CH-5-6 Foundations of Employee Motivation – Organisational Behaviour: Emerging Knowledge, Global Insights : Book Guide

This Document Contains Chapters 5 to 6 5. Foundations of Employee Motivation SOLUTIONS TO CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS 1. Four-drive theory is conceptually different from Maslow’s needs hierarchy in several ways. Describe these differences. At the same time, needs are based on drives, so the four drives should parallel the seven needs that Maslow identified (five in the hierarchy and two additional needs). Map Maslow’s needs onto the four drives in four-drive theory. Answer: While the four-drive theory reinforces the view of Maslow in that needs are part of human nature, it differs significantly in some respects. First, it avoids the assumption that everyone has the same needs hierarchy. Second, it considers how situation, personal experience, and cultural values affect one’s intensity, persistence and direction of effort. Third, four-drive theory clarifies the role of emotional intelligence with respect to motivation and behaviour. For example, employees with high EI are more sensitive to their own drives and are better able to avoid impulsive behaviour. We can map Maslow’s needs onto the four-drive theory in the following ways: Drive to acquire. This is the drive to seek, take control, and retain objects and personal experiences. This relates to physiological needs (Maslow), and forms the foundation for competition and our need for esteem (Maslow). Drive to bond. This is the drive to form social relationships and develop mutual caring commitments with others. This relates to belongingness (Maslow). Drive to comprehend. This is the drive to satisfy one’s curiosity, to know and understand ourselves and the environment around us. This relates to the higher order needs of self-actualization (Maslow). Drive to defend. This is the drive to protect ourselves physically and socially. This is the only drive that is reactive because it is triggered by a threat. Because the drive to defend also extends beyond protecting our physical self to defending our relationships and our belief systems it relates to safety, belongingness and esteem needs (Maslow). 2. Learned needs theory states that needs can be strengthened or weakened. How might a company strengthen the achievement needs of its management team? Answer: McClelland’s learned needs theory identi2ies three needs. However, this question requires students to focus only on the need for achievement (nAch) and describe how it could be strengthened or weakened. This theory holds that needs can be strengthened via reinforcement, learning and social conditions. Therefore, answers should address these strategies in a workplace setting. A typical answer might refer to the following: Behavioural modelling. The company could develop programs where trainees observe and interact with high achievers and try to replicate their actions and thoughts. For instance, they might be asked to write achievement oriented stories, or practice achievement-oriented behaviours in various types of simulations. They could also learn how to develop and write achievement plans. Provide Reinforcement. Employees could be encouraged to engage in more achievement– oriented behaviours, if the company provided a combination of effective feedback and recognition. The recognition could take the form of awards, praise, time off, or monetary incentives. Social conditions. The company could strive to establish an environment where achievement is celebrated by supervisors, and peers. Some group incentives for reaching certain objectives could be put in place to socialize success among groups of employees. 3. Two friends who have just completed an organizational behaviour course at another college inform you that employees must fulfill their need for self-esteem and social esteem before they can reach their full potential through self- actualization. What theory are these friends referring to? How does their statement differ from what you learned about that theory in this chapter? Answer: These two people are referring to Maslow’s needs hierarchy, and their statement suggests that they were taught that the theory was accurate. Yet Maslow’s needs hierarchy was rejected more than a quarter century ago. More recently, experts are forming the view that humanity does not have a single universal hierarchy of needs. Instead, a person’s hierarchy varies with their self-concept, particularly personal values and social identity. Thus, when a person fulfills his/her need for esteem, they might move on to another need than self-actualization. 4. You just closed a deal with an organizational client and this helps you in achieving your target that was set for you by the unit. Use expectancy theory to discuss how the events that will follow may increase your motivation and engagement. Answer: Expectancy theory states that work effort is directed towards behaviours that people believe will lead to desired outcomes. It has three components. First, the belief that effort will lead to a level of performance, which you did believe and were able to achieve in this case. Second, the belief that performance will lead to outcomes and third, that outcomes will lead to anticipated satisfaction. Now, if there were some rewards/ outcomes that you expected as a result of this performance and they were actually realized, it will increase your motivation. However, beyond the realization of outcomes, it is also important how much the outcomes matter to you, all of these things together will increase your engagement and motivation. 