ABSTRACT
The 'Hawthorne Effect' as it has become known, refers to the tendency of some people to work harder and perform better when they are aware that they are being observed. Employees of the Western Electric Company were certainly thinking human beings when Australian sociologist Elton Mayo turned up at their factories in Hawthorne, a suburb of Chicago, United States of America (USA) in the 1920s. Mayo and his crew wanted to study the effect of physical work conditions on productivity. Mayo's studies at Western Electric revealed that it was this sense of team spirit based on unwritten codes of conduct within the group formed by and within themselves that determined the output of individual workers. Whilst the work environment may be important for comfort and wellbeing, the desire for groups to be seen to be efficient and effective was a greater driver for action.
