Elton Mayo And Hawthorne Effect - Studies In Motivation

» Elton Mayo and Hawthorne Effect - Studies in Motivation

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The Hawthorne Effect - Mayo Studies in Employee Motivation
Elton Mayo's Hawthorne Studies
The Hawthorne Studies (also knowns as the Hawthorne Experiments) were conducted from 1927 to 1932 at the Western Electric Hawthorne Works in Cicero,Illinois (a suburb of Chicago). This is where professor Elton Mayo examined the impact of work conditions in employee productivity. Elton Mayo started these experiments by examining the physical and environmental influences of the workplace (e.g. brightness of lights, humidity) and later, moved into the psychological aspects (e.g. breaks, group pressure, working hours, managerial leadership) andtheir impact on employee motivation as it applies to productivity.

Management
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The Hawthorne Effect
In essence, the Hawthorne Effect, as it applies to the workplace, can be summarized as "Employees are more productive because the employees know they are being studied." Elton Mayo's experiments showed an increase in worker productivity was produced by the psychological stimulus of being singled out,involved, and made to feel important. Related Articles Halo Effect Douglas McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y Articles on Motivation

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Additionally, the act ofmeasurement, itself, impacts the results of the measurement. Just as dipping a thermometer into a vial of liquid can affect the temperature of the liquid being measured, the act of collecting data, where none was collected before creates a situation that didn't exist before, thereby affecting the results.

Work Motivation
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Further Resources
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Biography
Vilfredo Paretowww.Allegiance.com

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» Elton Mayo and Hawthorne Effect - Studies in Motivation

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The Hawthorne Experiments and Employee Motivation
Elton Mayo's studies grew out of preliminary experiments at the Hawthorne plant from 1924 to 1927 on theeffect of light on productivity. Those experiments showed no clear connection between productivity and the amount of illumination but researchers began to wonder what kind of changes would influence output.

Variables Affecting Productivity
Specifically, Elton Mayo wanted to find out what effect fatigue and monotony had on job productivity and how to control them through such variables as restbreaks, work hours, temperature and humidity. In the process, he stumbled upon a principle of human motivation that would help to revolutionize the theory and practice of management. Elton Mayo selected two women, and had those two select an additional four from the assembly line, segregated them from the rest of the factory and put them under the eye of a supervisor who was more a friendly...