Exploring the link between intrinsic motivation and quality

Abstract

This thesis proposes that it is workers' intrinsic motivation that leads them to produce quality work. It reviews two different types of evidence--"expert opinion" and empirical studies-- to attempt to evaluate a link between intrinsic motivation and work quality. The thesis reviews the works of Total Quality writers and behavioral scientists for any connection they might have made between intrinsic motivation and quality. the thesis then looks at the works of Deming and his followers in an attempt to establish a match between Deming's motivational assumptions and the four task rewards in the Thomas/Tymon model of intrinsic motivation: choice, competence, meaningfulness and progress. Based upon this analysis, it is proposed that the four Thomas/Tymon task rewards are a promising theoretical foundation for explaining the motivational basis of quality for workers in Total Quality organizations.