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Work Motivation
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Work Motivation
History, Theory, Research, and Practice

Second Edition


January 2012 | 456 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc
Work Motivation: History, Theory, Research, and Practice provides unique behavioural science frameworks for motivating employees in organizational settings. Drawing upon his experiences as a staff psychologist and consultant to organizations, author Gary Latham has written this book in a "mentor voice" that is highly personal and rich in examples, including enduring influences of mentors on researchers in the field.

Key Features

- includes anecdotes about and from the major thought leaders in the field of motivation: Personal insights from and about leading personalities in the field of motivation such as Bandura, Frese, Hough, Judge, Kanfer, Lawler, Locke, Pinder, Rousseau, and Vroom make the material come alive. Behind-the-scenes accounts of research and the researchers who conducted studies in North America, Africa, Asia, Australia, and Europe are addressed.

- offers a chronological review of the research on and theories of motivation in the workplace: Written in a meaningful and memorable style, a comprehensive treatment of work motivation is given from the end of the 19th century to the present.

- provides a taxonomy for the study and practice of motivation: The book explains how and why to take into account a person's needs, values, work setting, goals, moods, and emotions. Controversies of theoretical and practical significance such as the importance of money, the relationship between job satisfaction and job performance, and the distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation are captured and resolved.

 
Preface and Acknowledgments: Person-Environment Fit
 
Introduction: Thirteen Critical Incidents in the Life of a Scientist-Practitioner
 
PART I: THE 20TH CENTURY: UNDERSTANDING THE PAST
 
Chapter 1: 1900–1925: Biology, Behavior, and Money
 
Chapter 2: 1925–1950: Dust Bowl Empiricism
 
Chapter 3: 1950–1975: The Emergence of Theory
 
Chapter 4: 1975–2000: The Employee Is Immersed in Thought
 
Chapter 5: 20th-Century Controversies
 
PART II: THE 21ST CENTURY: EXAMINING THE PRESENT: 2000–2010
 
Chapter 6: Needs: The Starting Point of Motivation
 
Chapter 7: Personality Traits: Distal Predictors of Motivation
 
Chapter 8: Values: Trans-Situational Goals
 
Chapter 9: Cognition: Goals, Feedback, and Self-Regulation
 
Chapter 10: Social Cognitive Theory
 
Chapter 11: Affect/Emotion: The Employee Has Feelings Too
 
PART III: FUTURE DIRECTIONS AND POTENTIAL MISDIRECTIONS
 
Chapter 12: Boundaryless Psychology
 
PART IV: EPILOGUE
 
Chapter 13: The Art of Practice

This is a very good revision of the literature on work motivation. An essential book for students who want to deep their knowledge on this topic.

Dr Isabel Dimas
Economics, University of Coimbra
January 22, 2021

Very good overview of motivation theories. Appropriate for master's students.

Dr Isabel Dimas
Economics, University of Coimbra
May 22, 2020

A small reference book that is easy to follow and packed full of useful theories around motivation. Current and easy to find your way around the index.

Mrs Laura Castles
Management, Torfaen Training
November 29, 2019

An excellent book, well written and accessible. Some small updates and enjoyed the inclusion of attachment styles

Mr Gary Pheiffer
School of Psychology, London Metropolitan University
November 30, 2015

I originally looked at this for our ERM course but it finished in 2014. HOwever, I now recommend this to students on our Social Psychology of Work (undergraduate L5 option) who want to look at work motivation in more detail. It is a very thorough text

Mr Neill Thompson
School of Psychology and Sport Science, Northumbria University
April 16, 2015

A great book that covers many theories. We took this text on our residential for students to prepare presentations on motivation

Mrs Nikki Southgate
CHILDCARE AND HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE, Central Bedfordshire College
February 18, 2015

Great book, contains many anecdotes as well as detailing the evidence base. Interestingly structured in terms of a timeline. Only irritation is the vast number of footnotes, which sometimes take 2/3 of the page.

Dr Manda Branson
Sch of Psychology & Clinical Lang Sci, Reading University
August 28, 2015

I have recommended this book to several of my students. It provides an excellent overview of the theoretical underpinnings of employee motivation and job satisfaction.

Miss Moya Lerigo-Jones
Faculty of Social Science and Business, University of Plymouth
October 24, 2013

This is the best text on motivation theories that I have found. It is easy for the students to understand.

Professor Constance Thompson
Psychology Dept, Edgewood College
September 2, 2013

This is an excellent book on motivation but does not fit into my present modules.

Dr Chuma Osuchukwu
Postgraduate Faculty, London School of Business and Management
November 24, 2012

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