ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT

Introduction to organization and management

Introduction to organization and management

Case Study 1: Watsons Engine Components

It is clear from the information provided in the case study that the root of the problem in the organization lies in the employees' motivation to contribute to the development of the organization. Group members frequently reduce the amount of effort they expend on a task when they are working together compared to when they are working alone. Imagine three brothers doing yard work as a group (Brophy 2004). Suppose they rake and collect twelve bags of leaves in an hour. On average, then, each brother fills four bags. Motivation loss in the group would be demonstrated if each brother were given an hour to individually rake and bag leaves and each filled five bags.

Motivation losses (also known as social loafing) are one reason each brother may accomplish less when working with others than when working alone. Sometimes these reductions in effort occur in groups because members feel their personal contributions to the overall group product are not discriminable from the contributions of others. For example, if the brothers used a division of labor that assigned each a unique role (e.g., raking, holding the bag, filling the bag with leaves), effort might decline because it would be difficult to make comparisons of their relative effort levels, given the distinct nature of their responsibilities (Deci, Koestner and Ryan 2001). But even if the brothers decided not to assign unique roles, task motivation would still be likely to decline if all the bags of leaves were piled together so that no one could discern who did what.

Consistent with the Collective Effort Model, research shows that motivation in groups also drops when members believe that their efforts will have little impact on the group's success. For example, if the group is large and its task is disjunctive (that is, requires that only one member solve a problem in order for the group to solve it), then individual members are likely to feel that their efforts are not necessary, and hence they will be unlikely to exert much effort (DiPerna and Elliott 2000). This tendency to free ride on the efforts of others is especially likely when the task is not enjoyable or rewarding.

Social loafing can be contagious, spreading even to group members who are diligent and relatively self-motivated (Eccles and Wigfield 2002). If hardworking group members perceive that others in the group are not trying as hard as they are, they may decrease their own efforts to avoid feeling exploited and being seen (or seeing themselves) as a “sucker.”

Many factors can lead to motivation losses in groups, but are there conditions that encourage people to work harder in groups than when alone? Although motivation gains in groups are not common, they do exist, and over the past few decades there has been an increased focus on understanding when and why working in groups can lead to enhanced effort.

When they are part of the group, members often share a ...