Online Tutoring on Contributions of Hawthorne Studies

The purpose of the essay is to critically analyze the claims of the contributions of Hawthorne studies to the field of management today. Hawthorne studies included series of experiments to investigate the relationships between work setting and worker productivity (Muldoon 2012). Several other variables were also included in the study, to understand how effectiveness of workers can be increased in an organization. Generally the study contributed a lot towards field of management, however it is most criticized study, and hence this essays aims to critically analyze the contributions made by the study. The essay begins with outlining the contributions. Different scholars have given different contributions of the study and here those are analyzed. The essay gives a through explanation of Hawthorne studies and its criticism. It analyses and explains the way Hawthorne studies have contributed towards field of organizational behavior and human resource development. In conclusion it highlights major implications for managers today and how they can incorporate findings of study in their managerial decisions to take effective decisions in the workplace. It explains that if Hawthorne effect is understood properly then it can be used to make some real improvements in workplaces today. The study showed that employee productivity increases with direct supervision and hence by developing a culture where active supervision is done employee productivity can be increased.

 

It is a general opinion that Hawthorne studies contributed a lot to the field of management, hence managers can learn from them and incorporate findings of these studies in their everyday life. Robins et al (2006, p. 45) claim that these studies contributed towards organizational behavior and scientific management. Muldoon (2012) argue that the Hawthorne study is the most famous study in the field of management however it is most criticized as well. In order to further demonstrate the importance of these studies McQuarrie (2005, p. 238) analyzed various management and organizational behavior textbooks and claim that more than half of the total analyzed textbooks considered Hawthorne effect important and mentioned it in the text. Although many scholars (Bruce 2006) criticized the study however the study contributed in various ways as explained below.

The study was originated by the company to see if there was some engineering problem that has an effect on employee productivity however the study clearly demonstrated that human factor plays an important role that cannot be ignored in organizations (Gale 2004, p.445). Hence the major contribution of the Hawthorne effect to the field of management is that it emphasized the impact of human factor. Afterwards huge importance was given to the human factor and the ways in which employee productivity can be increased and it can be converted into “knowledge worker”. Overall the study made contribution in various ways as explained later in detail. However as mentioned above the study is criticized a lot and Gale (2004) emphasized that Hawthorne effect needs more consideration, in order to understand the impact clearly.

 

Contributions towards Organizational Behavior

Organizational behavior is defined as study of behavior of people at workplace in their organization (Robins et al 2006). As mentioned above Hawthorne studies contributed to this field of study. The study comprised of series of experiments where behavior of workers was observed in their organization. The workers selected for these experiments included both managers and plant employees. Different experiments were conducted; one of them was “illumination experiment” which observed the effect of increase in light on employee productivity. As emphasized by Jones & Stephen (1990, p. 176) these experiments studied the impact of increase in light intensity on the accidents and employee productivity. According to Merrett (2006, p.144), “illumination experiments” were conducted in three stages; each with increased level of light intensity in order to observe employee performance under each situation. However most of the experiments were conducted on female workers with repetitive work hence generalizations could not be made. The employee behavior was observed by the researchers and then results were recorded. In this way this is practical example where the studies contributed towards field of organizational behavior.

Izawa, French & Hedge (2011, p. 528) argue that among the illumination experiments conducted in the study; the first experiment demonstrated relation between light and employee productivity, however the same results was not demonstrated in second experiment. Different researches have given different results however most of the studies argue that no relation was found among light and employee productivity. This study particularly claims that the experiment conducted under Hawthorne effect were flawed. The results were interesting as significant negative correlation was observed among light and employee productivity. Still the study explained how employees work and behave in organizations by showing their behavior when being observed.

Muldoon (2012, p. 105) analyzed the contributions of Hawthorne effect studies to the field of management. It is emphasized that according to contemporary scholars Hawthorne study is through compared to other past works in the field hence the study has contributed a lot towards field of management. The study bought light to some major concepts including “methodological” problems in researches.

The major contribution as highlighted by Muldoon (2012, p. 108) is that Hawthorne studies provided focused analysis of human behavior in organization. The study focused on social interaction of employees in the workplace and hence helped researchers in understanding human behavior. The study was not only through and complete compared to other past researches; it also provided new pathways for research and hence contributed towards field of management. By focusing on and by investing social influence of human factor on employee productivity; these studies opened the doors to new direction and scholars starting thinking in a new direction. Majorly these studies emphasized the attention of people on internal organization and its dynamics, hence new doors for research were opened. One of the major finding from the research was that employee motivation depends on both monetary and nonmonetary benefits (Muldoon 2012, p. 109). These findings are extensively used these days to motivate employees in organizations.

Porter (2012, p. 15) claim that Hawthorne effect is significant and if it is understood properly then it can be used to make some real improvements in workplaces today. The study showed that employee productivity increases with direct supervision and hence by developing a culture where active supervision is done employee productivity can be increased. In the same way with active supervision, team performance will also go up. In this way benefits can be attainted with minimum or no cost at all, as only some structural changes are required to incorporate Hawthorne effects and no major cost is involved in it. The study further showed that benefits can further be availed by incorporating continuous promotion in organizations and by having effective leadership (Porter 2012 p. 15). Overall Hawthorne studies demonstrated that problems in employee productivity can easily be solved by ensuring that management is involved in all the major decisions.

