The Axiom Company has more than 100 sales representatives who sell a line of complex industrial products. Sales of these products require close work with buyers to determine their product needs, so nearly all sales representatives are university graduates in engineering and science. Recently, the firm established a new company wide control and report system using a larger computer. The system doubles the amount of time the sales representatives spend filling out forms and supplying information that can be fed into the computer. The sales representatives estimate that they now have inadequate time for sales effort. A sales manager commented, “Morale has declined as a result of these new controls and reports. Sales is a rewarding, gratifying profession that is based on individual effort. Sales representatives are happy when they are making sales since this directly affects their income and self-recognition.
The more time they spend with reports, the less time they have to make sales. As a result, they can see their income and recognition declining, and thus they find themselves resisting changes.”
1. What are two OB issues highlighted in the scenario above? Give reasons.
2. What should the sales manager do in order to deal with the situation?