The Hawthorn Effect and Humanistic Performance Improvements

Focusing on the human elements can help in improving organizational performance. The Hawthorne studies have helped to understand the nature of performance improvement and social expectations within the workplace. The creation of higher effort often requires change and then solidifying that change through new social expectations.  Focusing on people encourages them to perform at higher levels. 

The Hawthorne Effect is a concept of reactivity where people improve their performance because they are being singled out and made to feel important and not as a direct result of actual experimental manipulation.  The phenomenon was first experienced at the Bell Telephone Western Electric manufacturing plant in 1924 Chicago by Henry A. Landsberger.  The plant employed over 29,000 people and developed an industrial research center to improve morale and productivity (Brannigan,  & Zwerman, 2001). 

The primary benefit of the study is that it furthered the argument that organizations are social systems and motivation is an important human element to performance. Focusing on the human aspects of the workplace is a critical avenue of improving the organization. Performance itself is seen as part of the overall improvement of the worker and their conditions. It placed an emphasis on the human element of the workplace that has impacted management strategy.

The Hawthorne Study is often referred to as the Illumination study on light and productivity. As the light changed the productivity of people increased but once the study was concluded people’s performance slumped. It was believed that the study helped to highlight that when people are receiving attention their motivation improves in an effort to increase the perception of their performance. 

Other parts of the experiment include the changing of the workplace to receive short-lived improvements in performance. Organizations that change the work environment from time to time can create performance improvements but these performance improvements will become short-lived unless they are supported by new social expectations and feedback. The studies helped highlight how group norms, behaviors, and patterns are important to sustainable performance development.

There are some criticisms of the study. The study was never formally analyzed and has had mixed results in follow-up (Levitt & List, 2011). The variables were confounded and it is possible that other factors may have influenced the results. For example, seasonal temperatures or the treatment by managers could have an impact on the performance of employees.  The original records are believed to have been destroyed. 

Human performance is essential to organizational success. Companies often focus on creating efficiencies but fail to achieve high level of gains. By not understanding the in-depth complexity of human social activity performance improvements will be limited. Focusing on the development of the individual and their social group affords a higher level of expectation and motivational effort. Avoiding complacency by adjusting the work situation and expectations may increase effort but the social system maintains it.

Brannigan, A. & Zwerman, W. (2001). The real "hawthorne effect". Society, 38 (2)

Franke, R. H. & Kaul, J. D. (1978). The Hawthorne experiments: First statistical interpretation. American Sociological Review, 1978, 43, 623-643

Levitt, S. & List, J. (2011). Was there really a hawthorne effect at the hawthorne plant? an analysis of the original illumination experiments. American Economic Journal. Applied Economics, 3(1)

U.S. and India Commit to Higher Education Cooperation

The United States is one of the most favorable locations for Indian students with over 100,000 coming here to earn degrees.  Based upon a Higher Education Summit in 2012 and 2013 leaders from both countries agreed to fostering greater cooperation in the areas of faculty exchanges, research cooperation, using technology-enabled educational strategies (e-learning), community college cooperation, and greater higher education partnerships.

Such programs help in creating greater opportunities that further broadens students and faculty’s perspectives on international educational issues. 

Students live in a much more complex world and will need to learn how to work with others across multiple boards and time zones. India and the U.S. have strong relationships and similarities in culture that makes it easier to connect for higher education purposes. This connection fosters greater cultural awareness and international collaboration among colleges.

The programs also have additional benefits in terms of creating greater awareness of new technologies and developments coming from India. India is a high technology emerging nation that finds customers in the U.S. and Europe for their new products. This innovation is generated from their universities and entrepreneurs.  Helping Americans and Indians connect for development creates greater opportunities for mutual intellectual growth. 

Some of the programs are as follows:

Fulbright-Nehru Partnership: Faculty exchange.

Raman Fellowships: Junior Indian faculty placed for Post-Doctoral work with American Universities.

Development of Community Colleges: Greater mutual development of colleges.

Connect India Program: U.S. students placed with Indian Colleges.

Centre of Excellence on Cyber Systems: Cyber system collaboration.

India-Support for Teacher Education Program: Three month teacher training in the U.S.

Passport to India: Helping students study in India.

EducationUSA: Informing Indian students about opportunities to study in the U.S.

U.S.-India Higher Education Cooperation Fact Sheet

Business and Entreprenuership Journal Call for Papers

The Business and Entrepreneurship Journal has an open call for papers.  They are an open access journal that has peer reviewed articles available to anyone who desires to read them. They expect the papers not to have been published before and do not want the paper to be submitted to other journals at the same time. They seek publications that show depth, rigour, originality and high standards of presentation.

