The Hawthorne experiments conducted in the 1920s and 1930s studied the effects of various factors on the productivity of workers at Western Electric's Hawthorne plant near Chicago. The experiments found that changes to lighting levels did not significantly impact productivity, but that social and psychological factors played a key role. One study of female relay assemblers found that productivity increased with the introduction of rest breaks, shorter hours, incentives and attention from researchers. The workers felt more satisfied and productive working in small groups where they could socialize. The experiments highlighted the importance of factors like workplace relationships, job satisfaction and group dynamics in motivating workers.

1. AUTHOR: FRITZ J. ROETHLISBERGER (1941)
YUANZE UNIVERSITY- DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY PROGRAM
COURSE OF ORGANIZATIONTHEORY
INSTRUCTOR: PROFESSOR SHIH-CHUN HSU
PRESENTED BY: JESSIE PHAM, ID: s1019424

2.  Introduction
 Research Background
 The Hawthorne Experiments
 Illuminated intensity variation
 RelayAssemblyTest Room
 Mass Interviewing Program
 BankWiring Observation Room
 Results of Class Survey
 Conclusions

3. HAVE YOU EVER HEARD
THETERM OF
“THE HAWTHORNE EFFECTS”?
WHATARETHE HAWTHORNE
EXPERIMENTS ABOUT ?

4.  In the 1920s, with support from the
National Research Council, the
Rockefeller Foundation, and
eventually Harvard Business School,
Western Electric undertook a series
of behavioral experiments
 Elton Mayo (1880-1949), a professor
of Industrial Management at Harvard
Business School
 a view of industry drawn from
anthropology, psychology, and
physiology.
 founder of the Human Relations
Movement
 His protégé Fritz J. Roethlisberger
(1898-1974), a social scientist and
management theorist in Harvard.

5.  The nine-year
studies (1924-1933)
took place at the
massive Hawthorne
Works plant outside
of Chicago of
Western Electric
 One of the most
advanced
manufacturing
facilities with
29,000 workers
producing
equipment for
AT&T.
 Generated a
mountain of
documents

6.  Experiments were performed to
find out the effect of different levels
of illumination (lighting) on
productivity of labor
 The brightness of the light was
increased and decreased to
determine the effects of lighting on
worker efficiency in three separate
manufacturing departments
 Surprisingly, the productivity
increased even when the level of
illumination was decreased
Factors other than light were also important?

7.  Two small groups of six female
telephone relay assemblers
were selected, each group was
kept in separate rooms
 Researchers were unsure if
productivity increased in this
experiment because of the
introduction of rest periods,
shorter working hours, wage
incentives, the dynamics of a
smaller group, or the special
attention the women received

8.  From time to time, changes were made in
working hours, rest periods, lunch breaks, etc
 They were allowed to choose their own rest
periods and to give suggestions
 Output increased in both the control rooms
 “The intimate atmosphere of the test room gave them
a sense of freedom not experienced on the factory
floor”
 “They felt more at ease to talk and over time
developed strong friendships”
 “The six individuals became a team!”

9. Mental attitudes, proper
supervision, and informal social
relationships experienced in a
group were key to productivity
and job satisfaction.

10.  21,000 employees were interviewed over a
period of three years to find out reasons for
increased their productivity
 The interview is now defined as a
conversation in which the employee is
encouraged to express himself freely upon
any topic of his own choosing.
 Interviews, which averaged around 30
minutes, grew to 90 minutes or even two
hours in length

11.  Hundreds of pages in which
employees disclose personal details
of their day to day lives, offer an
interesting portrait of the American
industrial worker in the years leading
to and following the Depression.
 Thousands of comments were
sorted into employees’ attitudes
about general working conditions,
specific jobs, or supervisors
What employees found most deeply
rewarding were close associations with
one another, strong ties to the workplace
and community

12.  A group of 14 male workers in the bank wiring
room were placed under observation for six
months
 A worker's pay depended on the performance of
the group as a whole
 It’s thought that the efficient workers would put
pressure on the less efficient workers to complete
the work
 The group established its own standards of
output, and social pressure was used to achieve
the standards of output.

