The ABC corporation had not investigated or studied its assembly line workers in many years. When they did eventually conduct a study of employee productivity by using both a study and a control group, they were surprised by the results. Both groups displayed significant changes in their output levels. The ABC corporation attributed these productivity gains as not being caused by their manipulations, but rather by some other human behavior event, perhaps a feeling of value to the organization because of the perception that management cared enough to make the study. This phenomenon is known as the
A) contingency approach.
B) Mayo effect.
C) Hawthorne effect.
D) McGregor effect.
E) Barnard effect.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The phenomenon described is known as the Hawthorne effect, which occurs when individuals modify an aspect of their behavior in response to their awareness of being observed. This was observed in the Hawthorne Works studies, where workers' productivity changed simply because they were being studied, not necessarily due to any specific changes made to their work conditions.

The ABC Corporation Had Not Investigated or Studied Its Assembly