How to Motivate Fred Maiorino - Case Study Example

How to Motivate Fred Maiorino Fred’s lack of motivation Fred’s Mistakes There were a multitude of factors that caused lack of motivation in Fred. One thing that is particularly noteworthy is that all problems with the performance of Fred started as Reed started to implement new policies in the organization. The first and the foremost factor that caused lack of motivation in Fred was the dynamic climate of the organization in which anybody serving at any post could be changed anytime. While change is a good thing, it may not necessarily always be for the better. People working in an organization are used to a system that has been in place for a long while. Anybody new who is introduced to the system wants to implement certain changes so that his/her efficiency could reflect in the changed system and the enhanced efficiency of the system. Likewise, in Schering-Plough, numerous changes related to the sales incentive and personnel shifts were made frequently. In such a work setup, it is hard for the employees to maintain motivation because every new comer tends to judge the people under him/her. Fred had built a very good reputation in the organization from several years of record sales, and he was just not ready to have himself assessed by somebody like Reed who is so new to the system himself. Another factor that demotivated Fred was Reed’s proposal to him to endorse the retirement plan. “The Great Recession has forced many to put off retirement out of financial need. Others simply want to work to stay engaged” (Kadlec). Fred thought that Reed was blowing things out of proportion since he never wanted him to be there in the first place. The day Fred refused to accept the retirement plan proposal, a grudge started cultivating between Fred and Reed. Fred thought that his performance was up to the mark and Reed was just making false accusations to get him out of his way. Recommendations Fred’s behavior in the organization was not unusual. In fact, this behavior can be expected of any employee who has served in an organization for decades. “[O]lder people are characterized by conservatism, cautiousness, and affiliation, rather than by competition, and may become more focused on short-term than longterm goals” (Lange et al. 2). Fred was demotivated because of the dynamic culture of the organization because the newcomers are not aware of the status and reputation he has built in the organization from his years of record sales. He did not have the willingness like young workers do to experience and be a part of change. “Compared with older employees, Gen-X employees are said to be more collaborative or accustomed to working in teams, better educated, less hierarchical, more entrepreneurial, more likely to move from one job to another, more technologically skilled, less conscious of formalized rules and regulations and more likely to choose a career that offers a balanced lifestyle” (Ferres, Travaglione, and Firns 320). On the other hand, change is also important and recruitment of new employees is part of the change. In such circumstances, motivating an old worker like Fred fundamentally is in the hands of the new boss appointed which is Reed in this case. Reed could have motivated Fred by providing him with more flexibility as compared to the new workers. However, at the same time, Reed should explain Fred the changes in organizational practices and strategies that he intends to make and the underlying factors that have produced the need for these changes. Fred was demotivated because he was told rather than consulted. Had Reed explained his plans to Fred and sought his opinions on how to implement the plans the best way, Fred would have felt more respected and honored, which would have had a positive influence on his motivation. “[E]mployees are particularly concerned with development and growth in younger age, and with security and maintenance in older age” (Kooij 11). To motivate older workers like Fred, managers should provide them with more security and assurance of motivation in the ways they deem suitable. Reed’s feeble attempts at coaching Fred’s Mistakes Reed’s attempts to motivate Fred were quite feeble in effect. The first thing he did was write a memo to Fred declaring his below-than-his-capability performance. In the same memo, Reed encouraged Fred to improve his performance. The language and approach that Reed made was quite professional in that the language was not derogatory, and the memo generated a message that Reed would overlook the past flaws in Fred’s performance given his performance improves in the future. Reed provided Fred with coaching and medical journals to update him on the latest knowledge about ways to enhance the sales pitches. To Reed’s proposal to Fred to establish realistic goals in a scheduled manner, Fred replied via a memo on May 1989. In his reply, the mistake that Fred made was rather than reassuring Reed that he would do his best to work on the strategies proposed by Reed, Fred adopted a defensive approached and emphasized upon his continuous struggle to deliver his best at work and that his present performance is all he could do. Although Fred tried to establish that he had been trying his level best, yet this sent the message to Reed that it was indeed Reed rather than Fred whose expectations were impracticably high. Obviously, this would have left Reed with a bad taste in his mouth, since Fred’s reply was mere retaliation and self-defense and lacked the complying behavior Reed would have expected of him to display in his response. On top of that, Fred said that he would continue doing the best as he has always done. This certainly would have made Reed feel that Fred’s standards of excellence were lower than what they should have been given his position as the sales representative. If Fred was willing to do just the same as he had done in the best, this essentially meant that there was no hope for improvement of his performance. Recommendations No attempt of a manager to motivate a worker as old and experienced as Fred works