Mr. Anthony is the Chief Executive of a medium sized Chemical Co. in Hyderabad. He holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry. However, he has not been involved in research and development of new products for two decades. Though turnover is not a problem for the company, Mr. Anthony and his senior colleagues noticed that the workers on hourly basis are not working upto their full potential. It is a well-known fact that they filled their days with unnecessary and unproductive activities. Mr. Anthony knew that workers can be motivated for giving maximum performance through various incentive plans.
One day Mr. Anthony contacted Personnel Manager and enquired: “Why our workers are not motivated? We pay them highest in the industry”. The personnel manager replied: “I have already informed you a number of times, that money, working conditions and benefits are not enough. Hard work and efficiency go unnoticed and unrewarded in our organization. Our promotions and benefit plans are tied to length of service. Even the lazy workers, accordingly, enjoy all the benefits in the organization, which infact, according to the workers, should go only to those who work hard.”
Mr. Anthony then wanted the personnel manager to look into the problem more closely and find out a solution to the problems of workers on hourly basis.
Questions:
1) List the important facts in the case. (6 marks)
2) Explain the motivational problem in this case. (6 marks)
3) If you were the Manager, how would you motivate the employees so that they work better? (8 marks)
(Case Study of Human Resource Management November 2006)
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