Assignment Directions:
Read the following information about Ellen. Provide your responses on the worksheet that accompanies this assignment.
Ellen got her "first, good - real" job [not counting the "McJobs" she had while going to school to make some money for tuition, books, entertainment, etc...]. She got this "real" job after being interviewed once during a period when unemployment was very low. Not knowing any better, she felt lucky to get this job.
In this "real" job, she had to do some real menial chores [like on occasion emptying the wastebasket from her cubicle, get coffee for her boss, or having to work on a team with "that guy that no one at College wanted to work with"]. However, she felt good about having this job. After all, they gave her a job, were "nice" at the interview, so she felt an "obligation".
However, eventually "things" started to "get to her", especially when she was told that "even if you don't like it, you are paid by this company to act and behave like we want you to, especially around customers - so smile, be polite, and act right!" At times, it was very difficult, especially when she felt like telling someone "off" - but she fought his urge and complied.
Ellen considers herself to be a diligent, hard worker. She took her decision to quit this "real" job very seriously. She did engage in various ways to help herself and the work environment, but a trained, knowledgeable in OB, observer would have seen the signs/symptoms of her dissatisfaction, until she finally left.
Ellen finally got a new job. She was an enthusiastic employee when she began working in the accounting department at Fleetstab Corp. In particular, she prided herself on discovering better ways of handling paper flows. The company had plenty of bottlenecks in the flow of paperwork throughout the organization, and Ellen had made several recommendations to her boss, Mr. Johnston, which would improve the process. Mr. Johnston did acknowledge these suggestions, and even implemented a few, but he didn't seem to have enough time to either thank her or explain why some suggestions could not be implemented. In fact, Mr. Johnston didn't say much to any of the employees in the department about anything they did.
At the end of the first year, Ellen received a 5% merit increase based on Mr. Johnston's evaluation of her performance. This increase was equal to the average merit increase among the 11 other people in the accounting department. Still, Ellen was frustrated by the fact that she didn't know how to improve her chances for a higher merit increase the next year. She was also upset by the fact that another new employee, Snidely Wiplash, received the highest pay increase (10 percent) even though he was not regarded as a particularly outstanding performer. According to others, who worked with him on some assignments, he lacked the skills to perform the job well enough to justify such a high increase. However, Snidely Wiplash had become a favoured employee to Mr. Johnston, and they had even gone fishing together.
As this continued, Ellen's enthusiasm toward Fleetstab Corp. fell dramatically during her second year of employment. She still enjoyed the work and made friends with some of her co-workers, but her spirit dwindled. Eventually, Ellen stopped mentioning productivity improvement ideas. On two occasions, during her second year of employment, she took a few days of sick leave to visit friends and family in North Bay. During her first year on this job, she had only used only 2 sick days for a legitimate illness. Her doctor even had to urge Ellen to stay at home on one occasion. But, by the end of the second year, using sick days seemed to "justify" Ellen's continued employment at Fleetstab Corp. Now, as her second annual merit increase approached, Ellen started to seriously scout around for another job. But she's not leaving yet, not without another job to go to.
Respond with one or two words to one or two sentences (maximum for each question.)
Provide your response(s) to:
Thinking about her experiences:
1. What should Ellen have realized when she got her "real first job"?
2. What type[s] of labour and dissonance[s] are applicable?
3. What forms of Organizational Commitment are evident [and where] in various parts of this case?
4. What expressions / stages of dissatisfaction did she go through?
5. In her 2nd job, what signs/symptoms tell you something has gone wrong?
6. Application of specific Motivational Theories:
a. Use a Needs Based Theory to explain what is going on.
b. Use Equity Theory [only] to explain what's going on.
c. Use Expectancy Theory [only] to explain what's going on.
d. Explain how the JCM, using the 5 core job dimensions, could be used to enhance the motivational appeal of her job. Be specific - identify each of the 5 and then how you would adjust each of the 5 core job dimensions, and how adjusting each of these 5 elements changes the respective psychological state[s] created by the doing of the job and thereby the experienced personal outcomes.