This slim motivation guidebook was written to bridge the gap between the academic research on motivation and to present it in a form that is useful to the practicing manager. In essence, the book presents a theory of motivation and how to use it without ever mentioning the word theory . The goal of the book is to give managers a kind of mental model to use in thinking about motivation and to show them how to use this mental model for practical management actions to diagnose and improve motivation of subordinates. The book is written in three sections: Understanding Motivation, Diagnosing Motivation and Improving Motivation. The book incorporates case studies and many examples of how to successfully manage motivation.
Preface. 1. Motivation and Management. 2. Understanding Needs and Energy. 3. Understanding Motivation. 4. Dynamics of the Motivation Model. 5. Planning a Motivation Improvement Project. 6. Diagnosing Action-to-Results Connections. 7. Diagnosing Results-to-Evaluation Connections. 8. Diagnosing Evaluation-to-Outcome Connections. 9. Diagnosing Outcome-to-Need Satisfaction Connections. 10. Making Improvements. 11. Predicting the Effects of Change. Concluding Comments. References and Bibliography. Appendix 1: Our Approach to Assessing Motivation. Appendix 2: Drawing Connection Graphs. Index.
The authors have done an excellent job translating the massive scientific literature on motivation into a more concise practical guidebook describing how to identify and address motivation challenges. The literature review is quite current. It is easy to follow and understand, with many examples. - Rob Ployhart, University of South Carolina
The proposed book would be appropriate for a lower level college readership and possibly a management development course on work motivation. The principles described are well grounded in scientific research[,] but the book does not read likel³Z