Compare and contrast the contemporary motivation concepts
1. Compare and contrast the contemporary motivation concepts outlined in Chapter 7. Include which theory your ideals most align, which you find the most off-putting, and why.
2. Compare and contrast two theories, early or contemporary, in light of your own experiences. Answer these questions using concrete examples from those experiences. Which theory do you believe, and why? Or do you believe both or neither? Which theory would you rather have your manager subscribe to?
3. Read Case Incident 1 “The Demotivation of CEO Pay” on page 236 of the textbook and answer the 3 corresponding questions.
4. Janine is a wholesale yarn salesperson working the northeastern US. Her territory covers all of Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Washington, D.C., and Ohio. She lives in Harrisburg, PA with her husband and three children. Janine enjoys her job and loves being out on the road and meeting yarn shop owners and knitters. However, her employer, White Mountain Yarns, requires her to drive to Detroit for a monthly staff meeting; maintain an office outside of her home; complete redundant paperwork due to outdated systems; and often sets her store visit schedule in a way that results in a lot of backtracking, all of which cut into the time she has to build rapport with store owners and individual buyers of the products. The company also doesn’t let her hold virtual client meetings, even though clients want them and they would save considerable time and money. Janine is one of the top 5 salespeople and her customers rave about her, however the company is making her job difficult. She doesn’t want to quit her job, but many of the antiquated aspects have led her to consider either quitting or asking to be cut back to part time so she can have a better work life balance. Using the concepts in Chapter 8 of the textbook, write up a proposal to redesign and/or enrich Janine’s job.
5. You are a mechanic in a local chain of successful auto body shops. You’ve been there 8 years but have not been promoted or given any opportunity to grow and develop in spite of your degree in business and 10 other years of experience in mechanics. The owner of the company is usually absent and morale is low, both of which have contributed to high turnover. What employee involvement programs and/or motivation theories do you think would help turn things around? Be specific.
