II. Root Cause Case Study Analysis
Identify root causes of known organizational issues from a human behavior perspective.
There are several major organizational issues that have contributed to low productivity and lack of motivation at Engstrom. The events that commenced Engstrom’s organizational issues stem from the failure of the Scanlon Bonus Plan (Beer, 2008). The system was created so that employees became motivated to exceed the standard. Additionally, several aspects that contributed to a healthy work environment also reduced due to the failure of the Scanlon Bonus Plan; such as employee motivation, trust between individuals, and overall work culture. Identifying and analyzing the root causes of the issue will help assist in preventing
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The trust that once existed between employee and employer no longer existed. Since the incentive system became an expectation rather than a reward when work exceeded the standard, employees began to blame their employers when the system disappeared. Managers and employees created a psychological distance between themselves due to all the questions that were asked, yet were unanswered (Newsome, 2015). Engstrom workers became suspicious of the calculations used for their bonuses, due in part to the change in calculations to determine the bonuses (Beer, 2008). Additionally, workers began to believe that managers were receiving a larger bonus increase. Once the blame was pointed, a sense of trust no longer existed between the employers and employees at Engstrom. Open communication between employer and employee would have kept suspicions from rising and would have shed light on the bonus …show more content…
Similar to the equity theory, the expectancy theory has three elements that must be met in order for an employee to exert extra effort on a task. The first of the three elements of the equity theory is valence, which is how much an employee desires the reward at stake. It is based on an individual’s needs, goals, values, and source of motivation. Expectancy is the self-estimate of probability of obtaining the reward. It is the belief that an effort will result in attaining the desired performance goals. Expectancy is based on past experience and perceived difficulty of the goals. The third element of the expectancy theory is instrumentality, which is the belief that an individual will receive a desired outcome if the performance expectations are met. The outcome can come in the form of a pay increase, promotion, recognition, or a sense of accomplishment (Boundless, 2016). Instrumentality is low when the outcome is the same for all levels of performance. If all three elements meet a positive result, an employee will be motivated to give a greater effort for the task at hand. If the three elements of the expectancy theory were met regarding the Engstrom employees, more effort would be exerted for their daily tasks. Unfortunately, valence is the only element that was met which
This can also relate to the process theories such as the expectancy and equity theories. The expectancy theory (Appendix c) predicts that individuals will be motivated if they value the reward given for work and believe this is a just reward. By working hard and professionally they can achieve promotion and so become motivated. The basis of the equity theory is related to one’s perception of job input and outcomes and those of their colleagues (Appendix d). Employees in Primark who have high input and outcomes can see these outcomes through the opportunity of promotion. However such fairness does not always arise in Primark.
Inkson and Kolb discuss the issue of expectancy theory, which is how an employee values the outcome of putting in a lot of effort in order to achieve a goal. ?Motivation declines when there is uncertainty of the lineages between performance and effort? (Inkson and Kolb, 1999, p.327) Outcomes can include bonuses and or praise (extrinsic rewards) and feelings of accomplishment (intrinsic rewards).
Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant is experiencing productivity and quality problems arising from the organizational effects of the Scanlon Plan, an incentive plan that is tied to individual performance. As a consequence of the highly economic-centered nature of the Scanlon Plan, employees have already adapted to the custodial model of organizational behavior where the main basis is the use of economic resources, and the managerial orientation predominantly relies on money to improve performance. Consequently, employees are oriented around security and benefits which developed their dependence on the organization for their financial welfare. Though the Scanlon Plan has supportive model dimensions because as a form of upward communication, employees
The intent of this milestone is to analyze the case study entitled “Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant: Motivating in Good Times and Bad”. Throughout the case study numerous known organizational issues were presented. Human behavior theories are connected with reasonably information to explain the numerous root causes related to the issues from a human conduct point of view. By investigating these causes I will acknowledge the breakdown with tenacious research proof. I went into depth with my examination of three noteworthy issues, lack of motivation, Individual moral, and inadequate communication between management and employees. The resulting impact of each of these root causes is clarified with the support of human behavior theories. The theories ultimately gave reasons for why people behave the way they do in an organizational setting.
