In the early years of management science, the Hawthorne Studies came about as the results of experiments conducted at Western Electric and involved changes in workplace conditions that produced unexpected results in employee performance. Two teams of employees took part in these experiments, where the lighting conditions for one team was changed. Production for that group rose dramatically. The interesting thing that happened is that production also improved in the group where the lighting remained unchanged.
The studies were undertaken in an effort to determine what environmental effects such as hours of work and periods of rest might have on employee fatigue and productivity. As these studies progressed it was discovered that the social environment could have an equal if not a greater effect upon productivity than the physical environment.
The studies revealed the influence that informal work groups can have on the productivity of employees and on their response to such factors as supervision and financial incentives. It also represented the beginning of nondirective involving with employees.
These studies emphasized the impact of human motivation on production and output. When the first phase of experiments begin it was believed that every social problem was “ultimately individual.” The results found that group rather than individual psychology was a key factor in the production performance of the workers.
An organization is a formal arrangement of functions, as well as a social system with different cultures. Therefore contribution to management philosophy was important to the field of managing employees by revealing the importance of human emotions, reactions, and response to managing others. It also pioneered the concept of good communication between management and employees.
The importance of the relationship of working groups to management is one of the fundamental problems of organizations. Organizing teamwork, developing, and sustaining cooperation has to be a major occupation of management.
Since the Hawthorne study, many studies have added much to the knowledge of human behavior. Sincere participatory support of all levels of the operation in solving organization problems and can to some degree foster a more open and trusting environment and a greater emphasis on the groups. The objective of employee participation is to encourage everyone to help in the structuring and effective functioning of the safety process, thereby helping with the decisions that directly affect personal safety. If done consistently, the increased trust between management and employee will provide everyone a means to use their insight and energy for achieving the safety goals and objectives.
From a safety standpoint, if you were to look deeper at the Hawthorne Study, from my view, someone was paying more attention to these employees in the study and that is why productivity increased in each group. This is, in my opinion, the missing link having true employee participation which means just paying closer attention to employees and hearing what they have to say. I believe that the study revealed the underlined solution to our safety problems, trusting employees to take on assigned and activities and completing them with assistance from management. This is added accountability at the employee level. If you present a problem, most of the times you will get a solution.
Chruden, Herbert J., Arthur W. Sherman, Jr., Personal Management: The Utilization of Human Resources, Sixth Edition, South-Western Publishing Co. Cincinnati, Ohio, 1980. Kennedy, Carol, Instant Management, revised 1993, Williams Morrow and Company, Inc., New York, 1991. Wertheim, Edward G., Historical Background of Organizational Behavior, College of Business Administration, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115.
James Roughton is an experienced Safety Professional who is an independent thinker and innovator with varied interests. He holds the following certifications, MS, CSP, CRSP, CHMM, CET, CIT, and 6 Sigma Black Belt. He mentors Safety professionals in his spare time. He has broken out of the mold of safety by reaching out to others outside of the profession and sharing other interests of developing websites, social networking, and learning about what is FREE on the internet. If you would like to learn more about building a safety culture, accidents around the country and others areas of interest, please visit the following web sites.http://socialnetworkjungle.com
