Hawthorne Studies

A second example involves a case study that was part of a larger group

known as the Hawthorne studies, conducted at the Western Electric Company,

near Chicago, in the 1920’s. One particular study, called the Bank

Wiring Observation Room Study, was initiated to examine the informal social

interactions that occur within a small group of employees in an industrial

plant.

A group of fourteen men was moved to a self-contained work room that

simulated the plant environment; a psychologist was assigned to observe the

behavior of the group. No manipulation of any variables occurred; there was

only passive observation of the employees’ behavior. As might be expected,

the presence of the observer discouraged many of the men from behaving

as they normally would if someone were not present. The men were suspicious

that the psychologist would inform their supervisor of any behaviors

that were not allowed on the job. After a month passed, however, the men

became accustomed to the observer and started to behave as they normally

did inside the plant. (One should note the length of time needed to begin

observing “normal” work behaviors; most experiments would have been terminated

long before the natural behaviors surfaced.) The informal social

interactions of this group were studied for a total of eight months.

This study was significant in that it exposed a number of interesting social

phenomena that occur in a small division at work. One finding was that informal

rules were inherent in the group and were strictly enforced by the

group. For example, workers always reported that the same number of units

were assembled for that day, regardless of how many were actually assembled.

This unspoken rule came from a group that had considerable influence

over the rate of production. Also, despite a company policy that for

bade an employee to performa job he was not trained to do, men frequently

rotated job assignments to counteract the boredom that typically occurs in

this kind of work.

This study was important because it systematically observed the naturally

occurring relationships and informal social interactions that exist in an industrial

setting. The case-study method proved to be very effective in bringing