Question

GENERAL BUSINESS SCENARIO:

Bridget Jones has been the manager of the research office at her company for over a year. She is beginning to wonder if she will ever be comfortable in this role. Her employees seem dissatisfied and aren't working their hardest. Bridget leaves work most days feeling that there must be a better way to manage.

Remembering the lessons of the Hawthorne studies, Bridget works hard to praise her employees regularly. The work that her employees do is relatively interesting and there are considerable opportunities for advancement and growth. Bridget holds regular staff meetings to get input from her employees before making decisions. In spite of these efforts, Bridget's employees seem to be dissatisfied.

At the company's annual meeting, she runs into Cliff Richards, her predecessor in the job. She shares her frustrations and asks Cliff for advice. Cliff tells her "Management is simple - people are naturally lazy and uncooperative. To make them productive, they must be punished for negative behavior and rewarded when they work hard." Bridget finds this hard to accept, but replies with "Thanks for the advice, Cliff. I'll think about what you said."

QUESTION4: A check of the Internet and the textbook should give you an understanding of different strategies and techniques for enhancing motivation. Some companies and organizations use one or more of these strategies to make their organization a rewarding place to work.

Choose one you would like the organization you work for (or hope to work for) to use. Why did you choose it? Describe it.  Give any advantages and/or disadvantages in using this one for the organization.

Outside of the world of work, some parents use reinforcement/behavior modification when raising children. Have you ever used this or has someone ever used this on you?

Answer 1

In the above scenario, If I were Bridget Jones, and I had to motivate my staff, the first action I'd take is try to understand the root cause of demotivation among the employees. Then, after discovering the real reason for their dismay, I would devise a strategy for boosting their moral. Using performance based assessment, i.e. their increments, promotions, bonuses, etc. would be tied to their performance. The high achievers would receive awards and incentives, while the low or under performers would receive training for skill and knowledge development.

The benefit of this would be to first identify the high and low performers. To understand the training needs and motivate employees. The drawback of this method would be, there might arise an element of jealousy among employees which may hamper the harmony of the team.

Yes, I have used reinforcement while handling my 4 year old son when he was reluctant to go to school. Though, after scolding he went to school, he was not happy. He did not understand the reason why he has to go to school. He threw tantrums the next day too. This continued for a week. He was unhappy and I was exhausted. Ultimately, I realized I had to change my strategy. I explained him the importance of school, showed him my school day pictures and explained that if he wanted to get the toys he desired, he had to earn the money. For earning, he needed the education and thus, going to school was required. Therefore his need or rather want for expensive toys was the motivation for which he happily attended school thence onwards.