehe data shovn in Figure 3, we learn that in eek 31, the hourly rates of operators 1-6 were: 32, 35, 33, 37, 32 and 40 cents. In veek 32, the pertadte 'rate’ review ‘occurred and the new 33, 36, 34, 38, 32, and 40 cents These show opsrators 1°4 roceived an increase of one per hour, while operatore 5 and 6 did not recetve an increase," These nev rates result in» percentage Of earnings of S32, and total weekly earnings for operators I~6 of were: $26.94, $29.39, $27.76, $31.02, $26.12 and $32.66 (see Figure 6).” If, however, 13 Fate change “had occurred, the percentage of earnin Would “have been #6E and the total weekly earnings, of operators 1-6: 826.54 (U0 cents leas), “$29.08 (36 ‘cents less), §27-38 (38 cents Less), $30.69 (33 cent eos), $26.34 "(42 cents more) and §33-19 (47 conte wore). The method of | figuring these rates ta quite complicated. Following. the information in Figures 3-6, the pay rates can be understood, For veek 31 (eco Figure 4) the operators’ hourly ‘rates are multiplied by hours worked for the vesk, which was 4% ‘and shovs the operators’ income of $14.08 (operator 5) to $17.60 (operator 6). The piece’ rate wae 0139 dollare. The Test Room produced 12,187 relays for the Weeks "Tats tg multiplied by” the .0139 dollars per Felay to. obtain "($196.40) the Plece Rate Wage Earned a (Pie) for the Test Room. The difference between Plece Rate Wage Earned and Day Work ksrned equale vhat vas temed Excess Earnings ($169.40 ~ $93.72 = $75.58). The Excess Earnings vere then divided by the Dey Work Earnings to arrive at Percentage of faruinge, “The Percentage” ($75.68/$93.72. = BIZ). The Day” Work Earnings are then multiplied by the Percentaye (see Figure 5) to obtain the production tncentive which te fdded to the Day Work Earnings and ony overtiac to arrive at total. pay. In short, under the new rates, the percentage of earnings vas reduced, the Jetference being 83% under the new rates, but this vould have been 62 under the old rates (Figure 6)+ Thos with four of the six operators recetying Fate increase, the operators had to increase actually earn more take-home money. ‘Thte occurred because, a Wtbarger explained on December 10, 1928, “the snerease in day work value due to revieton hed caused a drop tn plecewore percentages” [Daily History, Mtcroftche]. "The only way the operators would tnetesee the percentage was by Increasing output, and this, tn turn “would not only tnerease the earnings, but also the learnings of operatore 5-5, who did. not tnerease. ‘an hourly receive an In thts mannor ve ean gee that the {ncreased output tn the Relay Test Koon considered by vo aay managenent writers as a phenouena caused, se suggested by Mayo, by the grovth of soctal relationships anong the operacors, thas other Logical basis as well. Only by {creasing their output could” the” group achieve a higher percentage of earnings and, an 8 consequence, higher weekly “earnings. One cannot deny. that’ the’ octal Telattonsntps among the operators” taproved,, but to attribute the general upward trend of output entirely > such relationships 4a an error. Whtle the operators thett output” to sttenpted cach week to increase tncrease the percentage of earnings, laay factors Cheyond the eostrol of the operators) afded or hindered their efforts. Although operators 4 assembled 3 or 6 different’ types of flnt-type normally, “the Test Roos handled ta long runs feu of the most select flat-type relays. While 1928, these were prinartly R-L317 type relays, which ter to. assemble, but pata che same piece rate 15 the E901 and R316 relays (8,0139 per relay). If, An one week, only R131? relays were available, operators 1-4 "could achieve high output and high piece Fate earnings, However, if E-901 and R116 relays were available, there vas a stgniftcant chance that the Dutput vould ‘be lover and plece rate earnings, Les ‘There also vas tho possibility that a large vartety of flat-type relays would be delivered to the Test toon (although all” attenpts vere made to avoid a Large variety), | ("this happened. the Operator 2 recalled, “tt diminished speed .