Week 5, Disc 1 - Due 7/31/14 at @ 1:00pm CST

of the belt could now be adjusted anywhere between the lower and upper limits that the engineers had set.

The painters were delighted and spent many lunch hours decid- ing how the speed of the belt should be varied from hour to hour throughout the day. Within a week the pattern had settled down to one in which the first half hour of the shift was run on a medium speed (a dial setting slightly above the point marked “medium”). The next two and a half hours were run at high speed, and the half hour before lunch and the half hour after lunch were run at low speed. The rest of the afternoon was run at high speed with the exception of the last 45 min- utes of the shift, which was run at medium.

The constant speed at which the engineers had originally set the belt was actually slightly below the “medium” mark on the control dial; the average speed at which the painters were running the belt was on the high side of the dial. Few, if any, empty hooks entered the oven, and inspection showed no increase of rejects from the paint room.

Production increased, and within three weeks (some two months before the scheduled end- ing of the learning bonus) the painters were operating at 30 to 50 percent above the level that had been expected under the original arrangement. Naturally, their earn- ings were correspondingly higher than anticipated. They were collect- ing their base pay, earning a con- siderable piece-rate bonus, and still benefiting from the learning bonus. They were earning more now than many skilled workers in other parts of the plant.

Management was besieged by demands that the inequity between the earnings of the painters and

Review Questions

1. How does the painters’ job score on the core job characteristics before and after the changes were made? How can the positive impact of the job redesign be explained?

2. Was the learning bonus handled properly in this case? How can its motivational impact be explained? What alternative approaches could have been taken with simi- lar motivational results?

3. How do you explain the situation described in the last paragraph of the case? How could this outcome have been avoided by appropriate managerial actions? ■

those of other workers in the plant be taken care of. With grow- ing irritation between the superin- tendent and the supervisor, the engineers and supervisor, and the superintendent and engineers, the situation came to a head when the superintendent revoked the learning bonus and returned the painting operation to its original status: the hooks moved again at their constant, time-studied, designated speed. Production dropped again and within a month all but two of the eight painters had quit. The supervisor stayed on for several months, but, feeling aggrieved, left for another job.

Sunday afternoon. Two o’clock. Christine was working on an accounting assignment but didn’t seem to be able to concentrate. Her courses were working out very well this semester, all but the OB. Much of the mark in that course was to be based on the quality of groupwork, and so she felt somewhat out of con- trol. She recollected the events of the past five weeks. Professor Sandra Thiel had divided the class into groups of five people and had

given them a major group assign- ment worth 30 percent of the final grade. The task was to analyze a seven-page case and to come up with a written analysis. In addition, Sandra had asked the groups to pre- sent the case in class, with the idea that the rest of the class members would be “members of the board of directors of the company” who would be listening to how the man- ager and her team dealt with the problem at hand.

C A S E 7

The Forgotten Group Member Developed by Franklin Ramsoomair, Wilfred Laurier University

T he Organizational Behavior course for the semester appeared to promise the opportunity to learn, enjoy, and practice some of the theories and prin- ciples in the textbook and class discussions. Christine Spencer was a devoted, hard-working student who had been maintaining an A–average to

date. Although the skills and knowledge she had acquired through her courses were important, she was also very concerned about her grades. She felt that grades were paramount in giving her a competitive edge when looking for a job and, as a third-year student, she realized that she’d soon be doing just that.

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done their designated sections, but Mike had just handed in some rough handwritten notes. He had called Christine the week before, telling her that in addition to his course and his job, he was having problems with his girlfriend. Christine empathized with him. Yet, this was a group project! Besides, the final mark would be peer evalu- ated. This meant that whatever mark Sandra gave them could be lowered or raised, depending on the group’s opinion about the value of the contri- bution of each member. She was def- initely worried. She knew that Mike had creative ideas that could help to raise the overall mark. She was also concerned for him. As she listened to the music in the background, she wondered what she should do.

Review Questions

1. How could an understanding of the stages of group development assist Christine in leadership situ- ations such as this one?

2. What should Christine understand about individual membership in groups in order to build group processes that are supportive of her work group’s performance?

3. Is Christine an effective group leader in this case? Why or why not? ■

Christine was elected “Team Coordinator” at the first group meet- ing. The other members of the group were Diane, Janet, Steve, and Mike. Diane was quiet and never volunteered suggestions, but when directly asked, she would come up with high-quality ideas. Mike was the clown. Christine remembered that she had suggested that the group should get together before every class to discuss the day’s case. Mike had balked, saying “No way!! This is an 8:30 class, and I barely make it on time anyway! Besides, I’ll miss my Happy Harry show on tele- vision!” The group couldn’t help but laugh at his indignation. Steve was the businesslike individual, always wanting to ensure that group meet- ings were guided by an agenda and noting the tangible results achieved or not achieved at the end of every meeting. Janet was the reliable one who would always have more for the group than was expected of her. Christine saw herself as meticulous and organized and as a person who tried to give her best in whatever she did.

It was now week 5 into the semester, and Christine was deep in thought about the OB assignment. She had called everyone to arrange a meeting for a time that would suit them all, but she seemed to be run- ning into a roadblock. Mike couldn’t make it, saying that he was working that night as a member of the cam- pus security force. In fact, he seemed to miss most meetings and would send in brief notes to Christine, which she was supposed to discuss for him at the group meet- ings. She wondered how to deal with this. She also remembered the inci- dent last week. Just before class started, Diane, Janet, Steve, and she were joking with one another before class. They were laughing and enjoy- ing themselves before Sandra came in. No one noticed that Mike had

slipped in very quietly and had unobtrusively taken his seat.

She recalled the cafeteria inci- dent. Two weeks ago, she had gone to the cafeteria to grab something to eat. She had rushed to her account- ing class and had skipped breakfast. When she got her club sandwich and headed to the tables, she saw her OB group and joined them. The discus- sion was light and enjoyable as it always was when they met informally. Mike had come in. He’d approached their table. “You guys didn’t say you were having a group meeting,” he blurted. Christine was taken aback.

We just happened to run into each other. Why not join us?”

“Mike looked at them, with a noncommittal glance. “Yeah . . . right,” he muttered, and walked away.

Sandra Thiel had frequently told them that if there were prob- lems in the group, the members should make an effort to deal with them first. If the problems could not be resolved, she had said that they should come to her. Mike seemed so distant, despite the apparent cama- raderie of the first meeting.

An hour had passed, bringing the time to 3 P.M., and Christine found herself biting the tip of her pencil. The written case analysis was due next week. All the others had

C A S E 8

NASCAR’S Racing Teams Developed by David S. Chappell, Ohio University, modified by Hal Babson, Columbus State Community College and John R. Schermerhorn, Jr., Ohio University

T he most popular team sport, based on total spectator audience, is not bas- ketball, baseball, football, or even soccer: it is stock car racing. The largest stock car racing group in the world is the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), which recently celebrated its 60th year. The

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (formerly known as the Winston Cup or Nextel Cup) kicks off in February and runs through November. Along the way it serves as a marketing powerhouse.

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