until the manager provides the worker with the rationale behind his new strategies and at least listens once to what the worker has to say about the strategies before implementing them. The attempts Reed made were not bad yet they turned out to be feeble because all of Reed’s attempts made Fred feel like as if he was being controlled. There is a very technical and delicate way of dealing with the psychology of older workers and making them participate in the coaching is difficult than coaching the younger workers. It requires articulation and emotional intelligence on the part of the managers so that they can gain the compliance of the older workers to their plans without making them feel offended in any way. “The strategy of a company is subject to internal structuring freedom on the one hand, on the other hand also external market demands” (Preissing and Loennies 31). Motivating older workers Fred’s Mistakes Motivating older workers is a very complicated task because the expectations of the older workers from the top management are generally much higher as compared to those of the younger workers. Older workers tend to expect that the top management would deal them with more respect and give them the honor of having served in the organization for many years. Fred had the same expectations from Reed since he was an old worker and also a very experienced one. Motivating older workers also becomes very complicated because they tend to compare the benefits, reverence, and acknowledgement they are given at the workplace with the younger workers. Since they expect the top management to be more rewarding towards them than the younger workers, older workers are unable to understand that at certain times, younger workers can be better than them in certain kinds of works. Likewise, Fred compared the results of his performance evaluation with those of the younger workers and was disappointed to find that although he had been ranked top in the district around the mid of the year 1988, yet his half-year performance evaluation was lower than that of all other sales representatives in the district. What was more frustrating for him was that most of the other sales representatives were at least 20 years younger than him and yet their half-year performance evaluation identified them to be better than Fred. Fred also compared the increase in his salary to the increases in the salaries of the younger workers. Recommendations Managers need to target the consciousness of older workers about their impression on the younger workers. “Having a better understanding of how older workers are viewed by their fellow employees will enable organisations to develop better strategies to create an ‘age-friendly’ workplace” (Matwijiw 9). One way to achieve this is by making the older and the younger workers work as one team. Younger workers generally have more technological expertise as compared to the older workers whereas the older workers are more experienced and know the technicalities of work that younger workers are not much familiar with. Making the two work as task forces or teams helps the development of affiliation and rapport between them which is a potential way to relieve the frustrations of the older workers regarding the younger workers. “If you can harness the breadth of experience of the more seasoned workers with the new outlook of younger people then the project will go in the right direction” (Connell cited in “Minding the Gap”). An additional benefit of this practice is that better understanding between the older and the younger workers helps the latter integrate into the organizational culture which causes their efficiency to be enhanced. Another way to motivate the older workers is being more flexible with them. “Surveys now show that many older and younger workers value flexible working conditions” (“Flexible Work Options”). In addition to that, carefully planned and enforced systems of reward like job enrichment, external and internal stipends, job enlargement, promotions, and tangible and intangible compensation help the managers motivate the workers (Lindner). The potential influence of the performance evaluation system Fred’s Mistakes Fred’s mistakes in the performance evaluation system were many. Fred compared himself to the eight other sales representatives in the district thinking that he was being scrutinized unfairly as the rest were not required to be on any such probation as he was required to be on. Fred did not approve of Reed’s idea of anchoring evaluation to behavior because he thought the behavioral assessment is a very subjective and misguiding indicator of an employee’s performance evaluation. Fred was upset to see that he had scored the lowest in the half-year performance evaluation because he thought that the results were unreal since they had been derived through behavioral assessment in addition to the regular quantifiable criteria. Recommendations The potential influence of the performance evaluation system was that it broke Fred’s trust in Reed, which made him think that Reed was after him. “people with high trust are more likely to attribute unfair treatment to circumstances instead of deliberate intention than people with low trust” (Bal et al.). Definitely, Fred identified with the people with low trust. Reed’s performance evaluation system gave a low score to Fred primarily because of the BARS criteria whereas the behavior of older workers is understandably different from that of the younger workers. Behavior of the older workers is not a very strong predictor of their abilities. Behavior changes with age and the older the worker, the lesser his compliance with the new requirements of the system. The influence of a behavior-based performance evaluation system on the older workers is not good. Performance evaluation system for the older workers specifically should not be anchored with their behavior. Instead, it is more appropriate to focus the attention towards quantifiable results. “Even when it comes to fast-paced jobs that require speed of execution, advancing age may not be a significant