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Mini-Case The First Meeting Between the New CEO of Idle Time

question 83

Multiple Choice

Mini-Case
The first meeting between the new CEO of Idle Time Gaming, Inc., John Noble, and Howie Spradlin, the production manager did not go smoothly. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the problem of declining productivity and to develop a strategy to turn the situation around.
Howie started the conversation by handing Mr. Noble most recent production report. "I've always thought that most of our employees were lazy, and now I've got proof," Howie stated. "We pay these guys the highest wages in the industry, provide them with a safe place to work, and make the job as simple as possible. We aren't asking these guys to do brain surgery, but productivity still lags and our production costs increase. I've told all the supervisors to watch these lazy bums every second to make sure they put in a full day's work. If those guys think I'm going to let them get away with goofing off, they're in for a rude awakening." CEO Noble responded in a way that surprised Howie. "Maybe these employees aren't lazy, Howie, maybe they are just bored and resent the way we've treated them," he said. "The employees are experienced and well trained. They might work harder and smarter if the work were more interesting and rewarding. Their attitudes might even improve if we treated them with more respect. Maybe one of the best ways for you and I to understand where they're coming from is to spend some time along side them."
For the next hour, the two discussed ways to improve worker motivation and performance. Howie left the meeting with an unsettled feeling. Many of Mr. Noble's suggestions seemed naïve to Howie. "Mr. Noble is the boss, but I think he is too optimistic regarding human nature," Howie mused. Reluctantly, Howie had to admit that his own approach had not succeeded in improving the plant's performance. He decided to take a hard look at some of Mr. Noble's ideas.
-Currently, jobs at Idle Time Gaming are broken into small individual steps, and each employee is assigned to perform a different step in an effort to achieve task efficiency. This technique is known as job:

Recognize the elements of a valid release and accord and satisfaction in contractual agreements.

Identify the conditions under which a promise of employment may be legally enforced.

Understand the concept of a firm offer and its significance in contract law.

Understand the role of self-assessment in personal and professional development.

Definitions:

Human Resource

The department within an organization that deals with the recruitment, management, and direction of people who work in it.

In-Group Collectivism

refers to the extent to which individuals express pride, loyalty, and cohesiveness in their organizations or families.

Robert House

An influential academic known for his work on leadership theory, particularly the Path-Goal Theory of Leadership which suggests that a leader's behavior is contingent to the satisfaction, motivation, and performance of her or his subordinates.

Management Toward Labor

This refers to the approaches, policies, and practices that management adopts in dealing with its workforce, aiming at managing relationships between employers and employees effectively.