The authors of this featured article (Joo, Jeung, & Yoon, 2010) respond to calls for further examination of how individual differences and workplace environment jointly impact organizational behavior. The authors integrate social psychology and management research to examine employee behavior and its relation to human resource development.…

Presents an in-depth analysis of problems and a suggested approach to developing human resources which goes beyond identifying symptoms and provides a comprehensive perspective for building an effective work force. (JOW)

Discusses empowerment, the process of coming to feel and behave as though one has power over significant aspect of one's life or work, as it relates to employee productivity, motivation, and behavior. (JOW)

Defines career plateauing, explains types and sources of plateauing, and suggests counseling interventions to assist individuals to recognize and adjust to plateauing. Recommends proactive measures to perpetuate work motivation of effective plateaued workers and to remediate work behavior of ineffective, plateaued workers. Includes 19 citations.…

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is often used as an example of motivational theory in both practitioner and scholarly journals, yet considerable motivational research is being conducted that is not widely known, nor applied in practical settings. This paper summarizes several of those lines of inquiry and suggests applications for career and technical…

Looks at attitudes toward work in the People's Republic of China, including that the nature of work should be varied and meaningful; there should be worker control over the pace of work and working conditions and sufficient security, pay, and status; and there should be working group cohesiveness and group goals. (CT)

Education and training include training to perform the immediate job, to help the individual anticipate and accommodate change, and to help prepare for future advancement. This training produces workers able to perform immediate tasks and who are motivated to keep on learning. (JOW)

The author proposes what he believes is a more realistic middle ground between McGregor's two theories. (JM)

Context shifting is an approach to training that aims to transform the participants' point of view, allowing them to create a new context in which to perform their jobs, a new way of defining their roles that motivates them to exhibit skills and use information. (SK)

Analyzes mishaps affecting Delta Air Lines from perspective of motivational psychology. Hypothesizes that pilot error in one near disaster caused other employees to try harder not to make mistakes. Sees additional motivation as pushing many employees beyond point of optimal performance, generating decline in overall performance. Describes problem…

The author suggests that training program developers be upfront about the training purpose, be sure the training creates a positive experience for trainees, consider not only what happens during the training, but what occurs before and after, and ensure that program content is something the trainees will choose to put into practice. (CT)

Offers suggestions for managers relative to the employee selection process, focusing on the identification of a potential employee's needs and the employer's motivators that affect employee productivity. Discusses the use of a preemployment survey and offers a questionnaire that allows matching of the employee's needs with employment…

Examines possible reasons for declining employee motivation: greater instability and diversity of values; more guaranteed rewards; inability of rewards to satisfy emerging needs; disappearing work ethic; reduced costs of failure; rising income and progressive taxation; more group production and problem solving; decreased employee loyalty; less…

The history of the work environment and efforts to humanize it are related. Motivations for humanizing are discussed: worker welfare and the belief that worker satisfaction improves worker productivity. Efforts to increase humanization, such as legislation and efforts by labor unions, are also discussed. (CT)

Discusses changes in organizational design and staffing necessitated by word processing systems. Also presents results of an attitudinal survey of word processor operators, traditional secretaries, and administrative support persons. (JOW)