Employee Behavior and Job Satisfaction
Good employee engagement is key to an efficient and effective organization. Understanding job attitudes and satisfaction is imperative to creating a productive organization.
The following Course Outcome is assessed in this assignment:
MT302-1: Describe the impact of individual behavior on business outcomes.
Read the fictional scenario and respond to the checklist items in a 2- to 3-page paper with an additional title and references page.
Place: A consumer product company (you name it) with offices in much of North and South America. You will look at a scenario in the Denver, Colorado, offices.
Scenario: The HR director recently met with Sanjay, the project teams director (PTD), to discuss concerns about Product Team 1. She has heard reports from various employees that there seem to be problems. Recently, some heated discussions emanated from the Team 1 conference room. There has also been some unusual team member absenteeism. She wants Sanjay (PTD) to come up with some steps he will take to improve the team’s motivation, attitudes, and performance.
Sanjay, project teams director (PTD): He has been with the company for over 10 years, having transferred from the New Mexico operation where he started in operations. He feels his job is to ensure that the product teams produce the required amount of product each year. He rarely provides direction, expecting his team to take charge, be decisive, and reach the goals set by top management. He usually checks in with his three teams about once every few weeks for a short status meeting.
Product Team 1 Members:
Fred, senior product designer: Originally from the New York office, Fred was a product designer for 8 years before joining the Denver team a year ago. Fred was used to a fast pace in New York. But in the Denver office, he has been consistently told to slow down and take his time. He has tried in meetings not to push ahead but continually experiences cognitive dissonance. When things are not moving ahead, it is difficult for Fred not to take over and push his agenda.
Ahmed, marketing specialist: Ahmed came from the Los Angeles office a year ago and is still trying to acclimate himself. His former boss ran a very controlled office with extremely explicit rules. Everyone was expected to act ethically and consider the societal implications of all their actions at work. All products and media were put through a thorough quality control process to assure the company founders that the products they were producing were ethically and socially above reproach. Ahmed is not used to the environment in the Denver offices where employees take an hour or sometimes more for lunch and do not worry about the ethical implications of the products created or marketed.
Joyce, product team 1 leader: Joyce has been in the Denver office on a contractual basis until 6 months ago. She was the star of the sales teams and was promoted to head up Project Team 1. Joyce, the youngest team member, has become very anxious with all the increased responsibility. She has repeatedly asked for guidance from the project team director, but he says, “It is your job to handle it,” or he is too busy. She feels out of place. Fred and Ahmed seem to take over the meetings by getting into disagreements about what products to develop and how.
Checklist:
Describe the project team director’s managerial role based on Mintzberg’s descriptions.
Explain how the project team director impacts the team’s (1) motivation and (2) performance based on their ability to motivate and affect employee performance.
Describe the attitudes and job satisfaction of each of the members of the Product Team 1.
Explain how each of the three team member’s attitudes and job satisfaction impact the organization regarding (1) profit, (2) employee turnover, and (3) other employee attitudes.
Include at least two scholarly* citations with accompanying references regarding attitudes and job satisfaction and the impact on the organization that supports your responses.
Summarize for the HR director what you think the project team director can do to improve the team’s motivation, attitudes, and performance.
Your submission should demonstrate good organization and correct grammar, spelling, and mechanics.
Submit your 2- to 3-page paper with additional title and reference pages using current APA format and citation style (see Unit 1 Reading for APA assistance) to Dropbox.
*Experts have peer-reviewed scholarly sources to ascertain that the content is original, proving any statements or claims with viable research.
Select “Library” under the Academic Tools area. Then select “Limit to Peer-Reviewed” before researching a topic.