Question

Scenario (fictional): The Timber Building Company modifies and builds portable offices and homes based on customized plans. The company has been in business 35 years and has prided itself on providing a very competitive salary and great benefits as well as retaining most of their original employees. While they originally began the company doing creative designs and one-of-a-kind housing and office buildings, much of the routine work in the factory is now done robotically. They still need a supervisor and technicians to keep the operations running, as well as the construction crew who actually deliver and construct the products on site. Although the designs might be modified slightly now, they are already in the company computer and ready to produce with some small modifications when needed. There are two main engineers, one who predominantly works on high-end mansions, and the other who predominantly works on corporate office projects from Timber’s main offices. The CEO and president (the husband and wife team who are the founders), are the ones who meet with prospective corporate clients and negotiate the prices and building parameters. While the company used to construct low-income housing as well, the clients are now almost exclusively wealthy private clients or corporate titans. The CEO and the company president are beginning to think about retirement. They want to keep the company running, but they cannot understand why the two engineers seem unmotivated when they are receiving such competitive salaries and great benefits with 3 weeks’ vacation a year. In addition, the production line has had more problems of late, and the supervisor seems to be coming in late several times a week, as have the technicians. They are worried about the future of the company they built. Checklist: Minimum Submission Requirements Using critical thinking and analysis: Summarize the problems at the company that are possibly affecting employee motivation and performance. Analyze motivation theories as provided in your text and learning activities (providing proper attribution) to explain the engineers’ lack of motivation. Name the theory or theories. Define the theory or theories. Explain how the theory or theories apply/applies to the scenario. Analyze motivation theories as provided in your text and learning activities (providing proper attribution) to explain the supervisor’s, technicians’, and construction crew’s lack of motivation. Name the theory or theories. Define the theory or theories. Explain how the theory or theories apply/applies to the scenario. Explain how the CEO and president might better motivate employees to improve performance. Do some research in the Purdue Global Library and provide a short quote with the appropriate citations from each of at least two scholarly* articles that integrate research into your analysis to provide support for your claims. These citations should have accompanying references on the separate reference page following current APA format and style. (Access current APA formatting and citation resources in the Unit 1 Reading area. For additional writing resources, see the Academic Success Center resources in the Academic Tools area of the course.) Your essay should demonstrate a clear and sustained point of view. Submit your 2- to 3-page expository essay with additional title and reference pages using APA formatting and citation style to the Dropbox. *Scholarly sources have been put through a peer review process by experts in the field to ascertain that the content is original, supports any statements or claims with viable research, etc. Select “Library” under the Academic Tools area. Then select “Peer Reviewed” before doing your search on a topic.

Answer 1

Summary of Problems will be:

Automation Impact: Much of the routine work is now done robotically, leading to potential job dissatisfaction among employees.

Management Issues: The supervisor, technicians, and construction crew members are displaying signs of low motivation and inconsistent attendance.

Theory: Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory.

Herzberg proposed that job satisfaction and dissatisfaction are influenced by separate factors – motivators and hygiene factors. The engineers might perceive their competitive salaries and benefits as hygiene factors, while the lack of challenging projects and creative freedom (motivators) may lead to dissatisfaction.

Expectancy theory posits that individuals are motivated to act in a certain way based on the expectation that their actions will lead to a desired outcome. Employees may be demotivated due to a perceived lack of effort-reward correlation. If they believe that coming in late or putting in extra effort does not lead to better outcomes, motivation decreases.

Improving Employee Motivation:

Empowerment and Recognition: Provide the engineers with more autonomy in design and recognize their contributions publicly.

Training and Development: Invest in training programs for the production line employees to enhance their skills and increase their confidence in handling robotic systems.