Repairing Jobs That Fail to Satisfy

Peter Smits

Case 8: Repairing Jobs That Fail to Satisfy

Discussion Questions

1. Although it’s clear employees are not especially satisfied with their work, I think that this is no reason for concern because the problems can be resolved. Research does not suggest that satisfied workers are better at their jobs because there can always be a problem that can get in the way from them actually being satisfied with their work. Yes, there are behavioral outcomes associated with job satisfaction. If a person gets upset with something in their work or they don’t like their job, they end up not caring and the job isn’t done properly or up to standard, or they try to solve it. Also, if an individual likes their job and everything goes well, everything is up to par but, the individual could also hate their job. These scenarios can go both ways.
2. Using the job characteristics model, the present system of job design may be contributing to employee dissatisfaction. One reason for this is when employees are sent to do a job they cannot do, they are left feeling frustrated. But they know they are doing the best they can. Knowledge of the actual results of the work activities comes into play. There is low satisfaction with the work. One way that could help in this situation is to have an experienced plumber on call next to the order processors, whenever a customer is speaking terms the processor doesn’t understand. Therefore, the process will flow smoother for the customer, and they aren’t left angry and confused. Another way is customer service issues that involve the billing representatives. When a wrong guy is sent seems to be the problem they are facing because they only contact the customers about payments. The people in this area only see the tail end of the process. They complain the job is impersonal, and they take the brunt of customers’ negative reactions. A way that could help in this situation is to have the representatives hear the full process instead of the tail end so they know what the exact situation they are facing. Therefore, the chances of getting yelled at is slim.
3. Some specific ways that would make the reward system work better, while keeping morale high, based on the case is to give the order processors a small reward for ‘every’ call successfully completed. Instead of every 20 calls, due the things they had to deal with before. Another way is giving each of the ‘billing representatives’ a moderate cash reward if no complaints are made, for each completed call. While keeping the reward moderate as well for the plumber and plumber’s assistant when the job is handled promptly. If the customer indicates real satisfaction with the service, Tyron should give their workers “a job well done” and a bonus on their pay check instead of giving out cash rewards all the time.
4. The advantages in using financial incentives in a program of this nature is that it keeps the employees motivated and on task to complete the jobs effectively and efficiently. The disadvantages in using financial incentives in a program of this nature is the employees may rely heavily on cash rewards to perform a job effectively. Even though this is a motivator, an employee can take advantage of this. For example, if a customer isn’t rewarded all the time a job when a job is performed up to standards, they can turn their back on Tyron and not perform the job well and return to the situation where there were in, when there were problems in the workplace. Giving out rewards all the time for a job performed well could put the company in a state of debt. Financial problems are one of the few problems a company like this cannot go through; with all the other problems that they are trying to solve.
5. A plan that will assess whether the reward system is working or not is to create a survey based on giving rewards to the employees, to see if the employees are satisfied or not with this financial incentive to help them work better. It will leave Tyron with some knowledge and results whether to keep using it or come up with another plan to have his employees complete the same work effectively. The dependent variables that should change if the system works, are if the results come back with the majority of the people that are satisfied to keep using the system but, if the results come back and the majority said they are not satisfied, come up with a better system for the workers. For the people who voted against in both situations, try and talk to them to find and meet in a way to where they will become more satisfied with the job. A way about measuring success is to have the employees take part in vote to see whether they find themselves successful in using the system or not.
6. The types of hiring recommendations that I would make to find people better suited for these jobs is to first hire someone that has experience in doing structured interviews and can clearly ask the recommended questions in an interview. Make sure that someone goes over the expectations for the job that is needed to be filled. This will help Tyron hire someone that would be a good fit for the job. Setting up a job fair would be ideal as well in the hiring process. The Big Five Personality Model traits that would be useful for the customer service responsibilities are Extraversion, it captures a person’s comfort level with relationships. Extraverts tend to be gregarious, assertive and sociable. Agreeableness is another trait that would be useful for the customer service responsibilities because it refers to a person’s propensity to defer to others. Highly agreeable people are cooperative, warm and trusting. The Big Five Personality Model traits that would be useful for the emotional labour are Emotional Stability. It taps into a person’s ability to withstand stress. People with positive emotional stability tend to be calm, self-confident, and secure. Conscientiousness is another trait that would be useful for emotional labour. This person is responsible, organized, dependable, and persistent.