ABSTRACT
The main characteristic of the post-1939 period is the emergence of the social scientists in general and psychologists in particular as an influence in the industrial scene. Because of the impact of some of the ideas put forward by various psychologists on management thinking, the order of presentation will be the reverse of that used to cover the pre-1939 period. ‘Classical’ psychological views of motivation were expressed in terms of a collection of separate and distinct drives. After a period when theories concentrated on ‘instinct’ as a basis for motivation, motives themselves were described and classified as ‘primary’ or ‘secondary’; the primary motives are those which serve some biological function, while the secondary motives were largely social. Another difficulty is in relation to job satisfaction, since in theory a satisfied employee should be better motivated to produce.
