Description of the Hawthorne Studies and What Were the Results Research Paper

Description of the Hawthorne Studies and What Were the Results - Research Paper ExampleAt the beginning of the twentieth Century, large businesses in America began the adoption of scientific management, an idea initiated by Fredrick Taylor. His idea baffling the percentage of tasks into small portions that would be done by the employees like automatons. These studies have varied to include the effect of the personal environment on the workforce in an effort to ensure maximum productivity. Western Electric association conducted studies in their Hawthorne plant to establish the relationship between productivity and the influence of the physical conditions. The initial studies began somewhat November 1924 where they evaluated the social effects as well as the experimenter effects. Elton Mayo, who became a professor of industrial research at Harvard later on, supervised the studies (Mayo 64). The initial studies focused on the influence of lighting on the productivity of the worke rs. both hosts of employees were involved in this study one groups lighting was varied while the check groups lighting remained under the same conditions. When light remained constantly unchanged the two groups exhibit the same level of productivity. Lighting in the test group was reduced, a situation that raised complains among the group members (Steven and John 5). To further demonstrate the effect, the researchers changed the bulbs daily in the presence of the workers. Despite the bulbs replaced being the same, some profit in productivity was noticeable in the test group. The findings were that the group with change lighting demonstrated an improved productivity compared to the control group. In explaining the findings, the researchers concluded that the workers felt motivated by the changes. To the workers, the change was a presentation that the management was concerned about them. The mental stimulation that they were being treated in a exceptional way encouraged them t o be active in their work. some other study was conducted in the relay forum Test Room using six workers who had worked for the company for some time. Five of them were set to work in the assembling area while the sixth was to supply them with the parts they would require. The study was to focus on the effects of changing the work arrangements on the employees productivity (Gale 439). The researchers introduced various variables such as breaks, reduced working hours, and homework of food during the breaks. The breaks were varied, initially they were introduced to two-five minutes break that was done according to their suggestion. This was later changed to two-ten minutes breaks, during this period productivity was seen to improve. Consequently, the researchers adjusted the breaks to six-five minute breaks, these did not go well with the employees, they complained and their tally productivity that was measured by the total produce reduced (Franke and Kaul 625). Reduction of the total working hours by thirty minutes depicted an increase level of productivity, further reduction showed an increase in hourly output but the total output per day was drastically reduced. The researchers concluded that the feeling of the employees was that their work was being checked individually. Therefore, the workers were motivated by working as a group, having supervisors that were concerned about their welfare and having a special treatment in the workplace. Another aspect under observation was the social effect and its influence on productivity. This study was done in a bank wiring room where the workers were subjected to the assembling of telephone switching equipment, a task that involved the processes of wiring, soldering, and inspection. At the initial stages of the study, the workers were not open to the observer and had limited