INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT 1
CASE STUDY (20%)
MGT430 – INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
CASE STUDY 1 (CHAPTER 2): PUSHING PAPER CAN BE FUN
A large city government was putting on several seminars for managers of various departments
throughout the city. At one of these sessions the topic discussed was motivation-how to
motivate public servants to do a good job. The plight of a police captain became the central
focus of the discussion:
I've got a real problem with my officers. They come on the force as young, inexperienced
rookies, and we send them out on the street, either in cars or on a beat. They seem to like the
contact they have with the public, the action involved in crime prevention, and the
apprehension of criminals. They also like helping people out at fires, accidents, and other
emergencies.
The problem occurs when they get back to the station. They hate to do the paperwork, and
because they dislike it, the job is frequently put off or done inadequately. This lack of attention
hurts us later on when we get to court. We need clear, factual reports. They must be highly
detailed and unambiguous. As soon as one part of a report is shown to be inadequate or
incorrect, the rest of the report is suspect. Poor reporting probably causes us to lose more
cases than any other factor.
I just don't know how to motivate them to do a better job. We're in a budget crunch, and I have
absolutely no financial rewards at my disposal. In fact, we'll probably have to lay some people
off in the near future. It's hard for me to make the job interesting and challenging because it
isn't-it's boring, routine paperwork, and there isn't much you can do about it.
Finally, I can't say to them that their promotions will hinge on the excellence of their paperwork.
First of all, they know it's not true. If their performance is adequate, most are more likely to get
promoted just by staying on the force a certain number of years than for some specific
outstanding act. Second, they were trained to do the job they do out in the streets, not to fill
out forms. All through their careers the arrests and interventions are what get noticed.
Some people have suggested a number of things, like using conviction records as a
performance criterion. However, we know that's not fair-too many other things are involved.
Bad paperwork increases the chance that you lose in court, but good paperwork doesn't
necessarily mean you'll win. We tried setting up team competitions based on the excellence
of the reports, but the officers caught on to that pretty quickly.
No one was getting any type of reward for winning the competition, and they figured why
should they bust a gut when there was no payoff.
I just don't know what to do.
Discussion Questions
1. What performance problems is the captain trying to correct?
2. Use the MARS model of individual behavior and performance to diagnose the possible
causes of the unacceptable behavior.
3. Has the captain considered all possible solutions to the problem? If not, what else might be
done?
Source: T.R. Mitchell and J.R. Larson Jr., People in Organizations, 3r ed.
(New York: McGraw-Hill, 1987), p. 184. Used with permission.
CASE STUDY 2 (CHAPTER 3): HY DAIRIES, INC. – BY STEVE L. McSHANE, UNIVERSITY
OF NEWCASTLE (AUSTRALIA)
Syd Gilman read the latest sales figures with a great deal of satisfaction. The vice president
of marketing at Hy Dairies, Inc., a large midwestern milk products manufacturer, was pleased
to see that the marketing campaign to improve sagging sales of Hy's gourmet ice cream brand
was working. Sales volume and market share of the product had increased significantly over
the past two quarters compared with the previous year.
The improved sales of Hy's gourmet ice cream could be credited to Rochelle Beauport, who
was assigned to the gourmet ice cream brand last year. Beauport had joined Hy Dairies less
than two years ago as an assistant brand manager after leaving a similar job at a food products
firm. She was one of the few women of color in marketing management at Hy Dairies and had
a promising career with the company. Gilman was pleased with Beauport's work and tried to
let her know this in annual performance reviews. He now had an excellent opportunity to
reward her by offering her the recently vacated position of market research coordinator.
Although technically only a lateral transfer with a modest salary increase, the marketing
research coordinator job would give Beauport broader experience in some high-profile work,
which would enhance her career with Hy Dairies. Few people were aware that Gil-man's own
career had been boosted by working as marketing research coordinator at Hy several years
before.
Rochelle Beauport had also seen the latest sales figures on Hy's gourmet ice cream and was
expecting Gilman's call to meet with her that morning. Gilman began the conversation by
briefly mentioning the favorable sales figures, and then explained that he wanted Beauport to
take the marketing research coordinator job. Beauport was shocked by the news. She enjoyed
brand management and particularly the challenge involved with controlling a product that
directly affected the company's profitability. Marketing research coordinator was a technical
support position-a "back room" job-far removed from the company's bottom-line activities.
Marketing research was not the route to top management in most organizations, Beauport
thought. She had been sidelined.
After a long silence, Beauport managed a weak, "Thank you, Mr. Gilman." She was too
bewildered to protest. She wanted to collect her thoughts and reflect on what she had done
wrong. Also, she did not know her boss well enough to be openly critical. Gilman recognized
Beauport's surprise, which he assumed was her positive response to hearing of this wonderful
career opportunity. He, too, had been delighted several years earlier about his temporary
transfer to marketing research to round out his marketing experience. "This move will be good
for both you and Hy Dairies," said Gilman as he escorted Beauport from his office.
Beauport was preoccupied with several tasks that afternoon but was able to consider the day's
events that evening. She was one of the top women and few minorities in brand management
at Hy Dairies and feared that she was being sidelined because the company didn't want
women or people of color in top management. Her previous employer had made it quite clear
that women "couldn't take the heat" in marketing management and tended to place women in
technical support positions after a brief term in lower brand management jobs. Obviously, Syd
Gilman and Hy Dairies were following the same game plan. Gilman's comments that the
coordinator job would be good for her was just a nice way of saying that Beauport couldn't go
any further in brand management at Hy Dairies. Beauport now faced the difficult decision of
whether to confront Gilman and try to change Hy Dairies' sexist and possibly racist practices
or to leave the company.
Discussion Questions
1. Apply your knowledge of stereotyping and social identity theory to explain what went wrong
here.
2. What other perceptual errors are apparent in this case study?
3. What can organizations do to minimize misperceptions in these types of situations?