-» and apotit the pay check and pay te Seportant you know." (Interview, Mierottene, ""Aprtt 30, 1933] In brief, all. this, evidence indteates that’ the group incentive’ system used at Wawthore played an important role neglected. by Previous analysts of the Test Rooms It also indicates that "although Franke and Kaui in their frat quantitative analyste of ‘the Test Room atteapted to Gtscover the ‘cause of the tneressed output, their Feguits did not include the moat fi pettodic | review of the hourly day Operators (Franke ané Kaul]. Although much of the Literature incorrectly assigns Mayo, “Roethlisberger, and Dickson significant roles in the "Relay Assembly "Tests, nothing 1s further fron the truth. Tt was primartly the vork of Honer ibarger and George Pennock of Western that should have recetved the credit. “It wat Hibarger’ uo proposed the teats €2 Pennock after” the fatlure of the iilumination tests.FIGURE 3) Deywork Rates by Operate ator 1 2 5 « s 6 Average Deter covered srasar-unezere7 S402 HSS HOSS HST 0.568 Liv2rer- s/2éreb S257 80.85 6.56.80. 0.355 sranran-nias/2n 8-83, 40.32 O87 HOGS 0.357 hi2eres- sreerey MIO 60S OME 036 OSE 80.82 90.367 sy26ra9- 2728/30 110-155 40.55 $0.40 80.57 0.39 80.6 0.375 aut of 1951 156-505 40.55 40.40 0.57 0.39 0.4 0.375 FIGURE 4 Senple Computation (Using Week 46 Ending 3/26/28) Operator 1 2 3 ‘ 5 ‘ Wie x Sao Totel, OME coay "Hark Earnings)| DHE alse + 913. + siete 4 e16en + 17.60 = 493.72 totat rae Excess eee ovteet note Pie xe enfnings KE ESHLNStson —azsis7 x ¢0.0159 = 4169.40 - 495.72 = 875.68 7 495.72 © BIE FIGURE 5) 7 Operator 2 5 4 5 “ Total Earnings owe fies eis.ag sea ETE MAGeE 87g Petcentaze dle aly cle. sis ale, __ als % Earnings sive tas aside ata 1486 Total $26.28 $20.67 427,08 50.26 425.48 651.86 Overtine gos? 00.42 40.59 sa] 0.36 80.07 x Earnings + Overtime 426,65 $28.09 427.67 $30.67 925.86 #52.53 ita FIGURE 6. Ieskly Earnings ef Oneraters in Relay Assenbly Room tock Gpor. 1 Oper. 2 Oper. 3 Oper. 4 Oper. S$ Oper. 6 X Earnings Rate Relaye | six eznsehna8.oe F223 A499 LL HTS L987 we 426.96 29d) 27.76 OSLOZ AEE REGS 12, ge dats cans verge goes wake OY eae iii nh OM Re TES Rn 38: a thankstiving Hosk ~ Operaters Worked 40 Hours 2Me tnfttated the study on May 10, 1927, assuming tne role of room oberver. We vas abelsted by Obte Hunt Geveloper of the room recording device), and later by Lester Larson (who went to the Mics spittting tests) aod Donald Chipman, "The primary outside consultant was MIT's pr. Clair Turner of the Departacat of Biology and Public Hesltn, It was Turner who anifted the atteation tovarde the mental attitude of the operators an an explanation of the evermincreasing output. Turner arrived in early May of 1928 and on May. 8 and 10 administered two questionnatres on health nabtts “and mental hygiene. Back at MIT be Lavached a Fesearch project to tle into the lavthorne works He thoroughly™ reviewed the Literature on meagurenente of Fatigue ond laboratory sethode of measuring fatigue. Me analyzed the rest periods, ané concluded that the operators Iiked then because’ of the opportunity for Soctal relations and that the Longer reste (15. and 10 Ininutes) were better than short rest periods. (Turner, 1958) Turner also helped £9 compile Progress Reporte #3" and #5" and. slaost’ completed untesved Progress Report #5 (1931). Mis most valuable contribution vas establishing that the cause of tncreased output in the est room was not due to reltef from neuro-muscular fatigue. Tn December 1930, Turner proposed a test rooa study ona group of men becaust’ of the need to compare the reactions of men as well as women to the type of experinents conducted in the Relay Room. This Ted. to Eke Bank Wiring Room Teste which wandered e different path