5. Describe a situation in which you used organizational behaviour modification to motivate someone’s behaviour. What specifically did you do? What was the result? Answer: Ask students to reflect on their experiences with influencing the behaviour of another person. It may be helpful to encourage students to first describe the behaviour they wanted to see demonstrated before considering what they did to influence the demonstration of the behaviour. The following steps are intended to serve as an outline: Ask students to specifically describe what behaviour they wanted the person to demonstrate. Identify events or cues they used to increase the likelihood the desired behaviour would be demonstrated. Identify what they did after the desired behaviour was demonstrated to influence its future occurrence. Discussion may also be generated regarding how they felt about the use of behaviour modification as a means to influence behaviour. Also, ask student to discuss how they felt about the use of behaviour modification as a means to influence behaviour. Some students may suggest we all practice behaviour modification on a day-to-day basis e.g. when we thank someone for something they did, however, encourage students to raise issues about ethical concerns – e.g. is behaviour modification a form of manipulation? In a previous job, I used organizational behavior modification to improve a colleague's punctuality. I noticed they frequently arrived late, affecting team productivity. I implemented a reward system where timely arrivals for a week earned a small recognition or incentive. This positive reinforcement led to improved punctuality, and the colleague continued arriving on time, positively impacting team dynamics and performance. 6. Using your knowledge of the characteristics of effective goals, establish two meaningful goals related to your performance in this class. Answer: Six conditions to maximize task effort and performance are identified. Effective goals should reflect each of the following elements. Specific. A specific goal communicate precise outcome expectations Relevant. Relates to the individual’s role and is within his/her control Challenging. Goal that is challenging enough to stretch the employee’s abilities and motivation toward peak performance Goal commitment. Commitment exists to accomplishing the goal Goal participation. Individual (sometimes) participates in setting the goal Goal feedback. Information that people receive about the consequences of their behaviour Students should be encouraged to write draft goal statements and then working in small groups or with a partner, refine their draft goal statements to ensure each of the above criteria are applied. Each goal statement needs to reflect the individual’s current level of performance, knowledge etc. For example, what is challenging to one student may be unattainable, therefore, de-motivating to another student. 7. Most people think they are “worth more” than they are paid. Furthermore, most employees seem to feel that they exhibit better leadership skills and interpersonal skills than others. Please comment on this human tendency. Answer: When people believe that the “average is above average”, this is not rational! When people in general are asked if they are “better than average” or below average, most tend to respond better than average. That isn’t statistically likely! We also know from studies of the military, that 90% of all US Officers in the US Navy think they’re in the top l0% of US Officers in the US Navy. Again…statistically improbable! The same holds true for leadership skills and interpersonal skills. Try finding anyone who thinks they’re below average in interpersonal skills. This nonrational nature of human nature is what makes many motivational programs demoralizing, and dehumanizing. If I think I’m better than average and you’re trying to “correct” my self-concept of myself, the likely outcome will be one of frustration and most likely disbelief. When we extrapolate to the realm of pay, equity theory is spot on in explaining why we think we’re underpaid vis-à-vis our coworkers. 8. A large organization has hired you as a consultant to identify day-to-day activities for middle managers to minimize distributive and procedural injustice. The company explains that employees have complained about distributive injustice because they have different opinions about what is fair (equity, equality, need) and what outcomes and inputs have the greatest value. They also experience procedural injustice due to misperceptions and differing expectations. Given these ambiguities, what would you recommend to middle managers? Answer: The answer to this question can be partitioned into distributive and procedural justice practices for middle managers: Distributive justice The incident states that employees have different opinions about preferences for equity, equality, and need, as well as weightings of inputs and outcomes. these are common problems, and can be difficult to resolve. The first step for managers is to gain a clearer understanding of what employees expect and value. To the extent that they have any control over distribution of resources (pay, job assignments, work schedules, etc), managers can look for preferred distributive criteria. For instance, if most employees recognize that vacation schedules should be based on equality (rather than equity or need), then managers can set up these schedules around equality (such as random selection when several people want the same time off). It is also important that managers point out the criteria used for these resource allocations so they are clearly understood. Regarding the different weighting of inputs and outcomes, managers face a difficult situation due to the many possible inputs and outcomes combined with the many employees. One action is to make it clear what criteria are used for resources – e.g. the better desks/offices are assigned to employee based on their seniority. These criteria should have some support among