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  • Essay / Mayo and the Hawthorne Studies

    Starting in 1927 and continuing through 1932, the Hawthorne Studies took place at the Chicago plant of the Western Electric Company, which employed primarily women who assembled telephone equipment. The main goal of the Hawthorne studies was to examine how different working conditions affected employee productivity. When Mayo started, he experimented with the physical environment of the factory, adjusting lighting and humidity, then changing work hours, break times and lengths, and finally the manager's leadership style. manager/management (Boundless, 2016).Say no. to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Although the Hawthorne studies lasted nearly six years, Elton Mayo became famous for a small part of the experiment, which included six female Relay workers. Meeting room. During this part, Mayo staff sat in the meeting room with the women and took note of everything they did, while chatting with the workers, updating them on the experience and asking them about themselves. Mayo then began with carefully controlled changes over a period of four to twelve weeks. Changes included adjusting room lighting, adjusting the time and length of breaks, and the time workers could leave work. Under most of these conditions, Mayo found that labor productivity increased. It was only when too many breaks were introduced that production dropped. Mayo found that by adding too many breaks, he actually stopped the pace workers were in (The Hawthorne Experiments, 2017). Conclusion When Mayo began examining the results of the experiment, he noticed that the results from the assembly room seemed out of place and illogical. Back then, it was believed that people worked only for money and to earn a living. Mayo realized that was not the case. He found that work was a social atmosphere and that the behavior and interaction of employees, managers, and/or observers affected productivity. .Mayo also found that physical conditions, such as lighting and humidity, didn't affect productivity as much as the recognition and attention they received. The increase in production was due to workers' observation, not changes in conditions. Keep in mind: This is just a sample.Get a custom paper from our expert writers now.Get a Custom EssayWhen workers feel valued and noticed, their job performance increases (The Hawthorne Experiments, 2017 ). Additionally, the Hawthorne studies paved the way for a more open and trusting environment, placing greater emphasis on groups rather than individuals..