from the work in the Relay Room. ‘Tarner™ became unhappy with the growing connection with Harvard and” the increasing focus on the datervteving program and severed his connections with Hawthorne. it 1932. [see Turner, 1933] Mayo wade a brief visit on Apeti 24-25, 1928 dnd was first cetatned. ae consultant and advisor’ to the Interview Program in 1929. (Mayoy 1943]. We must also mention nae MANAGEMENT AND THE WORKER vas weitten by three people vho were not assoctated vith the Relay Tests. Although both Dickson and “Wright worked at Hawthorne, neither was joctated with the tests before 1930. Dickton was tn tect room tn 1932 a5 an observer, but by then the Were effectively over, Prits Roethlisberger was at Narvard “at the tine of the tests and assisted tn the interview training © (as early as 1930, but certainly not eafiter). From RosthLiaberger's autobiography he states: "My ow participation 0, hese teearches became nore active in Septenber 1932, when the data fromthe various studtes at Hawthorne were shipped to the Harvard Business School for the purpose of further study... (Roethlisberger, pps 5i-52].* “Roethlisberger seid, tn regards to’ Mayo, “the data vas not his; the results were not his;_ th ortginal hypotheses and questions were not his; but as the researches continued, the interpretations of what ‘the results meant and the nev questions and hypotheses that “energed” from thon vere hiss” (Roethlisberger, Pe 50] Roethlisberger may have given Mayo. even more credit than he deserved at this point in the teste: SECOND RELAY ASSEMBLY TEST (August 27,1928-March 16, 1928) Pennock believed the real effect of the anall group tneenttve "payment system in. the Relay Assembly Test Room could” wot be evaluated due to the presence of 80 wmany “other "factors and decided to conduct a Second “Relay As Tn the. regular Relay Assenbly Departnent, normal. departrent supervision and working conditions, a five-week base Production” record (without operators” knowledge) was Eaten of five experienced operatore. They were then placed “on a five operator group basis of payzent, an sed tn ene (© Room, instead of on the usual operatore). Tt should be kept ‘Operators knew that their Yor outpute were being carefully measured. dndsesduat 2 44 portod of nine weeke, thetr output averaged 10-15% ‘above that of the base period. Since his test and the Test Room vere located in different butldings (althous’ attached), tt was felt that Little or no contact cout! be made ‘between the neabers of the two groupe. Buty They neglected to consider that the Layout operstor visited the regular departuent quite frequently and i vas reported “in the Datly etary record on Novenber 27, 1928: “the layout operator reported that there was quite a Lively tnterest being taken by members of Croup 2 (the Second Relay Asseubly Croup) in the output of Group 3. (the Test’ Room)" (RoethLiaberger, 1959, - 134)" Tie second relay “group was disbanded due to couplatnts of the payment’ inequity by the other women inthe department. "When put’ beck nto the regular roup payment plas, thelr output dropped to 94.82 of fhe output for” the base period. ‘The output did not Fetura to that of the bare period during the next five Wweeke which wore monitored. This indicated thet the ssaall group pay plan of the test room wae taportant, but enat” conpetition aa a factor had to be taken into consideration, MICA SPLITTING TEST ROOM (AUGUST 27,1926-SEPTEMDER 13, 1330) In order to try to taolate the effect of rest periods, the" Miea Splitting Test Roca was developed, Tho attenpt vas to measure the effects of rest. pauses on Output while holding the wage incentives constant. Five operatore were placed tn a separate room and. given two l0-ninute breake under the watchful eye of Lester Larson who. had been trained ae an observer tn the Test Koon. Beginning on August 27, the output of five expertenced operators, on individual plece