The expectancy theory was developed by Victor H. Vroom in 1964 as a systematic explanation of individual motivation within the workplace. This theory put forth three key components: expectancy, performance, and valence. From the base component of the theory, which is expectancy, behavior is built by an individual’s value of the reward or valence. Vroom’s theory of expectancy is used by manager to understand how individual employees are motivated and how they will respond to rewards closely tied to the tasks given. Expectancy is proposed to be an individual’s understanding of how their effort leads to a given performance level. Vroom put forth in his theory that individuals believe the more effort put into a task or objective, the better
Vroom’s expectancy theory explains that an individual’s belief that a given level of effort will result in successful performance at task (Fischer and Baack, 2013). This theory includes three primary elements: expectancy, instrumentality, and valence. Effort leads to performance which leads to reward. In Debbie’s case her expectancy and instrumentality is low because she feels no matter how hard she tries she will never get the recognition she feels she deserves with this company. Debbie’s valance was high when she received praise and recognition for obtaining her Master’s degree, but again went low when she learn of the two LPN’s receiving pay increases not for furthering their education or taking on more responsibilities but for complaining.
I believe that one of Engstrom’s strengths would be the fact they were able to identify the low morale by the employees and correlate it with the low productivity. I actually commend Bent for doing research and finding a program that has proven to work in many other companies. The Scanlon Plan is the oldest organization-wide incentive plan with proven success still in use in the United States. The first Scanlon Plan was developed in the 1930’s by Joseph Scanlon. Scanlon was a cost accountant by training and a steelworkers’ union official at a steel mi facing bankruptcy. (Beer & Collins 2008). The Scanlon Plan reinforced teamwork and cooperation across work groups while they focus attention on cost savings and motivating employees to “work smarter, not harder”. (Beer & Collins 2008). A problem and weakness in the program came when the employees distrusted the bonus calculations. Some employees felt the company was “playing with” numbers when they changed the
The first group of Supervisor A’s employees fail to advance past the effort-performance relationship component of Expectancy theory. These employees have little to no expectancy that their effort translates into better performance. This is primarily because they believe the new production process is too difficult, as they have stated the new process requires more hand dexterity than they are currently capable of. To overcome this hurdle and make the production goals obtainable, the company should consider providing reasonable accommodations to make the production process less difficult for these employees. Secondly, the company should consider providing better training as it may be an issue of the employees not
According to the expectancy theory of motivation, in the workplace an employee’s willingness to work is dependent upon the end result of working and how important the end result is to the employee. An employee will be more compelled to put forth more effort if it is believed that the consequence of doing so will be a positive performance evaluation. The employee must believe that by achieving a positive performance evaluation, an incentive will be achieved. The incentive, whether it is monetary or advancement, must benefit the employee (Robbins, 2012).
Savaria’s motivation can be supported through the Vroom Expectancy Motivation Theory. This theory links the performance of an individual effort to his motivation with the purpose of increasing satisfaction and minimizing dissatisfaction. According to Vroom, the performance of an employee is based on individual factors; personality, skills, knowledge, experience and abilities. The Vroom theory accounts to three variables; Expectancy, Instrumentality, and Valance.
Keeping employees motivated in addition to creating incentives and/or additional ways for employees to receive more compensation will create better performance overall within an organization. Contrary if company B gives their employees incentives to perform, without any motivational tactics they probably will not have as many top performances as company A, in addition the company may only seek short term rewards verses have long term success. Lack of motivation for employees within an organization, can cause long term damage for the company’s success. Different things motivate everyone; therefore there should be a system in place to keep employees motivated for the long term success of the company. In the MBM textbook under the concept of incentives, compensation, and motivation, there are a couple of different views of how it should be applied within an organization. We will discuss The Social Role of Profit, Personal Profit and Losses, and the way Market-Based Management view how incentives, compensation, and motivation should be applied and the things that effectively drive employees’ actions while at work.
Expectancy theory of motivation Hausser Food. Employees and organization both of them have expectation and needs. Organization have expectation to their employees through target. Employees have expectation to the organization or company through their reward if they can reach or above the target. In this point of view The employees of Florida team are feel under rewarded which although they have high E to P that have good P to O
Behavior based motivation such as Equity Theory, Expectancy Theory and Reinforcement Theories are built on the premise that employee behavior is directly linked to the consequences of their actions.
helpful individual, and others viewed his work as being inconsistence and spotty at times. Rios is required to submit a formal performance evaluation on all of her workers, and Barlow’s performance appraisal was the most challenging yet she had to face. Lack of Motivation Barlow’s behavior at the TA can be simply defined as lack of motivation, and this can be further explained in depth by the use of expectancy theory. The expectancy model states, “People are motivated to work when they expect to achieve things they want from their jobs. A basic premise of the expectancy model is that employees are rational people. They think about what they have to do to be rewarded and how much the rewards mean to them before they perform their jobs.”
Reinharth, L., & Wahba, M. A. (1975). Expectancy Theory as a Predictor of Work Motivation, Effort Expenditure, and Job Performance. Academy Of Management Journal, 18(3), 520-537.