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Frederick Herzberg papers, 1950-1995

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Herzberg, Frederick
Title
Frederick Herzberg papers
Dates
1950-1995 (inclusive)
Quantity
97.25 linear feet
Collection Number
Accn1592
Summary
The Frederick Herzberg papers (1950-1995) document the work of this professor of management and originator of the motivation-hygiene theory. Included are personal materials, professional correspondence, office files, teaching materials, and Herzberg's writings, as well as a variety of writings on management topics by other authors.
Repository
University of Utah Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library
University of Utah
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City, UT
84112-0860

Telephone: 8015818863
special@library.utah.edu
Access Restrictions

Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.

Languages
English
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Historical Note

Frederick Herzberg, the father of job enrichment and one of the major management philosophers of our time, was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, on 18 April 1923 to Lewis and Gertrude Copleman Herzberg and educated in the New York public school system. His studies in psychology at the City College of New York were interrupted by the second World War and he served in the United States Army from 1943-1946. Fluent in both German and Yiddish, Herzberg was involved in the relocation of internees of the Dachau Concentration Camp. This experience, where he "realized that a society goes insane when the sane are driven insane," was the matrix from which Herzberg's philosophy developed. His work, which stresses the nourishment of human character in the workplace, is directed toward "keeping the sane, sane." After receiving his B.S. from CCNY in 1946, Herzberg moved on to the University of Pittsburgh, where he was first lecturer, then instructor, while working toward his graduate degrees. He was awarded an M.S. in Clinical and Industrial Psychology in 1949, with his Ph.D. following a year later. Herzberg was the research director for Psychological Services of Pittsburgh from 1951 to 1957. In 1957 he became a professor of psychology at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. During this time he also served as director of the graduate program in industrial mental health. Herzberg's first book, Job Attitudes: Research and Opinion, was published in 1957. This book was the outgrowth of his work in the 1950s, when he conducted a number of employee morale surveys with apparently contradictory results, which prompted him to rethink the traditional approach in measurement of job satisfaction. The Motivation to Work, Herzberg's controversial challenge to the industrial psychology establishment which questioned the validity of traditional attitude-measurement techniques, followed in 1959. Herzberg was awarded a Fulbright research fellowship in 1963-64 which took him to Finland. An inquiry about his theories led Herzberg to travel to the Soviet Union on a tourist visa and resulted in a long and productive relationship with colleagues in the Soviet Union. Herzberg's Work and the Nature of Man, recently named one of the 10 most important books on management in the 20th century, was published in 1966. In 1972 Herzberg accepted an offer from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City and became distinguished professor of management in the college of business. In addition to teaching and writing, Herzberg spent the next twenty years consulting with government and industry leaders throughout the world. He developed seminars and workshops to train managers and employees at all levels. Herzberg retired from the University of Utah in 1995.

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Content Description

The Frederick Herzberg papers (1950-1995) cover Herzberg's work from the 1950s to the 1990s with the bulk of the material dating in the 1970s and 1980s. The documents are roughly arranged into six sections: Personal Materials, Correspondence, Office Files, Course Materials, Manuscripts, and Management Articles. Section 1, Personal Materials, boxes 1-3, consists of two boxes of correspondence containing informal letters with colleagues, former students and clients, and a box of material relating to a reunion of Herzberg's army division that took place in the 1990s. Section 2, Correspondence, boxes 4-30, contains files largely devoted to correspondence. Most correspondence in this section is of a general nature and is organized both chronologically and alphabetically. Section 3, boxes 31-114, contains Herzberg's office files. Section 4, boxes 115-147, contains material relating to Dr. Herzberg's classes at the University of Utah. This section includes lectures, case studies, outlines, and other course material prepared by Herzberg, and student reports and research projects. Section 5, boxes 148-165, contains drafts and notes for Herzberg's published work. Section 6, boxes 166-208, contains articles by Herzberg and articles about Herzberg and his theories. This includes a compilation of articles on Herzberg published throughout the world entitled "Collected Works."

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library’s Use Agreement and Reproduction Request forms.

Preferred Citation

Initial Citation: Frederick Herzberg papers, ACCN 1592, Box [ ]. Special Collections and Archives. University of Utah, J. Willard Marriott. Salt Lake City, Utah.

Following Citations: ACCN 1592.

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Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

Gift of Frederick Herzberg in 1996.

Processing Note

Processed by Manuscripts Division staff.

Separated Materials

Photographs (P0711) and audio-visual materials (A0402) were transferred to the Multimedia Division of Special Collections.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Finding aid created by Manuscripts Division staff
2008 (last modified: 2019)

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