disadvantage because communication and decision-making skills can often more than make up for any decline in manual dexterity” (Feinsod and Davenport 17). Fred’s resistance to change Fred’s Mistakes Fred showed resistance to change. Reed was a new employee and was eager about bringing positive changes in the organizational systems and he needed everybody’s compliance with him to make his plans work. Since Reed was senior and assumed the decision making power, it was in the best interest of Fred to change his practices as per Reed’s suggestions, but every time Reed approached Fred with a suggestion, Fred would put it down like hitting a shuttlecock from his racket. Reed introduced a number of changes including change in the performance evaluation system, asking Fred to be in the office at the right time, and putting Fred on probation. All of this made Fred feel like as if he was being constantly monitored because of Reed’s lack of trust in his abilities. In his defense, Fred did talk about the ways in which he had tried to change himself according to Reed’s suggestions and provided rationale for him appearing late in the office than the starting time, but the fact is that Fred never liked being told to do things because he considered himself just too senior and experienced to be guided in any way. A very important and logically necessary change that Reed wanted to introduce was increased interaction between the correct doctors or “whales” and the sales representatives to identify the loopholes in the marketing of drugs and the reasons why the customers were more inclined towards buying the competitors’ products than theirs. Any responsible district manager would like to introduce such a change, but Fred also took this offensive because this was not how things had been before Reed. Recommendations Older workers’ resistance to change is fairly understandable and natural. It was not just a behavioral trait particular of Fred. Various studies in the past have confirmed that older workers are generally more resistant to change than the younger workers. “[W]hen looking at the state agencies’ perceptions of negative attributes of employees, late-career employees were perceived to be the most resistant to change (41%), reluctant to try new technologies (34%), and difficult to train (18%), according to the States as Employers-of-Choice survey (Fall 2008)” (“Sloan Center News”). Reed should expect Fred to resist to the changes in the strategies and work practices he makes. Anticipation of the resistance to change is the first and the foremost requirement of identifying the ways to manage the change. “The clue to overcoming resistance is understanding that you cannot avoid resistance, but you can manage it” (“Frustrated By Resistance”). Analysis of the case study suggests that Reed tried a variety of ways to reduce Fred’s resistance to change. These ways included but were not limited to sending him memo demonstrating his poor performance and encouraging him to improve it in the future, and providing Fred with the coaching and medical journals, but Fred was not ready to cooperate on any level because of his preconceived notion that Reed was against him and wanted to have him replaced. Reed should have assessed the likelihood of the development of this perception in Fred from the response Fred had made to his first memo. Earning Fred’s confidence was the key to gaining his compliance and cooperation, but instead of doing that, Reed indulged in activities like spying on Fred that further aggravated the matters between them. Eradication of the “political power plays amongst managers and other employees by conducting broad-based meetings where goals and tactics are openly discussed and [introduction of] processes that leave little room for individual discretion” (“Employee Resistance”) are some of the most effective ways of reducing workers’ resistance to change. Lack of trust or violation of the psychological contract Fred’s Mistakes As the district manager located above Fred in the organizational structure, Reed assumed every right to ensure that Fred was punctual in his work, even if Reed had to spy on Fred to achieve this. Fred’s mistake that made the psychological contract between not only Reed and Fred but also the whole organization including Martino and Fred breach was that like always, Fred was not ready to realize his mistake and went into the defensive mode. When Reed and Fred met at the Bordentown diner, and Reed told Fred that he was found not appearing in the office in team as Reed had been spying on him, Fred drew Reed’s attention towards the fact that Fred had been serving as a loyal and honest employee in the organization for many years, and given his seniority and experience in work, he should not be spied on. Things would not have been as bad between Reed and Fred even if this reply was made in a professional manner, what made things between them even worse was that Fred used emotions to emphasize on his points. Particularly, saying that he was not going to take the spying was very offensive for Reed because rather than being sorry about his mistakes, he in a way challenged Reed that Fred was powerful enough to stop Reed from spying on him. From all aspects, Fred’s response set an impression on Reed that Fred was not going to change his ways for the better and was not ready to take Reed’s suggestions seriously. There reflected a pride in Fred’s response that he was one of the most experienced employees in the organization. Another incident that contributed to the development of lack of Reed’s trust in Fred was when Fred could not target the correct doctors while the two went through the files in the computer. Here, Fred’s mistake was that he did not target the correct doctors which might as well be causal factor behind his poor sales. Recommendations Reed should not have spied on Fred especially when he had himself conveyed to the employees through a memo that he encouraged flexibility and all he expected the employees to ensure is that they produce a full day’s work. Fred did keep this in mind and as