employees and need to be justified to the others. Managers also need to understand individual employee outcome preferences so if there discretion in resource allocation, managers can give employees more outcomes that they desire. This potentially maintains equity with other employees, yet the recipient employee might even feel overrewarded because the outcome is more valuable to that person. Procedural Justice Procedural justice is somewhat less complicated to apply because research has identified several distinct factors that seem to universally improve perceptions of procedural justice. Voice: A top priority is to give the employee who feels underrewarded an opportunity to speak up about his or her complaint and offer reasons for that complaint. Perceived as unbiased: Managers must not create incidents that others may misinterpret as favouritism (e.g., spending more time with one or two employees; seeing some employees socially after work); Rely on complete and accurate information: Managers need to demonstrate that they are familiar with all aspects of the decision, including counterarguments to their decision; Apply existing policies consistently: Managers need avoid exceptions to the rules of resource and reward allocation; Listen to all sides of the dispute: Managers need to demonstrate attentiveness to everyone who presents their complaint, comments, or ideas regarding the issue; Explain the decision: Managers need to have sound explanations for their decision, and actively communicate those explanations to employees affected by the decision; Right to appeal the decision to a higher authority: Employees who feel underrewarded by the decision should have the right to provide their arguments to a higher authority (e.g. the boss’s boss) if the above actions do not resolve the matter. CASE STUDY: PREDICTING HARRY’S WORK EFFORT Case Synopsis This case presents an interview with Harry, an employee who works in an undisclosed job. The interviewer asks Harry various questions about his job, all of which are directed toward elements of the expectancy theory of motivation model. The information provided enables students to figure out whether Harry is motivated to engage in a high or lower level of effort in his job. Suggested Answers to Discussion Question 1. Use the expectancy theory model to predict Harry’s motivation to achieve high or acceptable performance in his job. Identify and discuss the factors that influence this motivation. Answer: Students should work systematically through the three elements of expectancy theory to reach their conclusion. The effort level scores are calculated by multiplying each valence by the appropriate P-to-O expectancy, summing these results, then multiplying the sum by the E-to-P expectancy. The results are presented in the exhibit below. The result is that Harry is more motivated to exert lower effort (.816) than high effort (.621). (Note: These values become .896 and .711 if the valence of a secure job is 1.0 rather than 0.9.) Effort-to-performance expectancy: All expectancies are probabilities ranging from 0 (no chance) to 1.0 (definitely will occur). The E-to-P expectancies are explicitly stated in the interview. Performance-to-outcome expectancy: Students need to first identify the outcomes that are salient to Harry. these seem to be job security, raise, promotion, and ridicule from coworkers. The P-to-O expectancies for raise and promotion are explicitly stated in the interview. The expectancy for ridicule in the high performance level is also explicitly stated. The expectancy of ridicule at the acceptable performance level is zero based on Harry’s statement that “the guys will not make fun of me” in that situation. A secure job has a 1.0 expectancy at both performance levels because Harry “is certain” to keep his job if he works at either a high or acceptable performance level. Valences: Valence scores can have any equally-balanced range. the exhibit below uses the range from -1.0 to +1.0. Secure job is “the most important” outcome, so it is assigned at least the same value as ridicule (either .9 or 1.0). CLASS EXERCISE: NEEDS PRIORITY EXERCISE Purpose This class exercise is designed to help students understand employee needs in the workplace. Instructions (Small Class) Step 1: The table below lists in alphabetical order 16 characteristics of the job or work environment. Working alone, use the far-left column to rank-order the importance of these characteristics to you personally. Write in “1” beside the most important characteristic, “2” for the second most important, and so on through to “16” for the least important characteristic on this list. Step 2: Identify any three (3) of these work attributes that you believe have the largest score differences between Generation Y (Millennial) male and female postsecondary students (i.e., those born in 1980 or after). Indicate which gender you think identifies that attribute as more important. Step 3: Students are assigned to teams, where they compare each other’s rank-order results as well as perceived gender differences in needs. Note reasons for the largest variations in rankings and be prepared to discuss these reasons with the entire class. Students should pay close attention to different needs, self-concepts, and various forms of diversity (culture, profession, age, etc.) within your class to identify possible explanations for any variation of results across students. Step 4: The instructor will provide results of a recent large-scale survey of Generation-Y/Millennial postsecondary students (i.e. born in 1980 or after). When these results are presented, identify the reasons for any noticeable differences in the class. Relate the differences to your understanding of the emerging view of employee needs and drives in work settings. For gender differences, discuss