Human resource management requires a study of the worker, not just their basic monetary needs but physical and psychological needs as well. The challenge for today's managers is to create a culture in which employees are able to derive satisfaction from their work. The purpose of this paper is to explore the ways that successful companies are able to achieve this goal.
Labor costs represent a huge outlay to most companies.
It is interesting to note, therefore, that it was not until the 1930's that much thought was given to the causal relationships between environment and output. At that time, the Hawthorne studies, conducted by a research team from the Harvard graduate School of Business Administration, conducted experiments into the effects of environmental changes on assembly line workers. The studies found that physical changes, such as lighting, had less to do with productivity than the way that these changes were introduced. The study recognized the need people have to be appreciated and feel important in their job. These studies and others like them led to the development personnel and human resource management.