INTRODUCTION

The Hawthorne studies were conducted in order to find out the role of human resource in

increasing the production of an organization. The Hawthorne studies included the following

experiments.
HAWTHORNE EXPERIMENT
Conducted between: 1924-1932
Conducted at: WESTERN ELECTRIC COMPANY, Chicago, USA
Conducted by: Elton Mayo, White Head, Roethlisberger

Researcher:
George Elton Mayo:
 He was an Australian Psychologist, Sociologist and Organization Theorist.
 Lectured at University of Queensland before moving to the University of
Pennsylvania
 Spent most of his career at Harvard Business School and was the Professor of
Industrial Research
 Known as the founder of Human Relations Movement
Fritz Roethlisberger
 He was a Social Scientist and Management Theorist
 He was also a Professor at Harvard Business School
WhiteHead
 He was the Industrial Worker
Western Electric Company
 Gray and Barton, a telephone industry supply company founded in 1869 by Elisha
Gray and Enos Barton
 In 1872, the company changed its name to the Western Electric Manufacturing
Company
 In 1881, when the annual sales had already grown to nearly $1 million, the firm was
purchased by the American Bell Telephone Company, it was renamed the Western
Electric Company and became Bells manufacturing arm.
 The Hawthorne experiment was first conducted in November, 1924 at Western
Electric Company’s Hawthorne plant in Chicago.
 The initial tests were sponsored by The National Research Council (NRC) of the
National Academy of Sciences
 In 1927, a research team from Harvard Business School was invited to join the studies
after the illumination test drew unanticipated results
 A team of researchers led by George Elton Mayo from the Harvard Business School
carried out the studies (General Electric originally contributed funding, but they
withdrew after the first trial was completed)
Hawthorne Experiments in Industrial Psychologist: (Stages and Significance)!
Hawthorne experiments were begun in 1927. Industrial psychologists refer to Hawthorne
experiments because of their scope, significance, design and inclusiveness. Hawthorne
experiments represent the most significant research programme undertaken to show the
enormous complexity of the problem of production relative to efficiency. They represent a
vast improvement over all the other work that has been done in the field. They show how
various problems are inter-related. They demonstrate that changes in the work environment,
hours of work, rest pauses, boredom, fatigue, monotony, employee attitudes, incentives,
formal and non- formal employee organization and employer-employee relations are all inter-
related very intimately.

The Hawthorne experiments can be divided into 5 major parts.

1. Experiments on Illumination
2. Relay Assembly Experiment
3. Mass Interviewing Programme
4. Bank Wiring Observation Room
5. Personnel Counseling

Experiments on Illumination:
First Experiment on Illumination:
Three departments were selected for the conduction of this experiment.
In the first department, inspection of small parts was done, in the second department the
relays were assembled and in the third department, winding of coils was done. To maintain a
‘Control’ for the experiment, production was measured with all employees working in the
existing conditions of illumination.
In the first department, where the levels of average illumination intensity were 3. 6, 14 and 23
foot candles, the production of the workers varied without any direct relation to the amount of
illumination.
In the second department, where the levels of average illumination intensities were 5, 12, 25
and 44 foot candles, the production increased but not merely as a result of illumination
variation.
In the third department, also the results were the same.
According to show, 1927, “the conclusions brought out very forcibly the necessity of
controlling or eliminating the various additional factors which affected production output in
either the same or opposing directions to that which we can ascribe to illumination”.

Second Experiment of Illumination:

A single department with two groups of participating workers was used for setting up this
experiment. Better techniques were used and same number of participating workers having
same experience and average production were included in this experiment. To maintain a
control for the experiments, again the production was measured under the existing relatively
constant illumination. Competition sprit among test groups was negated by separating their
work place. Both test groups were then subjected to three different illumination intensities.
The results of this experiment revealed that both test groups registered an identical and
appreciable increase in production.

Third Experiment on Illumination:

The third experiment on illumination was conducted because the second experiment failed to
show exactly what increase in production could be attributed to illumination. This time,
daylight was completely replaced by artificial light, starting with intensity of 10-foot candles
and gradually reducing intensity by 1 foot candle per period until the time the test group
ended up working under intensity of 3 foot candles. Despite discomfort and insufficient
illumination, the test group registered the same efficiency as before. The control for this
experiment had the employees working under a constant intensity of 10 foot candles.

