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From 1924 to 1927, there was a study conducted at the Western Electric Hawthorne Works plant in Cicero, Illinois. This study was about lighting. The Hawthorne plant commissioned a study to see if their employee’s productivity would change with different levels of lighting in the plant. The researchers started out by increasing the light in the plant, and the result was that productivity increased. They increased the lighting more than once and the productivity rose each time. Wouldn’t it seem to you that the workers needed more light to do their jobs on the assembly line? That may have been the researchers first thoughts too, but then they lowered the lighting to make sure they were on the right track. And when they lowered the lighting, the productivity increased. Yes, it increased again! They found any change they made, increased productivity. The only time productivity lowered was when management and researchers stopped paying attention to the working conditions. The workers awareness of being observed made the difference.

At the last meeting of the Chippewa County Commissioners, commissioners gave reports outlining discussions held at the various committee boards they attend. During that portion of the meeting, commissioner Bill Pauling noted that the Historical Society is still searching for a new Director, and that he, along with a couple of other board members are in the process of putting together a new employee handbook. “We went from three pages to 32 pages, so that’s pretty much the norm now with all of the law changes and different things,” he said.