reasons why men and women might differ on these work-related attributes. Instructions (Large Class) Step 1 and Step 2: Same as above. Step 3: The instructor will ask students, by a show of hands (or use of classroom technology), to identify their topranked attributes as well as the attributes believed to have the greatest gender differences among Gen-Yers. Step 4: Same as above. Comments to Instructors The items in this activity were surveyed to 23,413 millennial undergraduate students at Canadian universities. The results of that large-scale study are shown in the table on the next page. The table shows the mean scores (on a fivepoint scale) for each of the 16 job attributes as well as the ranking of those attributes. These results provide some insight regarding how Millennials think about employee needs. However, we hasten to point out that the study also found significant differences by gender, visible minority status, grade point average, work experience, and year of study. The differences by visible minority status were mainly that those in the visible minority group gave much higher importance to strong commitment to employment diversity. As for gender differences, women gave much higher ratings compared to men for strong commitment to employment diversity, opportunities to have a social impact, commitment to social responsibility, good health and benefits plan, and opportunities to have a personal impact. This exercise is a popular activity because students have varied opinions regarding which needs are most important. Also, students are often surprised to see how different their priorities are to each other. Part of this activity involves linking the specific items in the exhibit to employee needs. This should be done with both Maslow’s needs hierarchy and with the four drives in four-drive theory. For example, students should notice that “good people to work with” relates to the drive to bond (four drive theory) and need for affiliation (Maslow’s hierarchy). Needs Priority Survey Results Attributes of Work (Listed Alphabetically) Mean Survey Score ( where 5=essential; 1=not at all important) Ranking based on survey results (1=most important) Challenging work 4.07 10 Commitment to social responsibility 3.84 12 Good health and benefits plan 4.32 6 Good initial salary level 4.17 9 Good people to report to 4.43 3 Good people to work with 4.46 2 Good training opportunities/developing new skills 4.41 4 Good variety of work 4.23 7 Job security 4.18 8 Opportunities for advancement in position 4.49 1 Opportunities to have a personal impact 3.98 11 Opportunities to have a social impact 3.82 13 Opportunity to travel 3.46 16 Organization is a leader in its field 3.65 14 Strong commitment to employee diversity 3.58 15 Work-Life balance 4.33 5 Based on information in: Ng, E., Schweitzer, L., & Lyons, S. (2010). New Generation, Great Expectations: A Field Study of the Millennial Generation. Journal of Business and Psychology, 25(2), 281-292. SELF-ASSESSMENT: NEED STRENGTH QUESTIONNAIRE Purpose This self-assessment is designed to help students to estimate their level of need for achievement and need for social approval. Overview and Instructions Although everyone has the same innate drives, our secondary or learned needs vary based on our self-concept. This self-assessment provides an estimate of your need strength on selected secondary needs. Read each of the statements below and check the response that you believe best reflects your position regarding each statement. Then use the scoring key in Appendix B to calculate your results. To receive a meaningful estimate of your need strength, you need to answer each item honestly and with reflection to your personal experiences. Class discussion will focus on the meaning of the needs measured in this self-assessment as well as their relevance in the workplace. Feedback for the Personal Needs Scale This instrument includes two scales: achievement striving and need for social approval. Achievement Striving This scale, formally called “achievement striving,” estimates the extent to which you are motivated to take on and achieve challenging personal goals. It includes a desire to perform better than others and to reach one’s potential. This scale ranges from 0 to 28. How high or low is your need for achievement? The ideal would be to compare your score with the collective results of other students in your class. Otherwise, the following exhibit offers a rough set of norms for you to compare your score on this scale. Score Interpretation 24-28 18-23 12-17 6-11 0-5 High level of need for achievement Above average level of need for achievement Average level of need for achievement Below average level of need for achievement Low level of need for achievement Need for Social Approval The need for social approval scale estimates the extent to which your are motivated to seek favourable evaluation from others. Based on the drive to bond, the need for social approval is a secondary need in that people vary in this need based on their self-concept, values, personality, and possibly socialized social norms. This scale ranges from 0 to 32. How high or low is your need for social approval? The ideal would be to compare your score with the collective results of other students in your class. Otherwise, the following exhibit offers a rough set of norms for you to compare your score on this scale. Score Interpretation 28-32 20-27 12-19 6-11 0-5 High level of need for social approval Above average level of social approval Average level of need for social approval Below average level of need for social approval Low level of need for social approval 6. Applied Performance Practices SOLUTIONS TO CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS 1. As a consultant, you have been asked to recommend either a gainsharing