Submit your Case Study here.
Template and Substantive Requirements: Use the bolded headings below as headings for your paper.
Case Study should contain the following:
Introduction & Background Information on the Issue: Give a brief introduction to the facts and issue presented in the case and explain the primary human relations issue in the case and how that issue is demonstrated by the facts in the case.
Responses to Case Questions: Give thoughtful responses to the case questions. Make sure your answers demonstrate understanding and analysis of course materials and concepts.
HR Impact and Conclusion: What would you do as an HR professional to prevent or deal with similar issues in the workplace? Provide any additional thoughts or conclusions that provide your own reflections on the case and materials and extend the concepts presented in the case.
References (in APA format)
Technical and Grading Requirements:
2-3 pages double spaced, one-inch margin (excludes title page)
Full paragraphs; written in essay style. No bulleted lists.
A thorough response to each section listed above
Demonstrate understanding and application of course materials and concepts
Some unique thoughts and ideas
Proper spelling and grammar and sentence structure
APA Citation Style – make sure you cite your sources within the paper and at the end.
Submitted in .doc or .docx format.
************Write Your Case Study on ONE of the TWO options below:*****************
Option #1:
[Maria Chen, Classroom Aide (Page 133)]
Maria Chen was working as an educational aide for a third-grade class while taking a human relations course at night. She was especially intrigued by the chapter in her textbook on motivation since she had quite several underachievers in the class. She spent a couple of hours each day working with this small group of students. Working with them was frustrating since nothing she said or did seemed to motivate them.
Stacy sat like a stone all during their small group time. Jamal and Mike squirmed and giggled with each other every time she tried to work with them. Ayako complained that everything was “too hard.” Quinn just looked out the window, yawning with boredom. Recess was a different story; they each had a different routine. Stacy always wanted to eat her lunch early, during morning recess. By lunch time she was asking the other children for their leftover food. Ayako clung to Maria’s hand during the entire recess, pleading with Maria to stay with her.
Jamal and Mike tried hard almost every day to get into the soccer game with a big group of kids, but usually to no avail. Quinn showed off his skills at baseball, calling out the whole time, “Ms. Chen! Ms. Chen! Look at me!”
“This is so weird,” thought Maria one day, “it’s almost like the hierarchy of needs model. They all seem to want—well, that is to need—something different. I wonder if Maslow could lead me to some motivational tools to use with these kids.”
Case Study Questions
Is Maria, right? Does it seem that Stacy, Ayako, Quinn, Mike, and Jamal are on different levels of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs? On what level would you place each of them?
How can Maria use this theory to motivate the children in their schoolwork?
Compare Maslow’s needs model with McClelland’s. Which of McClelland’s needs seems to be important for each child
Option #2:
[What’s the Matter with These People? (Page 134)]
When Ron took over as supervisor at Lincoln Machine Works, he had no idea what was facing him. He had inherited a group of workers who were producing at a capacity that he estimated was at least 50 percent below what was reasonable compared to the industry standard. Ron decided on a systematic interviewing procedure in which he would ask the same questions each week of every employee he had. His questions included, “Do you feel your co-workers are working as effectively and as hard as they could?” and “Do you feel you are working up to your capacities?”
Ron was surprised at the consistency of the answers. Nearly all the workers expressed the feeling that “Nobody cares anyway, why should we work hard when nobody else cares?” Also, nearly all the workers believed that those around them didn’t work as hard as they easily could have. Fewer of those interviewed said such things about themselves, but all of them acknowledged that, whatever else could be said about their performance, they could be putting forth considerably more energy without wearing themselves out.
Ron was shaking his head in discouragement one morning when Tyler walked into his office. Tyler was the leader of a group in the plating department. “You want us to work harder? Tyler asked. “Why don’t you try making what we do more important?” I have a two-year degree in computer-assisted drafting and design. Yet what am I doing? Working at the same plating machine for almost the whole eight hours when I’m here. Of course, not everybody down there has my background, but they all have the same kind of problem with this place that I have: they don’t think anybody appreciates their abilities—or even gives them any credit for having a brain cell or two.”
“I really appreciate your being frank and open with me, Tyler,” Ron replied. “If what you’re saying is really the problem, it could explain a whole lot of things about this place.”
Ron spent the next two days asking the workers some new questions about how they felt their abilities were being used at Lincoln. He found Tyler’s message was accurate. Nearly every employee he spoke with expressed frustration with being “underutilized.”
“Well,” Ron reflected on the way home from work, “I think I know what the problem is. My next step is to figure out how to start fixing it.”
Case Study Questions
If you were Ron, where would you begin in creating a program to increase motivation at Lincoln?
Analyze the motivation problems at Lincoln Machine Works using Skinner’s behavior modification theory.
Analyze the motivation problems at Lincoln Machine Works using Vroom’s expectancy theory.
