ABSTRACT
I. OVERVIEW AND TRENDS Since a manager is responsible for the performance of others, motivation is a critically important component of the manager’s job. Prior to the 1930s, the dominant management philosophy in the United States was that employee motivation at all organizational levels was a function of two basic factors-wages and working conditions. Managers commonly believed that regular increments in wages and improvements in work conditions would result in corresponding increases in productivity. The results of the Hawthorne studies conducted at the Western Electric plant near Chicago in the 1920s and early 1930s did not support this widely held view. In contrast, these classic studies suggested that the social system was a key determinant of worker performance.1 Moreover, the Hawthorne studies revealed that employee motivation was a complex process and provided impetus for much ensuing research. Motivational research following the Hawthorne studies focused on the employee needs structure, social environment, supervision, assigned tasks, and performance appraisal. Employee needs theory provides a more in-depth understanding of worker behavior, and is applicable to the professional work environment.
