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Managing Motivation

A Manager's Guide to Diagnosing and Improving Motivation

• By Robert Pritchard, Elissa Ashwood

• Price: $29.00 $26.10
• Binding: Paperback (also available in Hardback)
• Pages: 152
• Published by: Routledge Academic
• Publication Date: 13th June 2008
• ISBN: 978-1-84169-789-5

About the Book

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.

Reviews

"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 like an advanced text. It is well written, free of jargon, with clear examples, brief overviews of concepts, and helpful charts." -Craig C. Pinder, Distinguished Professor of Organizational Behavior, University of Victoria, Canada

"Finally, a no nonsense book on motivation that is based on solid scientific principles that HRM can give to their line managers." -Gary Latham, Secretary of State Professor of Organizational Effectiveness Rotman School of Management University of Toronto

"When it comes to managing motivation, all too often managers rely on fads and half-truths to make critical decisions that can impact the entire organization. This book presents a logical framework for understanding motivation within organizations – one based on years of research and that will stand the test of time. Leaders who want to increase alignment, persistence and intensity will find that they will make better decisions using the insights Pritchard and Ashwood have described." -Pete Ramstad, Vice President, The Toro Company

"This slim volume provides a literal roadmap for managers to follow, beginning with a lucid discussion of what exactly is meant by motivation. The book then takes managers through a step by step process of how to identify behaviors that need to change, and then how to go about changing those behaviors. The steps are clearly laid out and a continuing case helps make the discussion even more concrete. The suggestions and recommendations are based on years of theoretical development and subsequent research, yet Pritchard and Ashwood discuss conepts clearly and systematically, in terms that any manager can understand and follow. I would recommend this book to any manager who has ever faced a problem trying to motivate employees,or any student who wanted a quick review of the practical side of theories of motivation" -Angelo DeNisi, Dean, A. B. Freeman School of Business, Tulane University

"Bob Pritchard and Elissa Ashwood have done a terrific job in capturing the fundamental truths of what we know about motivating people. Bob Pritchard is a well known expert on motivation in organizations. They provide a very useful roadmap to diagnosing and addressing motivation issues at work. Managers will learn a practical and straightforward approach to motivating people. This book should be included in any course or training program that discusses employee motivation." -Rob Silzer, Managing Director, HR Assessment and Development, Inc.

"This excellent book should help first-line supervisors and managers to use concepts in motivation to help their employees and organizations to succeed. The theory and conceptual treatment in the book are sound, but what's different here is the academic foundation gets nicely translated into highly practical and actionable suggestions." -Wally Borman, CEO, Personnel Decisions Research Institutes, Professor, University of South Florida

Table of Contents

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.

About the Author(s)

Robert D. Pritchard is currently Professor of Psychology and Management at the University of Central Florida. His PhD is from the University of Minnesota in Industrial /Organizational Psychology. He recently won the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award at the SIOP meeting (2002) and is a Fellow of APS and APA .He has been the series editor for the Society for Organizational Psychology Frontiers Book Series since 2003. He is currently a board member of the following journals:

Organizational Behavior and Human Performance

Motivation and Emotion

Journal of Applied Psychology

Elissa L . Ashwood is currently Director , Organizational Development and Training for AIG Retirement Services, Los Angeles. Formerly she was Vice president, Finance for Citibank in New York.

She has an MBA from William E Simon Graduate School of Business Administration, University of Rochester and is currently studying for a Certificate in Organization Design from U of Southern California, Marshall School of Business.

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