Organization Behaviour Assignment

Topic – Motivating Others – Selected Vignettes

Guided By – Dr. Vinit Singh Chauhan

Submitted by
Name Roll No.
Nikhil Chhabra 202212024
Himanshu Nagvani 202212019

Case 1: The New Boss – Peer or Supervisor

A.) Introduction: The case talks about Lydia Geller who just got promoted to the
position of Vice president of business development at the Alverstone group. She
was anxious on how to address her subordinates who were also her friends and
acquaintances. She was concerned that her colleagues would interpret such a
shift in her demeanour as insincere. She also remembered her previous
experience with a colleague named Dwight and how her and his shift in behaviour
ruined her relationship with him and she wandered how best to redefine her
relationship with her subordinates.
B.) SWOT Analysis – Lydia Geller
Strengths – Lydia Geller has once been part of the same team and worked with
her peers so she knows each individual’s strengths and weaknesses. She knows
the type of work load of a team member can take and how much efficient they
are. And also, she was eager to express the confidence and assertiveness that she
considers appropriate for a manager.
Weakness – Lydia Geller has weak relationships with some colleagues who did
not get along with her.
Opportunity – Lydia just got promoted to the position of Vice President which
provides her an opportunity to enhance her managerial skills and to develop new
relationships.
Threats – There might be a dissatisfaction between Lydia and her
friends/acquaintances regarding the behaviours or attitude. Abrupt change in
behaviour might result in losing her team’s confidence.

C.) Case issues and solutions

Issues - The case talks about Lydia Geller, who just got promoted to the position
of Vice President of Business Development at The Alverstone group and the
dilemma she is facing on how to redefine her relationship with her subordinates
who were before her colleagues and friends. She is facing the problem on how to
address her subordinates for the first time, each of whom had previously been
part of her peer group.
Solution - Lydia can apply following solutions to solve this problem:
1. Acknowledge the power shift: Relationships are fluid, and the ones that last
often involve open and clear communication. But for this to happen, the people
involved must learn to renegotiate or re-discuss the parameters of their
relationship as it changes over time. It’s important for Lydia to face the reality and
acknowledge that her relationship has changed sooner rather than later. She can
do this by taking time to speak candidly to her friend, explaining how she feels
about the new dynamic and how she’d like to keep any awkwardness at bay. She
could say something like, “I’m a little uncomfortable, too, bringing this up, but I
value our friendship, and I want to maintain the bond we have. Some parts of our
relationship might change at work, and I think it’s better we call them out now so
we’re on the same page.”

2. Be consistent and fair: Another part of accepting her new role is being
consistent in how she treats everyone on her team. This means that she cannot
have favourites, and if she does, she shouldn’t show it. If her team members
suspect partiality, they may grow to resent her or the person she favours, and
other toxic behaviour could ensue. For example, if she’s heading out for lunch,
she should extend the invitation to her whole team, not just those on her team
she’s most friendly with. In doing so, she may even discover new work-based
friendships:

3. Don’t let emotions get in the way of tough decisions: Being the boss means
you have to accept that not everyone will like you, and that’s okay. At the end of
the day, the brutal truth is you’re required to make the tough decisions. That’s
why you’re the boss. It’s important for Lydia to recognize that if she’s friends with
her subordinates, she may be blinded to their flaws, or she may not be able to
place personal feelings aside so easily when she needs to. This is why she has to
be extra cautious about not letting her friendships influence her decisions,
including raises, assignments, and layoffs.

Case 2: Satisfying the Superstar Salesman

A.) Introduction: The second case profiles Jeremy Sawyer, the CEO of a software
company Mariposa networks, as he reviews the sales performance of the
company. Even though sales of the company have increased by 25% it was
particularly due to its leading salesman, Victor Mason. Jeremy was anxious that
the company was increasingly dependent on Victor and wondered what would
happen if Victor were to leave the company. Given his disproportionate
importance to the company, Jeremy debates the actions he can take to ensure
Victor’s continued satisfaction and motivation.
B.) SWOT Analysis – Jeremy Sawyer
Strengths – Jeremy Sawyer is the sole decision maker. He also ensures that his
employees are getting the reward for their hard and smart work.
Weaknesses – He is dependent on only one person for company profit. He is
unable to motivate the other employees to work more efficiently.
Opportunities – He could motivate his employees by giving them compensation as
high as Victor Mason’s who does the same work but earns twice than them
annually
Threats – Jeremy Sawyer is highly dependent on Victor Mason which is always a
concern for him as to how he can retain him in the company.
C.) Case Issues and Solutions
Issues – The main issue that the company is facing is that it is very much
dependent on Victor for increasing sales. If Victor leaves the company sales would
decline and company would lose revenue. To avoid this situation, so far the
company has retained Victor by paying him well over average salesperson’s
compensation thereby increasing his job satisfaction. But this is a short-term
solution. Eventually Victor’s satisfaction would wane and he might decide to leave
the company. Therefore, a more permanent solution is required.
Solutions – In addition to what Jeremy has been doing so far following steps can
be taken to assure Victor stays with the company:
1. Feeling a sense of meaning and purpose in their work: To motivate
employees, it is crucial to give them a sense that their roles are meaningful and
purposeful. To achieve this Jeremy can openly discuss with Victor which tasks he
enjoys and derives the most personal meaning from. Once he has that
information, he can work with Victor to reassign, redesign or redistribute those
tasks in a way that ensures Victor remains consistently productive and fulfilled.

