Question

4. Click on the link shown below, then prepare a paper on the Hawthorne studies. What was the original research question or premise? What type of studies was conducted? What were the final results of the studies? What might other variations of the studies have been conducted? http://www.saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/BUS209-1.2-HawthorneStudies.pdf

Answer 1

What was the original research question or premise?

The original premise to conduct the Hawthorne Studies is to identify the relationship between the working conditions and productivity at the Western Electric Hawthorne Works (WEHW) in Chicago.

What type of studies was conducted?

There were many type of studies conducted. However, the article focuses on three major studies such as:

1. Illumination studies

2. Relay Assembly test room and

3. Bank wiring room experiments

What were the final results of the studies?

Illumination Studies- this study was done to determine the effect of light on productivity. The final result of the study was that there was no connection between the amount of production and illumination.

Relay assembly test room- Elton Mayo took six women from the Relay assembly line and separated them from normal factory. Mayo controlled their working conditions by altering their hours, rest breaks, temperature and humidity. Advance notice was provided to the workers and a supervisor was allotted to observe the work. The final result was that the six workers worked as a team that worked well together. The production was high as there was no coercion or disciplinarian action from any higher authority. The result of the experiment was that the workers produced more than in the normal conditions. The workers produced 3000 relays a week in contrast to the 2400 relays produced in normal working conditions.

Bank Wiring Room- The social structure of the employees was investigated in detail along with the payment incentives. The employees who participated in this study were 9 wiremen, 3 solder men, 2 inspectors and an observer. The final result was that special attention did not have any relation to the productivity of the employees. In this experiment productivity did not increase as the workers were afraid that their base salary would be reduced. This result contradicted the Hawthorne studies which states that productivity increased if the employees have a sense of belonging to the team.

What might other variations of the studies have been conducted?

The other variations to the studies that were conducted are protecting the group from the internal indiscretions and protect the group from outside interference. The Hawthorne researchers became interested in informal groups and how they contributed to the productivity of the organization.