human motivation

13: Banana Time – Donald Roy

One of the most famous ethnographic works, Banana Time: Job Satisfaction and Informal Interaction describes Donald F. Roy's experience of working as a drill press operator (as in the picture on this page) for two months. Set against the backdrop of Taylor-inspired Scientific Management, the paper provides a thick description of the setting, the tools of work and, most importantly, behaviour and dynamics of the group of workers whom Roy was assigned to work with.

3: Theory of Human Motivation – Abraham Maslow

We discuss "A Theory of Human Motivation" by Abraham H. Maslow, one of the most famous psychology articles ever written. Originally published in 1943, it was in this landmark paper that Maslow presented his first detailed representation of Self-Actualization - the desire to become everything that one is capable of becoming - at the pinnacle of a hierarchy of human needs. What Maslow is most famous for, however, is the pyramid of human needs.