Contributions of Hawthrone Experiments

[moosatp]

What are the major contributions of Hawthrone Experiments?

[nbm]

The main contributions of Hawthorne Experiments may be listed below:
1. Social Factors—According to this experiment, social factors play more prominent role in determining the level of output. An organisation is basically a social group or a social system. People are socio-psychological beings. These characteristics determine the output and efficiency in the organisation. Financial incentives have a limited role in motivating the people. Non-financial incentives affect significantly the behaviour of workers and their productivity.
2. Groups—Individuals tend to create groups. Groups determine their norms of behaviour. If a person resists a particular norm of group behaviour he tries to change the group norm because any deviation from the group norm will make him unacceptable to the group. Thus, management cannot deal with workers as individuals but as number of work groups, subject to the influence of these groups.
3. Leadership-Leadership is important for directing group behaviour. Leadership cannot come from superiors only as held by scientific management approach. There may be informal leadership as is clear by bank wiring experiments. In some cases, informal leader is more important than formal one—as in the experiments, the supervisor could not exert pressure on the work group about the production norms because he was under considerable pressure to accept group norm of which he was incharge. However, a supervisor is more acceptable as a leader if his style is accordance with human relations approach. In this context, democratic style is the best which provides greater satisfaction to workers.
4. Communication—These experiments show that communication in the-organisation is very p important. Through communication workers can be explained why a particular course of action is being taken, participation of workers can be sought in decision-making process concerning the matters of their importance; and problems faced by them and their attitudes, opinions and methods of working may be identified.
5. Conflicted—The conflict generates in the organisation because of the creation of groups with conflicting objectives. Thus, groups may be in conflict with organisation, though the creation of groups sometimes helps to achieve organisational objectives. Similarly conflict may arise because of maladjustment of individual and organisation. Thus conflict arises the problem of adjustment of individual to the organisation.
6. Supervision—The supervisory climate has also an important role to play in determining the rate of output. The friendly to the worker, attentive, genuinely concerned supervision affects the productivity favourable. For example, in the bank wiring room, an entirely different supervisory climate existed—more friendly to the workers and less use of authority in issuing orders—which helped in productivity, while in regular departments, supervisors were used to maintain order and control and this type of supervisory arrangement produced inhibiting atmosphere.
Hawthorne experiment revealed the importance of social and psychological factors in determining workers' productivity and satisfaction. This approach has been followed by many behavioural scientists later on.