Fourth Experiment on Illumination:

In this experiment, two girls volunteered to work in a room receiving gradually reducing
light. Finally the light intensity was lowered to become equal to that of moonlight. The two
girls not only maintained production but also reported lack of eyestrain and fatigue compared
to conditions of working under bright light.

Fifth Experiment on Illumination:

The fifth experiment was conducted on a test group of girls whose work consisted of winding
coils. At the start of experiment, the intensity of light was increased day by day. Expressing
approval the girls carried on with their work but showed no change in actual production.
Later, even when the lights remained constant or were reduced, the production was
unchanged. Probably the employees reacted not to the changes in illumination but some other
factor. Hawthorne’s experiments on illumination were basically intended to study the
conditions of work. The main aim was to study the relationship between intensity of
illumination and output but these were disappointing to the investigators because the
employees had reacted not to actual illumination changes but to some other variable and
hence no real change in production had been registered.

Relay Assembly Test Room Study:

The illumination experiments had not been satisfactory owing to lack of control over other
variables influencing employee performance. The aim of the Relay Assembly Test room
study was to study the effect of hours of work (or fatigue) and rest pauses on output. For this
experiment the test group was a group of employees who worked as relay assemblers. Relay
assembly was chosen as the task because it is simple, highly repetitive, needs no machinery
and allows accuracy while measuring production i.e., the production depended on individual
workers and was easily measurable. The normal rate of relay assembly is one per minute i.e.,
approximately 500 per day. The test group consisted of five girls who had been at the job
since years and hence their production was constant. There was no scope of their production
improving with more practice. They were put in a special test room only after they consented
to become a part of the test study. Their suggestions were solicited, each change proposed
was discussed with them and in case a change was not approved by them, it was rejected. An
observer was also stationed in the room to record all conversations, elaborate records of
production, other activities and sleeping time rest pauses etc.

The girls worked in the test room for 5 years. During this, a number of work conditions were
changed to study their possible effect on output. During the first stage of the study, no change
was made. The girls could work at the rate comfortable to them, without hurrying or trying to
work as fast as they could. During the second stage of the study, a change was introduced
whereby the girls were paid according to the output of the five relay assemblers in the test
group instead of being paid in accordance to the production of their original department’s
much larger group.

This change alone accounted for nearly half of the entire 30 percent increase in production
that occurred. Probably the high output by the girls was partly due to their increased interest
in the Experimental Study and their being the centre of attraction. This explains the speeding
up of the assembly of relays which was maintained until towards the close of the Study. The
slowing down towards the close of study is probably attributed to the test group members’
fear of losing their jobs upon completion of the experiment being conducted. The results of
the Relay Assembly study showed that the correlation between output/production records and
the experimental variables was zero. This indicated that there was no relationship between
output and hours of work or rest pauses amount of sleep, lunches physiological measurements
and even aptitude measurements. However, the attitude of the test group improved while
production rose and deteriorated when production declined towards the end. Improvement in
attitude was attributed to group formation within the test group, lack of anxiety due to the
informal atmosphere created by a friendly, approachable supervisor. They no longer feared
their boss who had became an effective informal leader by replacing the restrictive and
excessive supervision with more friendly atmosphere in his leadership. The Relay Assembly
Study demonstrated that attitude and morale have the power to nullify the negative effects of
fatigue, hours of work, rest pauses, monotony, boredom, aptitude etc. It also highlighted the
importance of informal relations, social groups, effective informal leadership, concepts of
participation, successful supervision and development of team spirit.

Mass Interviewing Programme:

