Involvement and Partic LO5163

Dr. Ivan Blanco (BLANCO@BU4090.BARRY.EDU)
Sat, 27 Jan 1996 10:49:48 -0500 (EST)

Replying to LO4871 --

You might talking about the Hawthorne Works Experiments, where a group of
researchers tried to resolve the questions raised by plant engineers who
obtain the same results in productivity whether they incresed illumination
or decrese it. The studies, I think, ran for about five years. They
"discovered" there that workers were "social beings" that developed their
own relationships and norms, in addition to teh formal norms of behavior.
There were some other things tthe research group found out. Also, the
term "the hawthorne effect" began to be used to refer to the attitude
people might assume when they know they are being a subject of study.

Although the contributions of these studies were great then, I think that
we must be carefully on how we apply that knowledge today. These studies
took place in the late 1920's, and the workers today and their
organizations are completely different than they were then! Social and
economic conditions were also very different.

--
Ivan Blanco
Blanco@bu4090.Barry.edu