13.  The questions and theories generated about the
relationship of productivity to the needs and
motivations of the industrial workers.
 “Instead of treating the workers as an appendage
to ‘the machine’,” the Hawthorne experiments
brought to light ideas concerning motivational
influences, job satisfaction, resistance to change,
group norms, worker participation, and effective
leadership.
 These were groundbreaking concepts in the
1930s.

14. PLEASE
HELPTO
FILL IN
THIS!

15.  ONLY 18 students went class last week, (where
were the other 8?) 
 14/18 participated in the survey, very high
respondent rate (~78%) 
 Q1- 6/14: professional jobs (managers,
instructor, teacher, visiting doctor, vice president
and CEO vs. the rest (students, sales& marketing
employee, retired)
 Q2-9/14 said they enjoy going to work everyday
(~64%) vs. “Too much work” (Dissatisfied
group)

16.  Q3-The top 6 reasons to stay in job?
 Interesting work
 Challenging job assignments
 Nice co-workers/followers
 Good boss
 Safe, healthy and comfortable environment
 Salary/benefits stability

17.  Q4-What employer could do to improve
employee productivity? (open question)
 Training and promotion opportunity
 Trusty, caring and safe working place (vacation)
 Cross-departmental/ highly flexible work designs
 Shared leadership, decentralized structure
 Motivate, praise them
 4 responses of salary (money, payment, bonus)
 Q5- Have you ever heard about “Hawthorne
Effect”? If yes, pls specify?
 100% NEVER HEARD BEFORE 

18.  The Hawthorne effect is a form of reactivity
whereby subjects improve or modify an aspect of
their behavior being experimentally measured
simply in response to the fact that they know
they are being studied, not in response to any
particular experimental manipulation
 Mayo's findings was the effect that working in
groups had on the individuals
 Hawthorne set the individual in a social context,
establishing that the performance of employees is
influenced by their surroundings and by the people
that they are working with as much as by their own
innate abilities.

19. “workers were motivated by more than self-
interest” and instead the following applied:
 Psychological Contract
There is an unwritten understanding between
the worker and employer regarding what is
expected from them
 Interest in Workers
A worker’s motivation can be increased by
showing an interest in them.
 Work is a Group Activity

20.  Social Aspect ofWork
Workers are motivated by the social aspect of
work, as demonstrated by the female workers
socializing during and outside work and the
subsequent increase in motivation.
 RecognizeWorkers
Workers are motivated by recognition,
security and a sense of belonging.
 Communication
Workers are motivated through a good
working relationship with management.

21.  “A human problem to be brought to a human
solution requires human data and human
tools”
 “The road back to sanity in Management-
employee relations” that “worker is a social
animal and should be treated as such“ and “a
man whose job is without social function is
like a man without a country”

22.  THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR
YOUR PARTICIPATIONAND
ATTENTION!
 ANY COMMENTS &
QUESTIONS?

23.  Under normal conditions with a forty eight hour week, including Saturdays, and no rest pauses.
The girls produced 2,400 relays a week each.
 They were then put on piece-work for eight weeks.
 Output went up
 Two five minute rest pauses, morning and afternoon, were introduced for a period of five
weeks.
 Output went up once more
 The rest pauses were lengthened to ten minutes each.
 Output went up sharply.
 Six five minute pauses were introduced, and the girls complained that their work rhythm
was broken by the frequent pauses.
 Output fell slightly
 Return to the two rest pauses, the first with a hot meal supplied by the Company free of
charge.
 Output went up
 The girls were dismissed at 4.30 p.m. instead of 5.00 p.m.
 Output went up
 They were dismissed at 4.00 p.m.
 Output remained the same
 Finally, all the improvements were taken away, and the girls went back to the physical
conditions of the beginning of the experiment: work on Saturday, 48 hour week, no rest
pauses, no piece work and no free meal.This state of affairs lasted for a period of 12 weeks.
 Output was the highest ever recorded averaging 3000 relays a week