Hence Hawthorne studies contributed to organizational behavior by demonstrating behavior of people in actual work settings. It offered focused analysis of human behavior in organization. The study focused on social interaction of employees in the workplace and hence helped researchers in understanding human behavior. It showed that employee motivation depends on both monetary and nonmonetary benefits.

 

Contributions towards Human Resource Management

According to Brannigan and Zwerman (2001, p. 55) Hawthorne studies comprised of series of experiments, in order to investigate the human dimensions of industrial relations. These studies demonstrated real application of management concepts; hence managers can learn a lot from them and apply findings of the study in their daily management decisions. In this way managers will be able to take effective decisions that will give rise to their desired results.

Hawthorne effect further demonstrated how social transformation can take place with knowledge and productive workforce working at optimal levels (Branningan & Zwerman 2001, p. 59). Hence expert knowledge from the findings of these experiments can be used by managers today to achieve the optimal level of productivity. Further the results can be used to motivate the workforce and to improve their overall performance. The studies contributed to human resource specialist, as they can predict workforce reactions to almost every situation. Hence the study contributed towards human resource development and HR managers can use these findings to motivate employees and to improve their overall performance.

In the same way as demonstrated by McQuarrie (2005, p. 232) another experiment was conducted on the variables of wage structure and work schedules. After the experiments, in-depth interviews were also conducted to gather employee views, hence in this way these experiments again contributed to the field of management. Hence the study focused on various variables that effect employee performance. Human resource managers today can use the findings of this popular study to manage the human resource in effective way and to further improve their productivity.

The study also showed that employee productivity increases in groups hence managers today can ensure that these findings are incorporated today in order to increase the overall employee productivity.

Hawthorne studies also contributed by using psychological and sociological concepts to challenge the basis of popular economic theory. It was understood that social science must be fully integrated together in order to get recognition from various scholars. The contribution was that integration became important, an integrated science is one where different scholars study same concept from various point of views and then integrate the results to get most from it. Hawthorne studies are regarded as integrated science (Muldoon 2012), the idea was to incorporate and integrate the findings for a fully integrated science. Scholars from various disciplines including political science, public administration and sociology admired the contributions made by Hawthorne studies.

Hence Hawthorne effect contributed to human resource management and in this way productivity of workforce can be improved. Variables like work setting, wage structure, work schedules, employee productivity were analyzed in detail, all of which are important for effective human resource management. The study also showed that employee productivity increases in groups hence managers today can ensure that these findings are incorporated today in order to increase the overall employee productivity.

The study further contributed by opening new ways of researching. Scholars are now able to look at things from different angle by integrating everything together. According to Wickstrom & Bendix (2000) althoughwthorne effect is mostly known as a way on increasing employee productivity, however over time things have changed and other variables must also be incorporated properly. The increase in productivity may also be linked to other intervening variables hence there impact is important to be considered. With the passage of time the impact of Hawthorne effect has become ambiguous due to various interpretations.

Overall Hawthorne studies made some major contributions towards field of organizational behavior and human resource management. The study comprised of series of experiments where behavior of workers was observed in their organization. In this way this is practical example where the studies contributed towards field of organizational behavior. Hence it provided focused analysis of human behavior in organization. The study focused on social interaction of employees in the workplace and hence helped researchers in understanding human behavior. The study showed that employee productivity increases with direct supervision and hence by developing a culture where active supervision is done employee productivity can be increased.  Expert knowledge from the findings of these experiments can be used by managers today to achieve the optimal level of productivity. Further the results can be used to motivate the workforce and to improve their overall performance. The studies contributed to human resource specialist, as they can predict workforce reactions to almost every situation. Hence the study contributed towards human resource development and HR managers can use these findings to motivate employees and to improve their overall performance.

 

REFERENCES

Brannigan, A & Zwerman, W 2001, ‘The real “Hawthorne effect”’, Society, February, pp.55-60.

Bruce, K 2006, ‘Henry S. Dennison, Elton Mayo, and the human relations historiography’, Management and Organizational History, Vol. 1 No. 2, pp. 177-99.

Gale, EAM, 2004, ‘The Hawthorne studies – a fable for our times?’, QJ Med, 97, pp. 439-449.

Izawa, M, French, D & Hedge, A 2011, ‘Shining New Light on the Hawthorne Illumination Experiments’ Human Factors, Vol. 53, pp. 528-547.

Jones & Stephen, R 1990, ‘Worker Interdependence and Output: The Hawthorne Studies Revaluated’, American Sociological Review, volume 55, no. 2, pp. 176

McQuarrie, FAE, 2005, ‘How the Past is Present(ed):  A Comparison of Information on the Hawthorne Studies in Canadian Management and Organizational Behaviour Textbooks’, Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences, 22(3), pp. 230-242.

Merrett, F 2006, ‘Reflections on the Hawthorne Effect’, Educational Psychology: An International Journal of Experimental Educational Psychology,PP. 143-146

Muldoon, J 2012, ‘The Hawthorne legacy:  a reassessment’, Journal of Management History, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 106-119.

Porter, C, 2012, ‘The Hawthorne effect today’, Industrial Management, vol. 54, Issue 3, pp. 10-15.

Robins, Bergman & Stagg, C 2006, ‘Management’ 4th Edition, Pearson Education, Australia

Wickstrom, G & Bendix, T 2000, ‘The “Hawthorne effect” – what did the original Hawthorne studies actually show?’, Scandinavian Journal of Work Environment & Health, 26(4), pp. 363-367.