Team Case 1 – Pamela Jones: Former Programming Manager

Team 4

Problem Identification: Symptoms/Key Indicators 1. High employee absenteeism, employee turnover, and work overloads 2. Errors made by programmers, poor work habits 3. Workers being under-compensated due to economic constraints 4. Pamela unable to advance from the “junior role” 5. False and misleading promises by management 6. Pamela not empowered to discipline her subordinates without head office approvals 7. Poor workplace flexibility Underlying Problems Above are a few symptoms and indicators that can be categorized into three underlying problems – lack of motivation; low job satisfaction; and poor organizational environment and weak organizational culture. Lack of motivation and low employee job satisfaction is evident from the high rate of absenteeism and employee turnover. The employees are under compensated for the amount of work they're doing which has further decreased their overall job satisfaction and motivation, as can be seen from the increasing number of errors the programmers are making as well as their poor work ethics. Furthermore, junior employees did not have the opportunities to advance within the organization. Promises given by management created unrealistically high expectations for future rewards, but when the rewards were not given, job satisfaction was greatly affected. An inflexible and disempowering workplace are weaknesses within the company’s environment and culture that require improvements. Problem Analysis: 1. Lack of Motivation It’s clear that there is a lack of motivation in Pamela’s workplace. The high turnover and absenteeism can be explained by the employees’ lack of advancement opportunities. As Chapman stated, “People are only truly motivated [when they are enabled to] reach for and satisfy the factors that Herzberg identified as real motivators, such as