Summary
What motivates people to work and be more productive has been an ongoing concern of leadership and management. Writers in the early days of scientific management viewed work as the means whereby “workers” acquired their daily bread. The equation was simple. To get more money, you do more work. Human-relations advocates viewed work in a broader social context, and nonmonetary rewards became part of a more complex motivational equation. Contemporary behavioral scientists have suggested the importance of meaningful work, clear and concise goals, a sense of achievement, positive reinforcement, and numerous other factors as keys to higher levels of individual and organizational performance.