plan or a profit-sharing plan for employees who work in the four regional distribution and warehousing facilities of a large retail organization. Which reward system would you recommend? Explain your answer. Answer: Gainsharing plans are team rewards that motivate team members to reduce costs and increase labour efficiency in their work process. Profit sharing includes any arrangement where a designated group of employees receives a share of corporate profits. In this situation, a gainsharing plan in each of the four regional facilities would probably be more appropriate. The main reason is that these employees would have a small effect on corporate profits, but could significantly influence costs in their respective facility. As noted in the textbook, rewards are more effective when employees have direct control over the outcomes measured for those rewards. A related explanation is that gainsharing is team-based whereas profit sharing applies to al employees. The mandate here is clearly to introduce a reward system for people within the four facilities, not a reward for the entire organization. 2. Which of the performance reward practices—individual, team, or organizational—would work better in improving organizational goals? Please comment with reference to an organization of your choice. Answer: Individual, team or organizational performance based rewards are likely to work differently depending on the type of organization. For example, in a research based organization, individual reward practices are likely to discourage researchers from sharing thoughts and ideas and any information related to their research with their colleagues. Team rewards are likely to work better because it will encourage researchers to come together as groups and will enhance within-group sharing practices. Organizational level rewards may create a culture where the researchers feel aligned with the organization’s success, however, it may not work enough to motivate the poor-performers nor provide enough incentives for the top performers to work harder. 3. Kelowna Tire Corporation redesigned its production facilities around a team-based system. However, the company president believes that employees will not be motivated unless they receive incentives based on their individual performance. Give three reasons why Kelowna Tire should introduce team-based rather than individual rewards in this setting. Answer: Kelowna Tire should definitely use team rather than only individual rewards in this situation. One reason is that the company probably won’t be able to identify or measure individual contributions very well in the redesigned production facility. Even if Kelowna Tire could distinguish individual performance, it should use team incentives because they tend to make employees more co-operative and less competitive. People see that that their bonuses or other incentives depend on how well they work with co-workers, and they act accordingly. The third reason for having team rewards in team settings is that they influence employee preferences for teambased work arrangements. If Kelowna Tire wants employees to accept and support the team-based structure, a team-based reward system would help to increase that acceptance. 4. What can organizations do to increase the effectiveness of financial rewards? Answer: Link rewards to performance. Use objective performance criteria; ensure rewards are timely and significant enough to create positive emotions. Ensure rewards are relevant. Reward people for performance within their control/influence and be ready to adjust performance measures due to factors beyond employees’ control. Ensure rewards are valued. Know your employee and what you need and want. Watch out for unintended consequences. Use pilot projects to test the impact the reward will have on employees and make changes before implementing throughout the organization. 5. Most of us have watched pizzas being made while waiting in a pizzeria. What level of job specialization do you usually notice in these operations? Why does this high or low level of specialization exist? If some pizzerias have different levels of specialization than others, identify the contingencies that might explain these differences. Answer: The answer to this question partly depends on how pizzas are made in your area. Our nonsystematic observation of pizza-making is that, in busy pizza places, several people are assigned to specific tasks. One person prepares the dough; one or more people fill the orders (puts ingredients on the pizza and places it in the conveyor or fixed oven); someone else unloads, cuts, and boxes the cooked pizzas. The person operating the cash register usually has the pizza unloading task. Other people perform the pizza delivery task. This relatively high level of specialization occurs because it increases efficiency. Time is saved because employees don’t change tasks. They develop their skills quickly in their assigned task (an important issue where pizza shops rely on students and other temporary part-time staff). This specialization also allows the store to assign people to tasks for which they demonstrate the best skill. For example, some people have better coordination at tossing the pizza dough so it spreads out evenly. Others have good physical strength to cut pizzas. Students will probably identify different degrees of specialization than we have noted here. Smaller pizza shops may be operated by two people who share most tasks (except delivery). They might both prepare the pizzas as well as load and unload them from the oven. Technology may also play a role in the division of labour. Conveyor-type ovens (uncooked pizza is placed on one end and cooked pizza comes out the other end) would allow two people to load and unload the pizzas, respectively. A fixed oven (where the pizza is loaded in and pulled out) might work better with one person because he/she keeps track of the cooking time. Lastly, some students might note that jobs are generally specialized but there is job rotation throughout the shift. This might occur to minimize boredom and avoid repetitive strain injuries. 