Résumé
One of the primary tasks of the managers is staff motivation in order to improve their performance to a high level. It has been staff struggles to accomplish the organizational goals and decisions. The [goal setting theory] has designed for this aim. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of implementing [goal Setting Theory] by nurse mangers on staff nurses' job motivation. This study was quasi- experimental one in which 51 nurses from one hospital were allocated to either experimental [n=30] or control [n=21] group. The two groups were compared before and after intervention for their job motivation. The instrument, measuring job motivation with 48 items, was used after providing content validity and reliability [r=0.80]. In order to avoid exposure bias, at first, job satisfaction in control group in two times were measured. Then, the intervention [goal setting theory] was implemented by subjects of experimental group for three months in three stages; a] nurse managers development, b] staff nurse development, c] implemented discharge planning as a [goal] by staff nurse. Data were analyzed by SPSS. The results showed that the level of staff nurse job motivation in two groups before intervention were moderate and two groups were homogenous [p=1.000]. After intervention, the level of staff nurse job motivation in control group did not changed [P=1.000], but in experimental group, the level of staff nurse job motivation was significantly increased to a higher level [P=0.000]. Implementing the [goal setting theory] based on the methods used in this study showed that whenever nurse managers had a specific and clarified goal for nurses, the level of job motivation in staff nurse increased to a higher level