Intrinsic Motivation at Work: Building Energy and Commitment [Hardcover]

Kenneth W Thomas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 2000

Intrinsic Motivation at Work marks a major advance on the topic of work motivation -- one based on an understanding of the changing requirements of today's workplace and the limitations of older motivational models. Written in an engaging, accessible style, yet grounded in solid academic research, the book is divided into three parts. Part One assesses older models of work motivation and why they need an overhaul. Part Two explains the nature of the "new work" and the importance of reintroducing a feeling of purpose and self-management. Part Three presents in depth the four intrinsic rewards that make work energizing and compelling -- a sense of meaningfulness, a sense of choice, a sense of competence or quality, and a sense of progress -- and how to create them.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A major step forward in our understanding of intrinsic motivation. This book is readable, logical, and especially relevant to those concerned with the attraction, retention, and motivation of knowledge workers and the effective management of Generation X employees." -- Barry D. Leskin, Chief Learning Officer, Chevron Corporation

"A must-read for everyone who cares about organizational success and quality of life at work in the future. " -- David W. Jamieson, President, Jamieson Consulting Group and coauthor of Managing Workforce 2000

"An eminently useful and important book that every manager should have on his 'must read' shelf. -- Warren Bennis, Distinguished Professor of Business, USC and author of Organizing Genius

"Especially relevant to those concerned with the attraction, retention, and motivation of knowledge workers..." -- Barry D. Leskin, Chief Learning Officer, Chevron Corporation

"Intrinsic Motivation at Work is a must-read for everyone who cares about organizational success and quality of life at work in the future. Its a virtual handbook for the self-managing and their leaders." -- David W. Jamieson, President, Jamieson Consulting Group and coauthor of Managing Workforce 2000

"Read this book so you know how you can make the most of what drives you and others." -- Jim Kouzes, coauthor of The Leadership Challenge and Credibility, and chairman emeritus tompeters!company

About the Author

Kenneth W. Thomas, Ph.D., is a professor of management at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. He has also served on the management faculties at UCLA, Temple University, and the University of Pittsburgh, where he was director of the doctoral program. He is internationally known for his research and training materials on conflict management. He is the author of several training instruments, including the bestselling Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument, and is featured in the prize-winning training video Dealing with Conflict.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 143 pages
• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers (April 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576750876
• ISBN-13: 978-1576750872
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,189,927 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Lessons for Increasing Motivation and Effectiveness!, October 11, 2000

By 

Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 109,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Intrinsic Motivation at Work: Building Energy and Commitment (Hardcover)

This book deserves more than five stars.

Prior to Intrinsic Motivation at Work, management books often referred to the need for intrinsic motivation or sources of thta motivation (such as an inspiring purpose or interesting work). This book takes those isolated thoughts and connects them into a systematic method of improving overall motivation by increasing internal motivation and connecting with external sources of motivation. This book will be a landmark in the field of human resource management for decades to come.

The book contains many helpful elements to help you understand its message. One that I particularly liked was the management tale. In one connected example, it showed how management attention has shifted in the last 120 years from making people perform more effectively at predefined tasks (the rational approach as defined by scientific management) to creating passion and fulfillment from work, by focusing on the emotional side of a person. You get an overview of management practice and theory in very small and easy-to-digest doses. For example, one of my favorite sentences was "So the executives crafted Vision Statements that emphasized Contribution to Customers and Quality . . . but often [they] rang hollow in time -- like unkept promises."

The author distills the relevant sources of intrinsic motivation into meaningfulness, choice, competence, and progress. These ideas are nicely developed in several dimensions. For example, it is explained how these affect the worker (or associate, if you prefer that term). You also find out what the leader or manager has to do to help create those factors for the worker. Then, the author also exposes how the four areas are connected in a system of postive (or potentially negative) feedback. Further, you are given five elements of each one to develop.

Basically, the model calls for the meaningful purpose of the organization as the starting point. The next step is to give people a choice of actions to implement that purpose. Then activities are performed, and these are monitored for the competency shown (which may generate the need for better choices to pursue the object or to enhance the competency of those involved). After the activities are completed, you also look for progress and relate this back to the original purpose and your choices for fulfilling that purpose.

The book goes on the explain how to integrate intrinsic and external sources of motivation so that they reinforce one another.

There are several points to keep in mind when considering this book. First, you will get even better results if the organization picks a meaningful purpose that offers the potential for more intrinsic motivation. Some purposes have more potential to be accomplished and some are more exciting to more people. I find that most people latch onto an organizational purpose with too little consideration of the alternatives. Second, any on-going organization has a perceived purpose that attracts and retains employees now. You should find out what that is before changing it. My experience has been that you get better results by building upon that assumed purpose than by striking off in a totally new direction. Third, simplification (see Simplicity) is a related thought process that should be employed with this one. A lot of demotivation along intrinsic lines follows errors in making things too complicated and difficult.