6. Can a manager or supervisor “empower” an employee? Discuss fully. Answer: Empowerment refers to a feeling of control and self-efficacy that emerges when people are given power in a previously powerless situation. Empowered people are given autonomy – the freedom, independence, and discretion over their work activities. They are assigned tasks that have high levels of task significance – importance to themselves and others. In summary, empowerment is a psychological concept. Supervisors or managers cannot directly empower an employee. However, they can create a work environment where employees are more likely to experience empowerment. Some of these initiatives include: •Ensuring employees have the necessary competencies to be effective •Reducing bureaucratic control •Designing jobs that provide task significance and task identify •Ensuring employees have the information and resources they need •Appreciating learning and recognizing mistakes are part of the learning employees •Trusting employees 7. Describe a time when you practised self-leadership to per- form a task successfully. With reference to each step in the self-leadership process, describe what you did to achieve this success. Answer: This question provides the opportunity for students to reflect on their own application and experience with self leadership. Increasingly, corporate leaders desire to hire employees with the ability to demonstrate self-leadership. Reflecting on a time when you demonstrated self-leadership and describing your behaviours will prepare you to respond to an interview question designed to assess this valued competency. Responses will vary. Following are some considerations that an organizational recruiter may look for: Personal goal setting. Establishing goals that were specific, results-oriented and challenging. Constructive thought patterns. Engaging in positive self talk and/or using mental imagery to visualize successful completion of a task. Designing natural rewards. Considering your own needs and preferences to make your job more motivating and satisfying. Self-monitoring. Keeping track of your progress and/or ensuring you received feedback needed to enhance your performance. Self-reinforcement. Using self-induced forms of positive reinforcement to reward yourself for completing a task or achieving a goal. 8. Can self-leadership replace formal leadership in an organizational setting? Answer: Self-leadership is an applied performance practice that enhances and supports formal leadership in an organization. Self-leadership is a process where people regulate their own actions and manage themselves most of the time. Effective formal leadership practices will still be needed in certain situations to ensure alignment of individual and team results with organizational goals. CASE STUDY: YAKKATECH LTD. Case Synopsis This case describes events at the customer service centres of YakkaTech Ltd., an information technology services firm employing 1500 people across Canada. YakkaTech relies on a ticket system, in which staff complete work for a specific “ticket” rather than serve one client all of the time. The system (as well as dramatically larger customer service centres) has resulted in several problems, including poorer customer service, employee indifference to client problems, slow response, and lack of staff knowledge about each client. Staff turnover has increased above the industry average. Employees report that the work is monotonous and they feel disconnected from their work results. the company increased pay rates and introduced a vested profit-sharing plan to improve morale and reduce turnover. turnover dropped, but customer complaints and productivity remain below expectations or have worsened. Discussion Questions with Suggested Answers 1. What symptom(s) in this case suggest that something has gone wrong? Answer: This case identifies several symptoms, including poorer customer service, employee indifference to client problems, slow response, lack of staff knowledge about each client, high staff turnover (prior to reward system change), declining employee referrals, lower productivity. Students should distinguish these symptoms according to their causes (problem analysis). 2. What are the main causes of these symptoms? Answer: (a) Jobs Have Low Motivational Potential The main problem in this case is that the jobs have low motivational potential. Students need to analyze the motivational potential of these jobs by considering the five core job characteristics: Skill variety – would seem to be moderate because each ticket would result in a variety of tasks. However, staff say the work gets monotonous over time. Furthermore, staff are organized into departments, which may result in a narrow range of tasks performed by each person. Task identity – Some students might say task identity is high because staff complete an entire ticket. but is the ticket an entire task? The case suggests that managing the clients entire system (or subsystem, such as software maintenance, hardware, maintenance, etc) is the “whole task”. As such, the ticket system results in fairly low task identity. Task significance – This appears to be quite low because staff receive little or feedback on how their work affects the client. Also, if they perform one small task for a particular client (low task identity), the significance of their work is less apparent, and likely perceived to be low. Autonomy – Not much information on autonomy. We don’t know whether staff members need