ABSTRACT
The recognized goals of the scientific study and application of organizational behavior management are understanding/explanation, prediction, and control. Our position is that the cognitive approach leads to relatively better understanding, but the behavioral approach is clearly superior in terms of prediction and control (Luthans, 1992). The work of cognitively oriented behavioral scientists such as Vroom (1964), Porter and Lawler (1968), and Locke (1978) identified systems of needs that motivate employees and laid out the complex cognitive processes employees use to decide which behaviors to perform, how much effort to put forth, and what impact this has on their satisfaction and performance. This cognitively based approach generated considerable research, but has produced few techniques that can be applied to the more effective management of human resources. In particular, such complex cognitive models provide an understanding of why employees act as they do, but do not provide the prediction and control today's managers want and need to manage their people more effectively.