2. Working in a positive company culture: Company culture can play a major role
in driving employee motivation. To improve company culture, Jeremy can focus
on two key areas. First is wellbeing. It’s important to build a culture that
prioritises wellbeing and care, being mindful of the risk of burnout. Measures to
tackle workaholic tendencies in your employees may include introducing wellness
programmes, which could even help to give your firm a competitive advantage.
Second is compassionate. This can include qualities such as self-awareness, an
ability to put yourself in the shoes of your employees and giving them the support
they need to thrive.

3. A clear path of career progression: Jeremy should clearly articulate a plan of

progression for Victor. In his upcoming meeting with Victor, he should discuss
Victor’s ambitions and his promotion prospects within the business. If his
promotion aspirations can’t currently be realised because of lack of financial
resources or the position currently being filled, then giving him increased
autonomy or say within the company could be a satisfactory compromise.

Case 3: The Promotion Passover

A.) Introduction: The third case profiles Warren Soroka, the director of sales at a
logistics service provider, as he is forced to have a conversation with a long-term
employee who has just been “passed over” for a promotion in favour of a younger
employee. He debates how best to communicate the decision to the “passed
over” employee in a way that ensures his continued motivation and performance
at the company.
B.) SWOT Analysis – Warren Soroka
Strength – Warren Soroka is the better person in the job. He has better business
opportunity.
Weakness – He has a tendency to become demotivated due to internal conflicts.
Opportunities - Use this opportunity to set a precedent for the other employees
in the organization. Set an example that the management actually cases for all the
employees in the organization.

Threats - The employee can get demotivated and eventually leave the company.

C.) Case Issues and solutions

Issues- The primary issue in this case is employee promotion and communicating
it the respective employee who has been passed over. As a business manager,
being the director of sales at his organization, it was Warren’s duty to deliver the
news to Brett.

Solution- Warren can deliver this news to Brett with clarity and empathy. First he
can validate the Brett’s contributions and thank him for showing eagerness
towards taking up further responsibilities. However, he should not inadvertently
make a promise to Brett by saying something like, “Next time you’ll get the job.”
As, we don’t know what the future holds. The employees will likely ask why they
didn’t get the job. Hence Brett should be prepared to respond, but don’t let the
conversation turn into a performance review. Instead, gently indicate that they
lacked a certain experience, discipline, or skill set, and then say: “I’d love to
continue this conversation further, so let’s set up a time to talk about how to get
you the experience you need.” And then be sure to follow through.

Case 4: Barrymore university: Delivering a mixed performance

review
A.) Introduction: Rachel Murphy, the Director of Academic Operations at
Barrymore University, hired Nick Felding as Staff Assistant 12 months ago. Nick
was a terrific problem solver with a vast variety of knowledge. However, Rachel
had a few reservations regarding Nick’s working manner. He struggled to maintain
a professional appearance at the office, as evidenced by his irregular and
unpredictable work hours and his caustic behaviour with co-workers. Rachel must
now sit for a performance evaluation with Nick. Should she express her
displeasure with him now?
B.) SWOT Analysis – Rachel Murphy
Strength – Rachel is good at finding the right talent. She is also good at noticing
appreciable efforts.
Weaknesses – Rachel is not good at giving feedback at the right time.
Opportunities – Rachel can push Nick to improve as an employee and perform
better in all aspects.
Threats – Nick might object to Rachel’s feedback. He might also take Rachel’s
advice adversely and resign.
C.) Case issues and solutions
Issues – The predominant issue here is how can Rachel communicate her
feedback to Nick in a way that he doesn’t misunderstand or worse, take her
advice adversely and resign. This is difficult for her for another reason because
she had never mentioned any of these concerns to Nick during his first-year
tenure.
Solutions – Rachel should begin her feedback by expressing her gratitude to Nick
for his work as staff assistant. She should express her appreciation for his
knowledge, application, communication skills, accountability and creativity.
Rachel should express in a clear and concise manner the topics she wishes to
discuss with Nick. She can categorize her negative feedback as areas where she
wants Nick to improve. She can ask him to be more punctual by attending
academic hours. She can inform him that business casual is the preferred work
attire and that he must adhere to it. She should also inform him that courtesy to
his elderly/senior colleagues is expected of him and that bad remarks should be
avoided.
Finally, Rachel should finish the conversation with an acknowledgement of his
efforts and that she looks forward to keep working with him.