Managing general managers: Control and motivation at the top

Abstract

A study of control and motivation processes taking place at the top levels of economic organizations in Poland was extended to analogous processes in American corporations. The psychologically based processes (appraisal, incentives) were shown to be similar in both systems. The control processes differed, revealing strong linkages to broader economic, political and cultural contexts. The findings demonstrate why borrowing the structural solutions fails, and indicate a need for comparative studies of organizations, which take into account the macro determinants of organizational activity.