The Hertzberg Studies

Term Paper # 100426

Business > Human Resources
Psychology > Motivation Studies

An analysis of the human resource implications of studies conducted by Frederick Hertzberg in the 1950s in Pittsburgh.

824 words () | 3 sources | APA | 2007 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how Frederick Hertzberg's original studies on worker motivation have a useful place in the management techniques of all managers and HR professionals who are interested in improving workplace satisfaction and motivation. It looks at how in the European context, HR managers can use these techniques to avoid the pitfalls of wage differentials and traditional reward schemes that have plagued many American corporations and done little to improve satisfaction and motivation. It also contends that by following Hertzberg's studies and incorporating motivation factors directly into task designs, overall employee satisfaction and motivation should increase dramatically.

From the Paper:

"Frederick Hertzberg was born in 1923, served in World War II, and eventually became a clinical psychologist in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Jewell, 2004). The most important and historically significant work he did during his time as a clinical psychologist was published in 1959 in the larger text, The Motivation to Work. His study, which was built on interviews with two hundred engineers and accountants working in the Pittsburgh area, was designed to better understand employee attitudes, behaviors, and motivations. "

Sample of Sources Used:

Frederick Hertzberg: the hygiene-motivation theory. (2003, June). Thinkers. Retrieved November 17, 2006, from InfoTrac OneFile, Thomson Gale.
Herzberg's motivation hygiene theory. (2006). NetMBA: Business Knowledge Center. Retrieved November 15, 2006, from http://www.netmba.com/mgmt/ob/motivation/herzberg
Jewell, B. (2004, November). Herzberg's two-factor theory. Business Review, 11(2), pp. 30-31.