The Hawthorne Effect The Hawthorne Effect - named after a place, not a person - is an unwanted effect that can

n skew the outcome of efficiency and similar studies. Many people today argue about the extent of a single "Hawthorne Effect", however it would seem that the principle is valid to a greater or lesser degree. It certainly needs to be considered when attempting to measure the effect on productivity of changes to working practices. What Is The Hawthorne Effect? The Hawthorne Effect refers to the way that workplace efficiency, performance and productivity can often be improved by introducing and measuring any change to working practice. It doesn't matter whether you change from System A to System B or from System B to System A: productivity could well go up!The ususal explanation is that the Hawthorne Effect is akin to a placebo; workers feel motivated as a result of the experiment itself. They feel that they are being listened to, they feel valued and they bind better as a social unit producing a new group dynamic. In addition there is an element of "a change is as good as a rest". The result of the Effect need not be positive. If an efficiency study is taking place without the goodwill of the workforce and under threat of redundancy then they might have a subconscious desire for it to fail. As stated earlier, there is some dispute as to the nature and strength of any specific Hawthorne Efect. By its nature it is difficult to quantify and predict - some people even claim that it doesn't exist at all. However there does seem to be some degree of "observer effect" that could confound attempts to study business efficiency improvements. Ultimately the Hawthorne Effect can perhaps be summed up by one simple but too frequently forgotten fact: workers are human. Relay assembly experiments In one of the studies, experimenters chose two women as test subjects and asked them to choose four other workers to join the test group. Together the women worked in a separate room over the course of five years (1927 1932) assembling telephone relays. Output was measured mechanically by counting how many finished relays each worker dropped down a chute. This measuring began in secret two weeks before moving the women to an experiment room and continued throughout the study. In the experiment room, they had a supervisor who discussed changes with them and at times used their suggestions. Then the researchers spent five years measuring how different variables impacted the group's and individuals' productivity. Some of the variables were:

 giving two 5-minute breaks (after a discussion with them on the best length of time), and then changing to two 10-minute breaks (not their preference). Productivity increased, but when they received six 5-minute rests, they disliked it and reduced output. providing food during the breaks shortening the day by 30 minutes (output went up); shortening it more (output per hour went up, but overall output decreased); returning to the first condition (where output peaked). Changing a variable usually increased productivity, even if the variable was just a change back to the original condition. However it is said that this is the natural process of the human being to adapt to the environment without knowing the objective of the experiment occurring. Researchers concluded that the workers worked harder because they thought that they were being monitored individually. Researchers hypothesized that choosing one's own co-workers, working as a group, being treated as special (as evidenced by working in a separate room), and having a sympathetic supervisor were the real reasons for the productivity increase. One interpretation, mainly due to Elton Mayo, was that "the six individuals became a team and the team gave itself wholeheartedly and spontaneously to cooperation in the experiment. Beyond the Workplace The Hawthorne Effect has been invoked far beyond its original scope as as workplace efficiency phenomenom. It has been used to explain unexpected results in all manner of scenarios as diverse as education, user interface design and treatment for stuttering.Although the Hawthorne Effect is usually seen as unwanted - introducing a bias into experiments - it can potentially be harnessed positively to allow workers/customers/patients to feel better about their treatment. Elton Mayo's Conclusions on Job Performance The aptitudes of individuals are imperfect predictors of job performance. Although they give some indication of the physical and mental potential of the individual, the amount produced is strongly influenced by social factors. Informal organization affects productivity. The researchers discovered a group life among the workers. The studies also showed that the relations that supervisors develop with workers tend to influence the manner in which the workers carry out directives. Work-group norms affect productivity. The Hawthorne researchers were not the first to recognize that work groups tend to arrive at norms of what is "a fair day's work." However, they provided the best systematic description and interpretation of this phenomenon The workplace is a social system. The researchers came to view the workplace as a social system made up of interdependent parts. The worker is a person whose attitudes and

effectiveness are conditioned by social demands from both inside and outside the work plant. Informal group within the work plant exercise strong social controls over the work habits and attitudes of the individual worker. The need for recognition, security and sense of belonging is more important in determining workers' morale and productivity than the physical conditions under which he works.