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

question 72

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 the 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 me to understand where they're coming from is to spend some time alongside 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:

Definitions:

Abnormal

Refers to patterns of behavior, thought, or emotion considered to be outside the norm or dysfunctional.

Psychodynamic Model

A framework in psychology that emphasizes the influence of unconscious drives and forces on human behavior.

Repressed Thoughts

Repressed thoughts are memories or thoughts that have been unconsciously avoided or forgotten, often because they are associated with negative emotions or trauma.

Biological Model

A perspective in psychiatry and psychology that attributes psychological disorders to biological factors, such as genetic inheritance, neurotransmitter levels, and brain structure anomalies.