to follow precise procedures or whether they have a lot of freedom to conduct their work. However, the ticket system necessarily restricts autonomy regarding managing one’s job duties, because staff are fed precise jobs to perform, rather than having the autonomy to arrange timing on when they perform a variety of jobs. Job feedback – Not much information on job feedback. One could surmise that staff receive some job feedback in that they receive systems feedback that software or a network is now operating properly. But the case indicates that they receive no information about longer-term job feedback. They don’t know whether their actions produced a long-term or only brief solution to the problem, because a recurring problem results in a new ticket submitted randomly to another staff member. Furthermore, the case implies that staff have limited direct interaction with clients. client feedback, including subtle verbal and nonverbal communication, can be considered a form of job feedback, so job feedback is low in this regard. This diagnosis predicts that employees experience low meaninglessness in their jobs, a conditions which is verified in employee comments that they feel disconnected from the results of their work and that employees show little care towards client issues. Jobs with low motivational potential also result in lower job satisfaction and lower work effectiveness, both of which are apparent in this case. (b) Poor Alignment of Money and Rewards The latter part of this case stated that YakkaTech increased raise pay rates for its customer service staff to become among the highest in the industry. The assumption was that the high pay rates would improve morale and reduce turnover, thereby reducing hiring costs and improving productivity. In addition, YakkaTech introduced a vested profit-sharing plan, in which employees received the profit-sharing bonus only if they remained with the company for two years after the bonus was awarded. these actions reduced turnover because both were clearly linked to continued employment. the vested profit sharing plan punished those who quit because they lost up to two years of profit sharing bonus. the significant pay increase punished those who left because few other jobs in the industry paid as well. However, the reward system was misaligned in other ways. First, these pay interventions were only remotely associated with individual job performance. Specifically, the profit sharing bonus would have been affected to a very small extent by each employees performance. This remote connection is unlikely to motivate employees to perform better, particularly in a company of this size and when the bonus is not paid out two years later. the pay system also relies heavily on individual membership, whereas it appears that these jobs have a degree of interdependence, such as working with the on0site team or sharing a ticket with people in another department. Thus, the individual reward plan was not aligned with the work to some extent. (c) Continuance Commitment from Golden Handcuffs Some students will analyze this case, in part, from the perspective or continuance commitment. Specifically, the company introduced a vested profit-sharing plan, in which employees receive the profit sharing bonus for that year only if they remain with the company for the subsequent two years. This situation creates continuance commitment, in which it becomes more costly to leave the company – employees who quit or are sacked for just cause lose up to two years of profit sharing bonus. Continuance commitment tends to produce lower job performance and lower job satisfaction, both of which occurred in this case after the vested profit-sharing plan was introduced. (d) Exit-Voice-Loyalty-Neglect (EVLN) Some students might apply the EVLN model. In this case, however, EVLN is more a description of what happened rather than any explanation. Exit (high turnover until pay incentive introduced); Voice (indirect complaints to mgt, survey results); Loyalty (not much evidence of this); Neglect (poor service, not passing on jobs). 3. What actions should YakkaTech executives take to correct these problems? Answer: The clearest action in this case is to reorganize jobs to increase their motivational potential as well as improve coordination for interdependent work. Job enrichment around establishing client relationships seems to be well suited to this situation. In effect, individuals (or more likely, teams) would be organized around clients such that clients approach the same staff for all of their IT problems and needs. Staff members would feel a greater sense of task significance and task identity. They would develop a better understanding of the client’s needs for each incident, would develop better feedback about the effectiveness of their interventions, and would feel more responsibility for their actions (because of greater psychological closeness to the client). A second solution is to revise the reward and recognition practices so they are aligned with the work and desirable attitudes and behaviours. If jobs are redesigned around teams and clients, then a team-based reward system could be considered because specific people can be identified with specific long-term client successes and failures. Profit sharing might remain, but more proximate rewards are preferred. TEAM EXERCISE: IS STUDENT WORK ENRICHED? Purpose This exercise is designed to help students to learn how to measure the motivational potential of jobs and to evaluate the extent that jobs should be further enriched. Instructions (Small Class) Being a student is like a job in several ways. You have tasks to perform and someone (such as your instructor) oversees your work. Although few people want to be students most of their lives (the pay rate is too low!), it may be interesting