Question

Read the following scenario and rubric carefully. Write 3-4 paragraph response to the questions. Submit your responses in the text box or upload and submit a Word document.

Scenario 1: Ethics and Productivity:

The quarterly report to shareholders is coming up and the board of directors wants a report on the company’s productivity this quarter. You are a manager and your department’s production numbers have dropped dramatically because of a new system that’s been implemented but employees are not fully on board with the new system and reluctant to make changes to “the way we’ve always done it.” As the manager of the department, you are partially responsible for the decrease in productivity.

1. How would you motivate your team to increase productivity?
2. Your team’s productivity has been good in the past and you think once you make some changes and your team adjusts to the new system, productivity will increase. Your boss wants the detailed productivity results for the report tomorrow. If you show poor productivity, you may lose your job or be demoted. What would you put in the report to your boss?

Answer 1

1. How would you motivate your team to increase productivity?

As we can see in this case that our employees aren't performing as well as their standards because of the mismanagement and the resistance to use the new system, the following steps could be taken to ensure and motivate the team to increase their productivity:

1. Change commumication and management: One effectively way to manage and motivate the employees for better productivity would be change communication and management. Instead of incorporating and implementing the system all by itself, implement the system step by step. Introduce each step with effective training and communication so that people could learn in an efficient manner.

2. Incentive and motivation: Try to put on rewards and other appreciative achievements looking onto which the employees would prefer to learn and perform in a better manner. For example, in the sales department you can implement a new tactic where if the employees adapt the system make sales using this system, more incentive and variable would be provided to them.

3. Feedback: At last, always ensure feedback. Feedback at every level would make the employee feel connected to you as the manager at all means. They can complaints about the resources or management system, suggest some new methods, new recommendations etc to make sure this change is able motivate people in a better manner.

2. Your team’s productivity has been good in the past and you think once you make some changes and your team adjusts to the new system, productivity will increase. Your boss wants the detailed productivity results for the report tomorrow. If you show poor productivity, you may lose your job or be demoted. What would you put in the report to your boss?

Seeing the actual position and forecasting that if more efforts could be put into the team to make them being introduced and adapt with the new system and the changes, your team could actually show real life increase in the productivity . Thus, this is an ethical dilemma where we either tell the truth and lose the job so that a new manager would have to come and introduce the whole system all together or state the facts in such a manner where we don't look bad in our position, understand and communicate the change where the employees would now adjust and be able to show better productivity. Seeing both options, I would rather state the facts in a general manner where I would state that the new system is working effectively and people are getting a grab over the system and trying to incorporate it in their professional lives. Better results are waited ahead. By saying this you are ensuring the directors that you have startes your process and better productivity is promised anyhow.