Final answer:
The Hawthorne studies concluded that the Hawthorne effect, where employees increase productivity because they are being observed, rather than higher pay, motivates workers. Thus, the assertion that higher pay was found to be an effective motivator in the Hawthorne studies is false.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that the Hawthorne studies concluded that higher pay is an effective motivator for employees is False. The Hawthorne studies, conducted at the Western Electric Company Hawthorne Works, initially observed that any change in a working condition, such as adjusting light levels, temporarily increased productivity.
However, this boost in productivity was found to be less about the specific changes and more about the fact that workers were being observed, which is now known as the Hawthorne effect. Workers responded to the attention they received from researchers rather than to the changes in their remuneration or their physical working conditions.
In contrast, the efficiency wage theory proposes that employees may be motivated by receiving higher pay than the market average, but this concept is not a conclusion of the Hawthorne studies.