The Relay Assembly demonstrated the positive relationship between the morale of employees
and supervision. As an improvement in Supervision was expected to increase employee
morale and in turn production, all efforts were aimed at studying human relations and
attitudes rather than changes in environmental conditions. Due to lack of availability of
factual data on methods of improving supervision, it was decided to interview all employees
to obtain information. 1600 workers employed in the Inspection branch were included under
the mass interview programme in which three men and two women supervisors would
interview them in order to gain maximum information about employee attitudes regarding
supervision, working conditions and the job etc. The Mass Interviewing Programme provided
the management with plenty of data regarding employee attitudes and opinions but there was
still need for data about the social groups that existed within the organization as this too
exerted considerable control over the work behavior of the individual members. To obtain
more precise information about the social group formation within the company, the fourth
Hawthorne experiment was planned.
Bank Wiring Observation Room:
The workers in the Bank Wiring Department were selected for this experiment. There were 9
wiremen, 3 solder men and 2 inspectors. Though a specific task was assigned to each of
them, they had to collaborate with the others in the group. An observer and interviewer were
also involved. The observer was stationed in the observation room as a mute spectator. He
was asked to just focus on reporting whatever was going on in the room – the formal
organization of the supervisor and employees, the informal group formations of the workers
etc. He was specifically asked to refrain from giving any orders or demonstrate any authority
or interfere in the arguments or discussions going on. The interviewer was to strictly keep
out of the observation room. His mission was to gain insight into the attitudes and thoughts of
the workers on the basis of the actual observations of worker’s behaviour provided by the
Observer stationed in the Observation room. The observer and the interviewer in a way
worked together and collected the data from the test group regarding the attitudes of the
employees towards the company work environment, supervision, incentives etc. Like the
relay assembly, Bank wiring was chosen as a task owing to its ‘sameness’, accurately
measurable output, quick accomplishment of task (one minute) and operator dependent work
pace. Based on the observations and interviews conducted over six and a half month of the
study, it was seen that informal organization and unpainted leadership developed within the
test group. The informal leaders were so close to the workers that they had full faith in him.
They firmly believed that their leader would protect their interests. The informal leaders
enjoyed so much support of the workers that the formal supervisors appointed by the
management found in difficult to assert themselves even if the workers disobeyed rules. The
workers enjoyed the total ‘protection’ of their informal leaders provided they adhered to the
group code enforced by the informal leaders. Such strong group formations and informal
leaders resist changes introduced by the management and even exert pressure on employees
which in turn results in a decline in production. The Bank Wiring Observation Room Study
throws much light on the intricacies of informal Organization and its capabilities of affecting
production, supervision and exchange of communication between the employee and
management.

Personnel Counseling:
Personnel Counseling Study was needed as the earlier four studies could not yield sufficient
information regarding promoting employee relations. The aim of this study was to get a
diagnosis of the problems of the employees. An impartial and non authoritative agency was
created in order to interview the employees and work with the supervisors. Eliminating lack
of communication another drawback of the earlier four studies was the second important task
of this study. This was very important as it affected production in case the social or informal
organization clashed with the management’s organization. To achieve these aims each
department was assigned personnel counselors who could freely communicate with the
employees. This was a very successful move by the management and soon there was marked
improvement in supervisor employee relations, employee management relations and even in
personal adjustments. The personnel counseling resulted in behavior and personality changes.
It resulted in improving understanding between the employees and their supervisor and
greatly helped the management in understanding their employees by communicating
effectively with them while formulating company policies and changes. Personnel counseling
greatly helped in reducing the friction between the workers and the management resulting
from lack of communication.

Significance of the Hawthorne Experiments:

In large industrial organizations there is usually a lack of communication and hence
understanding between the top and the bottom layers. The series of Hawthorne experiments
were the pioneers who emphasised the importance of communication, emphasised on the
need to understand employee behavior and sentiments and emphasised on the importance of
participation through team work. The Hawthorne studies are an outstanding example of
research as many questions were raised as a result of the knowledge acquired in each step.
The next step was planned to seek answers raised in the previous experiment. So, initially the
Hawthorne experiments were initiated to evaluate the effect of factors like illumination,
temperature and wages on the output of the test group, the question of importance of informal
group relationships was raised from the initial studies. Only then attention was needed to be
focused on the social organizations within the groups. This lead to the Relay Assembly Study
which showed the development of an informal leader and the positive progressive effect of
employee attitude on output. This shows that the Hawthorne experiments were not
manipulated towards predetermined conclusions because such an attitude discourages the real
search for knowledge as the investigators merely accumulate data to conform or prove the
point that he sets out to prove, not to ‘discover’.
Hawthorne effect
These findings gave rise to what is now known as the Hawthorne effect, which suggests that
employees will perform better when they feel singled out for special attention or feel that
management is concerned about employee welfare. The studies also provided evidence that
informal work groups (the social relationships of employees) and the resulting group pressure
have positive effects on group productivity. The results of the Hawthorne studies enhanced
our understanding of what motivates individuals in the workplace.