What, if any, has been your experience with the Hawthorne effect on a job?
The Hawthorne effect in the job setting is when worker productivity increases as improvements are made to the work environment. I have experienced this effect within a job before working in food service at a restaurant. When I first started the job, the work schedule was unorganized and there was a lot of miscommunication between employees. The work environment was also messy most of the time and not being cleaned as much as it should have. The boss did not seem to have much concern for these issues at the time. Once he realized how out of hand things were getting, he decided to step in and communicate with all employees. After a staff meeting, we came up with solutions to each of these issues. A cleaning schedule was implemented and two employees took the responsibility of making the work schedule. Once these solutions were implemented, all employees became more productive and it felt like a friendly environment to work in. We all felt respected because we all voiced how we felt and changes were made immediately.
2) Describe a supervisor who was a poor supervisor (un-motivating, indecisive, uncaring, etc.) — what were their characteristics or actions that made you feel that way?
I have had a poor supervisor that seemed to take on the theory X managerial style. They had poor communicating skills with employees and when confronted about issues, the supervisor only seemed to make the situation worse. This supervisor would leave passive aggressive messages about an employee that was made available for other employees to view. The supervisor would talk negatively about past employees to current ones. When asked for help or clarification, this supervisor would expect us to know these things without asking and became frustrated when we did ask. When discussing with other employees about the situation, we all agreed that we felt fearful when the supervisor was around and that some of us have tried communicating with the supervisor, but that only seemed to anger this supervisor even more. Although this job experience was not the most positive, it taught me how to work with others under such circumstances and appreciate future bosses. I learned early on that every job will have its downfalls, but it is important to look at the positives and try to communicate in the most effective way possible.
3 Comments for “M9 (Duffield)”
skgautam
says:Nothing like an organized and clean workplace to make you feel better about your environment. One of my favorite traits of a supervisor is considering input like a teammate, not dishing out orders like a boss.
Communication is also a top trait in the workplace, and life, a supervisor that lacks that trait will probable be the main topic for every question 2) in this assignment. The communication you described is more of a version of bullying-gossip for a person with low self esteem that need to lift up by lowering others.
I think about “Be the change you want to see in the world” – Ghandi, I’ve learned from ever manager, supervisor, and boss I’ve had. Take and improve what you like, but never get to the position you want and become what you hate most. “The Man” so to speak!
savise
says:Hi Kim! In one of my other classes this week we are talking about theory X and Y. I actually took a quiz to see what managerial approach I was and the results showed that I was strongly theory Y. I imagine if you lean towards theory Y approach it would be challenging to work with a theory X manager. Great post!
Mike
says:I can see how seeking employee feedback created a very effective solution to the issues you were having in the workplace. I learned from an awesome leader I once had that “no one knows work problems better than the people dealing with them”. This taught me both as an employee and team leader that feedback from those actually doing the work is immensely important as they will know what, if anything, needs to be done better or differently. Kudos to y’all coming together as a team rather than leaving someone else to figure it out.