HOW SHOULD WE NEUTRALIZE THE

HAWTHORNE
EFFECT
DURING BASELINING?

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 WHAT IS THE
HAWTHORNE EFFECT?

The Hawthorne Effect states that

the process performance is
unusual if the operators know
they are being observed or
measured. The knowledge of
being watched makes them
perform the tasks differently
(behavioural change), a deviation
from how they normally work,
resulting in improved output.

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Baselining is essential in the
measure phase and sometimes in
the define phase. We perform
Baselining to assess the current
performance to compare
improved performance with the
baseline later. It is sometimes
done with a time and motion
study, so that time taken in each
step is noted.

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 SETTING THE STAGE

To continue working in a normal

way, staff needs to be genuinely
convinced in their heart of
hearts. These staff will be
convinced only if the
Management demonstrates its
correct intentions and walks its
talk. The right actions are more
effective than a million words
spoken or written.

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 DRAFT BENCHMARK

Management should take the help

of one trusted staff or Supervisor
to have the process executed
away from the floor in private.

The Management should try to get

through their network an idea of
the baseline for similar processes
in other organizations in the same
or similar industrial sectors.

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 RATING DURING
OBSERVATION

Once the draft benchmark is

available, the observation can start
with a trained person rating the work
execution pace. The Management will
need to use the draft benchmark to
check if the results returned by their
current baselining efforts are close to
the ones they assessed earlier. This
checking will need to be done at least
twice a day and can be done once an
hour.

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 FEEDBACK

Once the check is done and it is

observed that the Hawthorne effect
or its reverse is visible, then the
baselining efforts will need to be
temporarily either halted or results
should be ignored temporarily. The
staff involved in the process will need
to be called in again and the
Management needs to re-explain to
them the objective of the baselining
study and their cooperation needs to
be requested again.

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 CONCLUSION:

Steps to be followed for good

baselining -

Set the stage

Develop a draft benchmark
Prepare a draft baseline
Observe and rate the pace
Check and provide feedback

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Learn about the Hawthorne Effect
in our Green Belt, Black Belt, and
Master Black Belt programs

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