They are seeking papers in the following genres:

Entrepreneurship theories and conceptualizations
Entrepreneurship research methods
Innovation and technology entrepreneurs
Family entrepreneurship, networks, teams and alliances
Venture capital and angel investor groups
Entrepreneurial communities, hubs, clusters and public policy
Social entrepreneurship
International and emerging market entrepreneurship
Corporate entrepreneurship
Law and entrepreneurship

Microeconomics analyses of economic development
Development planning and policy
Innovation and invention: processes and incentives
Regional economic activity: growth, development, and changes
Regional development policy
Economic and social impacts of e-entrepreneurship and innovation

You may read some of their current publications. Current edition includes:

The Theoretical Models of Financial Acceleration in Entrepreneurship Development

 

 The Comovement Effect of Macroeconomics and House Market in CH-HK-TW       

Education as an Instrument for Effective National Development: Which Way Nigeria

 

 Innovating Science Education for Technical Entrepreneurship: The Curriculum Dimension

 

 Corporate Social Responsibility from 2000 to the Presentand the Role of Institutional Organizations in the European Union: Emphasis on COM(2011) 681 Final

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Decade of Global Skills Updating-OECD Report

Education at a Glance covers a number of global concepts in higher education. It was published in 2013 from OECD which seeks to create a better understanding of educational issues as well as disseminate information on the education industry of its members. Within the report one can find valuable information on global trends, changing demographics, incomes and much more. Some of the highlights are related to gender flattening, higher level of educational attainment, and potential returns on educational investments.

OECD participating countries found that women are becoming education than at any point in the past. Younger populations across both genders have increased in their educational attainment. This is an international phenomenon. Since 2011, 33% of women and 30% of men have obtained a level of higher education. It is expected that 83%of all OECD young people will eventually obtain some level of upper secondary education.

Upper secondary education means that students have either gone to college or some trade school. Higher education generally means college work. The world has become a much more technical place and people are adjusting by learning new skills and abilities. Men are still seeking skills in engineering, manufacturing and construction while females are looking for programs in business, law, social sciences, health and welfare. 

In the United States, Brazil and Greece people without an upper secondary education generally earn about 65% of those with. The skills and abilities needed over the past 10 years have changed dramatically. People need higher levels of understanding and abilities in order to compete in a more technologically connected world. Those without that higher level of education seem to be losing income and opportunities in many nations. 

The report also indicates that in general society earns a higher rate of return when it invests in higher education. The graduate earns more than the cost of education and society also earns greater than its investment. This return comes in the form of higher taxes, higher employ-ability, and as a result of the products/services production. The report argues that higher levels of skill development and education can be as much as 3 times in the United States. 

Education is becoming an important part of world education. As industrial technology makes its way around the globe and information is transferred through global business networks the need for higher levels of complex thinking is needed. Higher education fosters that greater complexity but costs a significant investment in time and money. The past decade has seen a global shift in worker demographics leaving many behind but also creating opportunities for others. 

The types of people who are likely to be successful are those who are lifelong learners who seek out knowledge and the practical application of that knowledge. This is why it is important for students to not only the understanding of concepts but how they actually apply to both their lives and the working world. Those who do not have the motivation or faculty to continue to learn will find themselves falling behind those who are pushing forward in search of greater opportunities. 

OECD Report-Education at a Glance 2013

Painting: Tobit Accusing Anna of Stealing the Kid

The subject of the painting was taken from the Apocryphal Book of Tobit. Tobit was a wealthy and strict adherent to Mosaic Law. He lost all of his money and was blinded by an accident. The wife went to work sewing and washing to support the family. She brought home a kid goat and Tobit accused her of stealing it. She chastised him for his self-righteousness and frees him from his limited thinking. Later their fortunes are restored by the efforts of their son and his eyes fixed from blindness from fish entrails.

The painting helps us think about how even from the lowest depths man’s lot can change. It is difficult for us to judge others with any real sense of accuracy. To do so requires the ability to weigh and balance all of the possible reasons and justifications. Unfortunately, many of us make the fatal mistake of using self-righteousness to make ourselves look better than and more moral than others. In this case, freeing himself from his narrow thinking also freed him to improve his life. 

The painting is from Rembrandt and was completed in Leiden in 1625. He had a knack for putting religious themes and emotion within his paintings. These emotions related around concepts such as joy and anguish. As he got older his paintings improved expressing such feelings with ever increasing finite detail. He turned from a timid painter to a bold painter with lifelike scenes.

Rembrandt made a mistake in this painting and covered up an object. He painted over a spinning wheel to express the anguish and supplication better with Tobit’s hands. The wheel would have shown the rest of the story and difficulties his wife was having to make ends meet but would have confused the area. One can still see a part of the spinning wheel and spokes. Tobit’s is naturally darker in this area. 

Rembrandt, known as Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, was born in 1606 during the Dutch Golden Age. He is seen as one of the world’s greatest painters. Even though he achieved success early in his life and his paintings were popular throughout Europe during his lifetime he had significant financial hardship in his later years. He liked to buy lots of unique works and had an extensive collection. Perhaps more than he could afford. Eventually he needed to liquidate his work through bankruptcy. 

One unique feature of Rembrandt was his stereo blindness. An analysis of a number of paintings helped to determine that his two eyes did not function together well. He did not perceive the same level of depth as others. This flattening made it easier for him to draw pictures on a two dimensional canvas. This became a modern method of teaching art students to close one eye while painting to create the same effect. 

The Reading of Tobit