Although this book is about work, its principles apply just as well to volunteer activities. I suggest that you share the book with those you volunteer with and then discuss how to employ its lessons to fulfill your empowering purposes.

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Four Intrinsic Rewards of Self-Management, July 7, 2000

By 

Turgay BUGDACIGIL (Istanbul, Turkey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Intrinsic Motivation at Work: Building Energy and Commitment (Hardcover)

"As I have written this book, I have tried to balance a number of goals". Kenneth W. Thomas writes, "The first is to give you a solid conceptual framework for understanding intrinsic motivation and why it is vital to the new work. The problem is that most of us have already learned to think about motivation in rational-economic ways, so that kind of thinking seems solid to us, and other ways of thinking often seem 'soft'. I have tried to give intrinsic motivation that same kind of solidity by laying a firm conceptual foundation in Parts I and II of this book. Part I establishes the need for new models. It discusses the revolution in work, why extrinsic rewards are no longer enough, and the limitations of rational-economic thinking...Then Part II examines the essence of the new work in more detail, emphasizing how purpose has been reintroduced into that work. It discusses how workers are now being asked to self-manage in pursuit of purposes, and then lays out the key steps involved in self-management. Part III, the heart of the book, discusses the four intrinsic rewards that come from -and energize- those self-management steps: a sense of meaningfulness, choice, competence, and progress" (from the Preface).

In this context, in Part III, he provides a diagnostic framework for intrinsic motivation. As the first step of this framework, in Chapter 6, he introduces (1) a complete map of the intrinsic rewards needed to reinforce self-management, and (2) a set of building blocks that are needed to produce each intrinsic reward. Hence, as the second step, in Chapters 7-10, he discusses each intrinsic reward in more detailed, along with actions to provide the building blocks.

(1). The Four Intrinsic Rewards

i. A sense of 'Meaningfulness' is the opportunity you feel to pursue a worthy task purpose (more detailed discussion see Chapter 7).

ii. A sense of 'Choice' is the opportunity you feel to select task activities that make sense to you and to perform them in ways that seem appropriate (more detailed discussion see Chapter 8).

iii. A sence of 'Competence' is the accomplishment you feel in skillfully performing task activities you have choosen (more detailed discussion see Chapter 9).

iv. A sense of 'Progress' is the accomplishment you feel in achieving the task purpose (more detailed discussion see Chapter 10).

(2). Building Blocks for the Intrinsic Rewards

i. Meaningfulness: a non-cynical climate, clearly identified passions, an exciting vision, relevant task purposes, and whole tasks (more detailed discussion see Chapter 7).

ii. Choice: delegated authority, trust in workers, security (no punishment for honest mistakes), a clear purpose, and information (more detailed discussion see Chapter 8).

iii. Competence: knowledge, positive feedback, skill recognition, challenge, and high, non-comparative standards (more detailed discussion see Chapter 9).

iv. Progress: a collaborative climate, milestones, celebrations, access to customers, and measurement of improvement (more detailed discussion see Chapter 10).

Finally, he argues that "To understand intrinsic motivation, it's important to see the limitations of the rational-economic model that dominated motivational thinking in the compliance era. At its heart, intrinsic motivation is not about rational calculation-it is about passion and the positive feelings that people get from their work. These feelings reinforce or energize workers' self-management efforts and also provide the fulfillment that is needed to keep today's workers on the job. Building intrinsic motivation, then, is about finding ways to enable and amplify those feelings" (p.107).

Strongly recommended.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the Best there is on Motivation, May 12, 2000

By 

Joseph F. Albert (Gonzaga University, Spokane, Washington,USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Intrinsic Motivation at Work: Building Energy and Commitment (Hardcover)

As a teacher of leadership, organizational theory and psychological issues at work, at the undergraduate and graduate level, I can say that Ken's approach to intrinsic motivation is simply the best material available on the subject. The depth and clarity of his presentation is remarkable. Whenever I present his model to a class or in a workshop the model Ken has developed clicks immediately with people and they are instantly engaged. His model captures what so many other authors and approaches have tried to present, but have fallen short. "Intrinsic Motivation at Work" will immediately become a required text in my courses and at the top of my most highly recommended books to anyone interested in motivation at work. His approach is well researched and documented but still immediately accessible to non-academics. This book will find broad readership because of it's usefullness to those in supervisory and leadership roles, as well as those who are simply trying to create a more motivating work environment for themselves. Please buy and read this book! There is nothing better available. This is the best there is on motivation.