Hawthorne Works
The Hawthorne Works was a large factory complex of the Western Electric Company in Cicero, Illinois. Named after the original name of the town, Hawthorne, it opened in 1905 and operated until 1983. At its peak of operations, Hawthorne employed 45,000 workers, producing large quantities of telephone equipment, but also a wide variety of consumer products.
The facility is well-known for the industrial studies held there in the 1920s and the Hawthorne effect is named for the works.[1]
History
The Hawthorne Works complex was built at the intersection of
The Hawthorne Works produced a large output of telephone equipment. In addition, Western Electric produced a wide variety of consumer products and electrical equipment, such as refrigerators. The works employed up to 45,000 employees at the height of operations. Workers regularly used bicycles for transit within the plant.
The Hawthorne Works was in operation until 1983, when it was closed as a result of the divestiture of AT&T and the breakup of the Bell System. It was purchased in the mid-1980s by the late Donald L. Shoemaker and replaced with a shopping center. One of the original towers remained at the corner of 22nd Street and Cicero Ave.
Due to its significance in industrial manufacturing in the United States, the Hawthorne Works was the site of well-known industrial studies. The
Paul Mattick, the Marxist theorist, worked here as a mechanic from 1928/9 until 1932.[4]: 63
220 employees of the Hawthorne works, many of them Czech immigrants, were among those killed in the capsizing of the SS Eastland in Chicago on July 24, 1915; they were preparing to depart on a company-sponsored excursion at the time.[5][6]
Hawthorne effect
The term "Hawthorne effect" refers to the type of reactivity in which individuals modify an aspect of their behavior in response to their awareness of being observed.[7][8] It was first observed in data from the Hawthorne Works collected by psychologist Elton Mayo and later reinterpreted by Henry A. Landsberger, who coined the term.[9]
Hawthorne Works Museum
The Hawthorne Works Museum, operated by
References
- ^ Weber, Austin (August 1, 2002). "The Hawthorne Works". Assembly Magazine. Retrieved March 24, 2007.
- ^ "HAWTHORNE WORKS' GLORY NOW JUST SO MUCH RUBBLE". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
- ^ Juran (1995). A History of Managing for Quality. ASQC Quality Press. p. 557.
- ISBN 978-9004227798.
- ^ "Eastland Memorial Edition". Western Electric News. August 1915. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
- ^ Hilton, George W (1995). Eastland: Legacy of the Titanic. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. p. 93.
- PMID 17608932.
- PMID 18771841.
- ^ "Hawthorne Effect | What is Hawthorne Effect? - MBA Learner". MBA Learner. February 22, 2018. Archived from the original on February 26, 2018. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
- ISBN 9781467111355.