to determine how enriched your job is as a student. Step 1: Students are placed into teams (preferably 4 or 5 people). Step 2: Working alone, each student completes both sets of measures in this exercise. Then, using the guidelines below, they individually calculate the score for the five core job characteristics as well as the overall motivating potential score for the job. Step 3: Members of each team compare their individual results. The group should identify differences of opinion for each core job characteristic. They should also note which core jobs characteristics have the lowest scores and recommend how these scores could be increased. Step 4: The entire class will now meet to discuss the results of the exercise. The instructor may ask some teams to present their comparisons and recommendations for a particular core job characteristic. Instructions (Large Class) Step 1: Working alone, each student completes both sets of measures in this exercise. Then, using the guidelines below, they individually calculate the score for the five core job characteristics as well as the overall motivating potential score for the job. Step 2: Using a show of hands or classroom technology, students indicate their results for each core job characteristics. The instructor will ask for results for several bands across the range of the scales. Alternatively, student can complete this activity prior to class and submit their results through online classroom technology. Later, the instructors will provide feedback to the class showing the collective results (i.e. distribution of results across the range of scores). Step 3: Where possible. t instructor might ask students with very high or very low results to discuss their views with the class. Comments to Instructors This exercise is self-explanatory. The answer key is provided in the textbook for students to score their own results. they can also completed this self-assessment online, with automatic scoring and documented feedback. Students tend to enjoy this exercise because it forces them to evaluate something that is central to them (particularly full-time students). Be prepared for some searching questions about why some instructors don’t make student work more enriched! Here are some discussion activities for this exercise. 1. Compare student enrichment scores with those of other jobs. The average scores of the five core job characteristics and MPS for selected job groups are presented in the exhibit below. (This information is not provided in the textbook.) 2. Determine where students are least enriched in their work, and determine how this could become more enriched. In other words, after identifying the weakest core job characteristic(s), identify job enrichment strategies that would raise the motivating potential score for students along this or these dimensions. SELF-ASSESSMENT: WHAT IS YOUR ATTITUDE TOWARD MONEY? Purpose This exercise is designed to help students to understand the types of attitudes toward money and to assess their attitude toward money. Overview Money is a fundamental part of the employment relationship, but it is more than just an economic medium of exchange. Money affects our needs, our emotions, and our self-perception. People hold a variety of attitudes towards money. One set of attitudes, known as the “money ethic”, is measured in this self-assessment. Instructions Students are asked to read each of the statements in the survey instrument and circle the response that they believe best reflects their position regarding each statement. Student then use the scoring key in Appendix B to calculate their results., or they can have the results self-scored by using the student CD. Feedback for the Money Attitude Scale This self-assessment generates considerable interest among students, not surprising given the interest that most people have about money. This money attitude scale estimates the person’s overall “money ethic” as well as scores on its three dimensions: money as power/prestige, retention time, and money anxiety. Each subscale has a potential score ranging from 4 to 20 points; the overall money attitude scale has a range from 12 to 60 points. Higher scores indicate that the person has a higher level of each attitude. The following tables indicate the range of scores among a sample of over 200 MBA students. Money as Power/Prestige People with higher scores on this dimension tend to use money to influence and impress others. Scores on this subscale range from 4 to 20. The average score among a sample of MBA students was 9.9. Score Interpretation 12 to 20 9 to 11 4 to 8 High power/prestige score Moderate power/prestige score Low power/prestige score Retention Time People with higher scores on this dimension tend to be careful financial planners. Scores on this subscale range from 4 to 20. The average score among a sample of MBA students was 15. Score Interpretation 17 to 20 14 to 16 4 to 13 High retention time score Moderate retention time score Low retention time score Money Anxiety People with higher scores on this dimension tend to view money as a source of anxiety. Scores on this subscale range from 4 to 20. The average score among a sample of MBA students was 12.8. Score Interpretation 12 to 20 9 to 11 4 to 8 High money anxiety score Moderate money anxiety score Low money anxiety score Money Attitude Total This is a general estimate of how much respect and attention you give to money. Scores on this total scale range from 12 to 60. The average score among a sample of MBA students was 37.6. Score Interpretation 41 to 60 35 to 40 16 to 34 High money ethic score Moderate money ethic score Low money ethic score Solution Manual for Organisational Behaviour: Emerging Knowledge, Global Insights Steven McShane, Mara Olekalns, Alex Newman, Angela Martin 9781760421649, 9780071016261