As a new manager, you are discussing challenges that your organization is facing

Question

As a new manager, you are discussing challenges that your organization is facing with
performance. Your colleagues seemed surprised that everyone performed at a high
level during the last two weeks when a headquarters evaluation team was at the site
when performance had been much lower in the past. You have the chance to enlighten
him/her about the theory developed after the Hawthorne studies.
a. What are some of the conclusions about human behavior in the workplace that
were uncovered by the Hawthorne studies?

Explanation / Answer

a. Hawthorne studies indicate the effects of changes in work environment that affect productivity. It explains that the productivity increases when the employees feel they are being singled out and their performance are being watched. In this case the team members performed at a higher level when the head quarters evaluation team was in the site because of the feeling of being watched. Here Hawthorne studies uncover the importance of informal system to increase productivity in the workplace. The team members were performing low in the past and once the evaluation team leaves the work place they may again fall back to the previous performance level. The management is responsible towards fostering the workplace conditions to develop effective teams. The human behaviors uncovered by the Hawthorne studies indicate the human tendency to make errors or to be lazy when they feel they are not being observed by anyone or there is lack of regulations. Effective group norms helps to improve the group performance and an effective performance monitoring system is important in this situation which will create a feeling of being observed by the management and the employees would try to improve their productivity to make their positions safe in the organization.

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse A
• Subjects

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.