rate pay, as recorded over a period of eight weeks, During this Une “the women did’ not kuow that output records were heing kept — this was a bese rate.” On October 22, 1928, the five vouen were moved to a small test room watch was partitioned off fron one of the regular departments "(as vas the Relay Test Room). The plan was to test the effect of rest pauses and this was ‘explained to. the wonen, For the next Five weeks the women ‘continued to” work as usual, then in the e{xth Week two I-minute rest breaks were provided at 9:30 ‘AcMe and 2:30 Pose MANAGEMENT AND THE WORKER presents a detatled desertptton of thte study; ve have not seen ‘any tndieation that the description ts aa incorrect as the ove on the Test Roos. In thie teat outpet roves then began to decline, but the changes vere tndependent ‘of rest’ breaka. Tt’ appears that when the Relay and Mica Tests rooms worked the sane hours, the Productivity of the Mica increased about half of that Of the Relay, but so many Variables are involved, thet Such @ comparision ta vesk THPEWRITING CHOU: FEBRUARY 4, 1929 ~ 19317 ‘There were otmer tests besides thowe with the Relay, Mica and Bank Wistng, and an exanple ts the Typewrit ing Group “teats (not found in the published Literature) which began on February 4, 1929 and contiaved for about two years, although only’ the records for the first two Weeks are’ known. A group. of 45 typtats was given Trataute morning and W-minute afternoon rest vith the result that thetr efficteney wea spprectably increased overs tworyear_ period (by “how much te oot known) Prendergast]. The Typist Group was patd on a weekly salary baste, but their tneesses in ealary vere based prtmartly upon output which was determined by. sn automatic recording “device on “the aachine tndieat ing fhe number of keys truck. This aachine registered “pointe.” One point’ represented’ 240" taps on. the keyboard. This atudy war conducted to collect data to determine the factors whtch affected working conditions, output, and fatigue [Frester, 1929].BANK WIRING ROOM (JUNE 27, 1931 ~ MAY 28, 1932) ‘The Bonk Wirtng Room Expertzente are aleost as fanous me the Relay’ Assembly Test’ Room in management Literature, The teste were firet suggested by Clatr Turner who wanted. to" study men toa test stailar to the Relay Assembly Teste being adaintetered vith Wonen The primary reason for the study was “the need Of obtaining’ note complete knowledge about what took place. in the Relay Assembly experimental group. More Gractly, ve need to ascertain the precise relationship between’ employee attitudes ond their effectiveness.” Giavenorne sieroficne #73] The teste did not, Feplicate the Relay Teeta, but did segregate the Workers to. another roe and did not use rest breaks, yor were the early and Late starting tines tried. Tt Was Mayo who tatroduced W. Lloyd Warner to Pennock ond Ye may have been Mayo who suggested Phat a trained jetologist would make” a good observer. Mark Putnan Gtrected tne’ experiment, as he had replaced Pennock. Roethitsberger, Dickson,” Weight, Womens, Mayo and’ a host of othere nave described the study tn detatl. Those "closely snvolved include Dickson (often {nterviever), Putman, Haraer, snd A. C. Moore (often an observer). Basteally {t consisted of nine virenen, fhree soldermen, and two inspectors who were placed th a apectal study room with the hopes of replicating the Relay Testes, But, of course, it quickly turned {ato fan industrial paychology study. An observer and. an fneerviswer were stationed in this test room. The observer Kept production records and the tintervtewer Etined insight “tno the workers" attitudes, thoughts and feelings. The outcone of this study uss: first, the identification of the phenomenon of group controt Of individual outpat when it vas dfacovered the operators vere restricting output. Second, the study Tevesled that EStet~ and gone second-level Supervisors vere