eloping Your man Relations Skills terpersonal Relations Case Problem 11.1 on Tim

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eloping Your man Relations Skills terpersonal Relations Case Problem 11.1 on Time at Prime Time "We run a punctuality race with each department rime Time Furniture is a manufacturer and distributor of being represented by a horse, assigned a name by the expensive, ready- to-assemble furniture for the home and department. The consulting company sets up the race with mall business, including home-based businesses. Amone their own software, and we visit our race Web site any time products are bookcases, television stands, computer we want. The setup looks like a video game. You can see ekstations, and kitchen tables. Some of the higher-end graphically the relative positions of the horses as they run ducts are manufactured at the Wisconsin factory and the punctuality race." sribution center. The vast majority of products, how- Every time a worker arrives on time, that fact is e, are imported from Malaysia and then placed in the entered into the database, and the department's horse gets two points. Every time a worker is late the department's horse is penalized two points. Coming back from breaks king for ways to reduce on time earns one point, and coming back late is a one- nses. To meet the increased demand, more point penalty. Leaving work, or leaving early, also follows ompanies have entered the field, making the business"At the end of each month, the points are totaled. The database, and t istibution center until sold. Demand for ready-to-assemble furniture has increased adily as more people are look bousehold expe the same one-point value." more competitive and therefore reducing prices. Eton Westin, the distribution center manager, searches team with the winning horse can then convert the points into gifts from a catalog or gift certificates to a few selected During a two-hour productivity meeting with supervisors,Westin asked the group for their opinion on the horse lime a lot of money. Ashley Novak explained the problem race to improve punctuality. "I'm a little concerned," he said. restaurants. Westin learned that employee lateness is costing Prime Isn't this too childlike? I mean, running a horse race for n these terms: We are short-handed as it is, when an employee is late coming to work on time. Let's get real." makes it more difficult to ship on time. We have learned supervisor. "Adults are motivated by games and small the hard way that when we do not ship on timc, prizes. We are all children at heart, even Prime Time "In all respect, Eton," said Liz Lopez, the shipping ome business. A big part of our business now comes from tts promise rapid delivery, and when we don't ship on time, resellers inform the end customer that Prime Time nie sales through Amazon and other resellers. These out. employees." re get heat from both the resellers and the end customers." Case Questions 1. What do you predict will be the outcome of the 2. horse-race motivation program if implemented? Which approach, or approaches, to motivating people does this horse-race program represent? ture is the source of the furniture.) ration and mmy Gerber, the director of and an resources, said he had an idea for improving punc- uality that has worked in other companies. The program is a company specializing in performance improve- 3. What other program for improving punctuality might you recommend? erber then outlined the basics of the program. 251 MOTIVATING OTHERS

Explanation / Answer

I think if the horse-race program is implemented, all the individuals who are regularly late would try to come early because it’s not just going to affect them alone but the entire department’s reputation and points. People are normally concerned when their actions affect others.

I think equity theory which explains that individuals are motivated by fairness fits this scenario. When individuals identify inequities in the input or output to themselves or to the team which they belong to, they adjust their performance to suit it.

I think in this scenario, the chances are more that would behave indifferently because it doesn’t affect them directly. So, developing a program that would target the individual who is not contributing or coming late would bring the pressure on the individuals thus leaving those who already do well.

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