The Enthusiastic Employee: What Employees Want and Why Employers Should Give it to Them

From Library Journal:

One of the best business books of 2005

The authors, all consultants, have written a book based on extensive

research looking into what motivates employees in the workplace. ... this is a valuable book containing practical advice for both managers and workers. Highly recommended.

-Richard Drezen, Washington Post/New York City Bureau

From Kirkus Reports, February 10, 2005 Vol.2 Issue 1

The Enthusiastic Employee: How Companies Profit by Giving Workers What They Want
By: David Sirota, Louis A. Mischkind, and Michael Irwin Meltzer
Publisher: Wharton School Publishing
Pub Date: January 2005

Employee enthusiasm can be an invaluable asset to a business, but 90% percent of employees become indifferent to their workplace over time, says this trio of management experts. How do they know? They've surveyed over four million workers in 89 countries over the past 30 years to find out (although conclusions in the book are drawn from research conducted between 1993 and 2003). So, what are the lucky ten percent of companies doing right? They're meeting the three goals that the vast majority of employees desire at work: equity, achievement and camaraderie. And those goals go for all workers, whether they're baby boomers, Gen X, Gen Y, or Gen D (digital). While explaining just what those terms mean, the authors provide plenty of examples of management doing things right: Former Alcoa CEO Paul O'Neill (later became the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury) met with hourly workers in the plant and gave them his home number so that they could call him if there were safety problems. Nordstrom's employee handbook has one rule: Use your good judgment in all situations. Now there's an organization that respects its workers. Numerous quotations from employees surveyed keep things brisk and absorbing. Bottom line: pure good sense on how to keep employees happy and productive

David Sirota is founder and Chairman Emeritus of Sirota Consulting, a firm with a national reputation for improving performance by systematically measuring and managing employee, customer, and community relationships. He previously served as IBM director of behavioral science research and application. Sirota has taught management at Cornell, Yale, MIT, and Wharton, and was a study director at the University of Michigan's Institute of Social Research. His work has been featured in Fortune and The New York Times. He holds a doctorate in social psychology from the University of Michigan.

Louis A. Mischkind has been involved with organizational effectiveness-research and practical application-for over 35 years. Prior to joining Sirota Consulting, he was Program Director of Executive Development at IBM, Advisor on Human Resources to the President of IBM's General Products Division, and in charge of opinion surveys and management assessment for IBM's technical community. He has taught courses in social and organizational psychology at New York University and holds a master's degree in experimental psychology from Columbia University and a Ph.D. in organizational psychology from New York University.

Michael Irwin Meltzer joined Sirota Consulting full-time in 2001 as Managing Director, after serving as its General Counsel for 20 years. He has advised businesses ranging from financial consultancies and real estate developers to sales, distribution, and construction organizations. He has also served as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Pace University, teaching business organizations, real-estate law, and trusts and estates. He holds a J.D. from Brooklyn Law School.

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