BRIEF OVERVIEWS ARE GIVEN OF THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE CURRENT POPULARITY OF THE FOLLOWING THEORIES: (1) THE COERCION THEORY, WHICH IS REGARDED AS AN INEFFICIENT APPROACH TO MANAGEMENT; (2) THE ECONOMIC/ MACHINE THEORY, WHICH PROPOSES THAT PEOPLE WORK FOR MONEY, THAT THEY WILL WORK HARDER FOR MORE MONEY, AND THAT THEY HAVE PHYSICAL CAPABILITIES THAT CAN BE MEASURED AND APPLIED IN A RATIONAL MANNER; (3) THE NEED HIERARCHY THEORY, WHICH HOLDS THAT SOCIAL, EGO, AND SELF-ACTUALIZATION NEEDS MUST BE SATISFIED BY EMPLOYEES THROUGH THEIR JOBS; (4) THE ADVANCEMENT THEORY, WHICH FOCUSES ON THE NEED TO ACHIEVE AND HOLDS THAT WORK PERFORMANCE IS A FUNCTION OF STRIVING FOR ACHIEVEMENT; (5) THE TWO-FACTOR OR MOTIVATION-HYGIENE THEORY, WHICH DIFFERENTIATES BETWEEN WORK CONTEXT (I.E., SURROUNDINGS) AND WORK CONTENT, AND MAINTAINS THAT BOTH MUST BE SATISFIED; (6) THE EQUITY THEORY, WHICH EXPLAINS JOB SATISFACTION AND PERFORMANCE IN TERMS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WHAT THE EMPLOYEE PUTS INTO THE JOB AND WHAT HE GETS OUT OF IT; AND (7) THE EXPECTANCY THEORY, WHICH SAYS THAT MOTIVATION IS A FUNCTION OF THE EXPECTED RESULTS OF BEHAVIOR TIMES VALUE PLACED ON THE RESULTS. MOST PUBLIC SECTOR RESEARCH CONDUCTED SINCE 1970 HAS BEEN RELATED TO THE NEED HIERARCHY THEORY AND THE TWO-FACTOR THEORY. NEARLY ALL OF THE RESEARCH REPORTS FIND THAT PUBLIC EMPLOYEES IN GENERAL AND POLICE OFFICERS IN PARTICULAR EXPERIENCE LOWER LEVEL NEED SATISFACTION. THIS REFLECTS A HIGHER ORDER NEED OF POLICE OFFICERS TO PARTICIPATE IN DECISIONS WHICH AFFECT THEM, TO RECEIVE RESPONSIBILITY, AND TO BE RECOGNIZED. THIS WORK IS CALLED HIGHLY RELEVANT FOR POLICE DEPARTMENTS. QUOTATIONS FROM POLICE ADMINISTRATORS SUPPORT JOB ENRICHMENT AND WORK CONTENT IMPROVEMENT. A TABLE SUMMARIZES EACH THEORY. REFERENCES ARE FOOTNOTED. (GLR)