evidence also talked about this memo in his defense. Fred said that he might have been late for the office because he had to take care of certain family members and fulfill his family responsibilities, but he would always make sure that he completed the day’s work. (Kidd and Green) conducted a research on the biomedical research scientists and found that their family responsibilities neither affected their commitment towards the career nor their willingness to continue working. It was wrong of Reed to judge Fred’s commitment towards work from his late appearance in the office. It is hard to develop an employee’s confidence once it is shattered, and Reed’s act of spying on Fred clearly shattered his confidence in him. So the practice was regressive in all respects. “If there's an atmosphere of mistrust ... people come to work not to be fired. When trust is installed, we move faster because employees are not checking on trust” (Everitt cited in Pounds). To provide the employees with a health environment to work and to let the employees optimize on their potential to work, it is imperative that the top management earns their trust and confidence and provides them with more flexibility. “The ability to choose their hours, take time off to care for relatives and work from home” (Feinsod and Davenport 20) was amongst the most important attributes that employees aged 50 years or more value in the workplace according to the AARP’s survey conducted in 2003. The focus should be on results rather than on such behaviors because at the end, it is results that matter. An employee appearing at the office at exact 8:30 am does not mean he/she would start working right as he comes. A worker who is committed to work would finish the job even if he/she is late whereas another who is not quite as determined would be unproductive even if he/she is punctual. The way managers communicate with the older workers also has a large influence on their level of motivation. “Stop referring to any training for people over 50 as being 'pre-retirement' training! This is guaranteed to make people feel unwanted” (“Taking Older Workers”). Equity and procedural justice Fred’s Mistakes Fred did not think that he was being treated fair in the organization. What played a very important role in breaking Fred’s trust was the fact that none of the sales representatives but he was required to be on probation, but he did not realize that he had been given the benefit of the doubt and allowed to go on a second probation before being fired. Putting Fred on probation was the final attempt by Reed to get his performance to the required level as all his fragile attempts in the past had turned out to be feeble. Fred also thought that the behavior based performance evaluation system was unfair but he did not realize that all employees’ performances had been evaluated on the same scale as his. According to (Ambrose, Seabright, and Schminke 947), interactional injustice causes workers to retaliate whereas the distributive injustice engages the workers in equity restoration. In the case study under consideration, Fred felt like being the victim of both interactional injustice and distributive injustice and accordingly, showed retaliation and started drawing comparisons between himself and the other salesmen in the organization. Recommendations Rather than putting Fred directly on probation, Reed should have taken objective measures to inculcate the required skills in Fred. Reed could have achieved this by providing Fred with skill development and training courses. Had Fred been good enough at sales and marketing, the company’s market share in the sale of Proventil would have been already good. Reed decided to take a final test of Fred without making him aware of the current sales and marketing strategies. Accordingly, Fred was not able to meet his expectations in the challenge. “Provide older workers with further training and development. The statistics show that they are far more likely to stay with you and provide a return on your investment than your younger workers” (“Taking older workers”). Procedural justice has a negative relationship with the older workers who do not trust their organizations (Bal 126). On the manager’s part, Reed should have been fairer in his treatment of Fred. He should not have spied on Fred when he was not spied on any other salesman. Works Cited: Ambrose, Maureen L.; Seabright, Mark A.; and Schminke, Marshall. “Sabotage in the workplace: The role of organizational injustice.” Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. Vol. 89. (2002): 947-965. Bal, P. M. Age and Psychological Contract Breach in Relation to Work Outcomes. Rozenberg Publishers, 2009. Print. Bal, P. M.; Lange, A. H. de; Ybema, J. F.; Velde, M. E. G. van der.” Age and trust as moderators in the relation between procedural justice and turnover: a large-scale longitudinal study.” 2012. Web. 3 Oct. 2012. . Pounds, Marcia H. “Lack of trust is No. 1 barrier in the workplace.” 30 Nov. 2006. Web. 3 Oct. 2012. . “Employee Resistance to Change – Why?” 2012. Web. 3 Oct. 2012. . Feinsod, Roselyn R., and Davenport, Thomas O. “The Aging Workforce: Challenge or Opportunity?” World at Work Journal. 3rd Quarter. (2006): 14-23. Ferres, Natalie; Travaglione, Anthony; and Firns, Ian. “Attitudinal Differences Between Generation-X And Older Employees.” International Journal of Organisational Behaviour. Volume 6. No. 3. (n.d.): 320-333. “Flexible Work Options.” Australian National Training Authority. n.d. Web. 3 Oct. 2012. . “Frustrated By Resistance To Change?” 5 Sep. 2011. Web. 3 Oct. 2012. . Kadlec, Dan. “What Older Workers Want.” 27 June 2012. 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Preissing, Dagmar, and Loennies, Frank. “Organizational Culture and Integration of Older Employees: The German Experience.” Journal of New Business Ideas & Trends. Vol. 9. No. 1. (2011): 28-42. “Sloan Center News: Older Workers Seen as More Loyal But More Resistant to Change.” 3 June 2011. Web. 3 Oct. 2012. . “Taking older workers seriously.” News Splash. 2006. Web. 3 Oct. 2012. . Read More