regarded by the enployees as betng one of then Gnd not" of managenent becsuse these two lover Levels Of management’ did. not identify vith upper managenent Snd ite, rules, “The study alan” traced. the Telationships between the operators. Although the Eroup was ont tn terms Of vhat it belleved to be Sppropriate production levels, at the sane tine tt Split. tata subgroups. Conforaity and nonconforatty £0 Etoup norms seemed to determine whether oF not sn operator was accepted or rejected by a groups Willian fickeon wrote to. Harold Wright, the study ws ‘atrected chiefly tovard soctal’ and individual ‘changes. s+ By soctal changes ve mean changes in the Felattonships among the operators and superv!sory Teletionsnips. “The formation of group antagontame and wolidarittes fall in thts catagory.” [Mawthorne Merotiche #73) ‘concwust08 me ‘quest tonable and. Mtbarger, oping tn the ts can be extttetzed on methodology. Te ts {f "the researchers, particularly Pennock ‘were trained in’ research; they were dark at tines (no pun intended). But fonewhere, and they did get esearch started io thie “area, It can. be clataed that the Tenearch hts been. atatepresented in Literature, particularly in MANAGEMENT AND THE WORKER because the Book wae fequght with errors and atetakes. LE appears that Roethlisberger did believe that Mayo was nore Envolved when the book was written. The authors were not tnvolved. tn the Relay or Mica Splitting Tests snd Vere working fon secondary and, at the tine, Incomplete data, Some of the data hes only surfaced ‘the Last fev years. Dickson and Weight vere very fwich involved in the Bank Wiring Room research and that Gata te most Likely more accurate, The tests can be critictzed for aistnterpretstion. This is probably the most valié of the erittetens and) the Lack of Ghderstanding by ‘managenent writers of the taportance uM of the Western Electric group incentive system, offere fertile ground for nore researe Te Hawthorne Studies marked a turning point in SSanagenenthtstory and theory developaent bectuse they nteoduced a new way of thinking about the people fector., The earlier writers, namely Taylor, the Gllbrethe, Fayol and Cantt, were not 40 inept that they @id not, understand the hunan side — it fe that St ever became center stage to thei work. The results Of the Hawthorne Studies ohifted the attention of Practiclag managers and theorists to che paychological Gnd soctological aspects, For all ite faolts on Fesearch methodology, the studies did lead managenent down a new. paths Although they were popolartzed by Macvard (especially Mayo, Roethlisberger, Homans, and Whitehead) the actual credit. should go to Dugald Suckson, and “Charles Snow of MIT for thetr work on the original “TUluminatton Tests, and Woner Wibarger and George Pennock on the Relay and Mica Splitting Tests. REFERENCES. Burtt, We Es, "The Effect of Untfors and Nonuntform TUlumioation "on Attention and Reaction Tine With Spectal Reference to Street Tlluntnation,” Journal of Experimental Payenology, Vole 1 (19163, mo» 2, pps 2. 155 carey, As "The Haythorne Studtes: A Radical crittcten,” American Soctologtest Review, Vol. 32 (1967), pe Yeonke, Re He and Kavl, J Ds, “The Hawthorn Experitmente: First Stattetical” Interpretation, Americen Sociological Review, Vols 43, nO 3, BB+ 625-663. (Peaster, Rs) “An Investigation of Rest Pauses, Working Condseions, and Industrial Efftctency” Progress Report Way IL, 1929, This report does not List the author, but Del Frazier assured us that he tn fact wrote this Teport, ao the microfiche also indicates. 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Managemene, and the 1918" 0 1933; Sone Kew Inaighta,= Proceedings, 1985, ppsCopyright of Academy of Management Best Papers Proceedings is the property of Academy of Management and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv uiithout the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.