978-0470639948 Chapter 10 Solution Manual Part 2

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CHAPTER QUESTION 2: DESCRIBE DIFFERENT TECHNIQUES FOR MANAGING

GO-GETTERS, FENCE-SITTERS, AND ADVERSARIALS.

BACKGROUND

oEmployee engagement contributes to, but does not necessarily require, employee

empowerment.

oEngagement is an emotional connection to the job task, work unit, or

organization.

oEmpowerment refers to giving employees decision making authority, which can

be further solidified with an ownership stake in the organization.

oReview the “BEST PRACTICE IN USE” exhibit, which provides a list of empowerment

mechanisms implemented by Whole Foods Market.

WHO TO EMPOWER

oNot all employees want to be empowered, nor should all employees be empowered.

oBeing ethical and fair does not mean that every employee must be empowered. Each

employee has different capabilities and attitudes toward work.

oBeing fair means providing all employees with the opportunity to be empowered based

on meeting certain workplace criteria.

oSome managers mistakenly design systems to control for under-performing employees

and, in the name of fairness, impose the same control system on all employees.

oWhen this happens, some of the best performers quit for employment with an

organization that will treat them with the respect they deserve.

oManagers need to treat their best performers differently, such as providing them

with more autonomy and decision-making authority, than other employees— they

have earned it.

oProvide greater decision-making authority to under-performing employees only

after they meet or surpass expectations.

oMany organizations have three types of employees in terms of workplace attitudes and

behaviors:

1. Go-getters, who are fully engaged with the work experience

2. Fence-sitters, who put in a good day’s work for a good day’s pay

3. Adversarials, who have an unfavorable attitude to both the nature of work and

authority

oReview EXHIBIT 10.5 “Workplace Attitudes and Behaviors” which summarizes these

three types of employees.

oGo-getters are task-oriented employees with a “can-do” attitude. They enjoy working, are

proactive, and appreciate new challenges.

oEmpower go-getters by giving them freedom and autonomy, new challenges, and

leadership positions; praise them and give them extra rewards.

oEmpower go-getters to work with fence-sitters and adversarial employees.

Go-getters can teach fence-sitters easier ways to perform their work tasks and

offer adversarial employees a more constructive way to frame organizational

events and apply their energy.

oFence-sitters meet managerial expectations and go no further. They consider a job as a

necessary burden to pay expenses. Fence-sitters put in a solid work effort and meet

performance expectations because they do not want to be fired.

oEmpower fence-sitters only under restricted conditions. Challenge fence-sitters by

continually increasing performance expectations. The more that is expected of

fence-sitters, the more they will accomplish.

oSeparate fence-sitters from adversarial employees, who typically try to distract

fence-sitters from putting in a good day’s work.

oAdversarial employees do not like work and possess negative attitudes toward others,

particularly managers and go-getters, often slack off when not under managerial

observation and encourage fence-sitters to do likewise, view manager as the enemy and

criticize managers whenever possible.

oDo not empower adversarial employees.

oInstead, confront and discipline adversarial employees. Otherwise, they will not

change their attitudes or behaviors.

oSometimes an employee is adversarial because the job fit is inappropriate. In this

case, assign the adversarial employee to a different task, workgroup, or manager.

oClosely supervise adversarial employees, because they cannot be trusted to act

with the organization’s best interests at heart.

oDocument the behavioral impacts of their negative attitudes, such as failure to

cooperate with managers or go-getters.

oRequire that adversarial employees receive counseling through the organization’s

EAP program to get at the root of their negative work attitude, which may be

grounded in childhood experiences.

oGive adversarial employees an opportunity to change by a jointly determined

deadline and dismiss them if the agreed upon change does not occur. Some

reformed adversarial employees are very grateful for being given another chance.

oAdversarial employees have leadership skills, though they are currently directed

toward the wrong ends.

DISCUSSION ACTIVITY

Have students estimate the percentage of employees they knew at their current or previous job,

or organization membership, that were (a) go-getters, (b) fence-sitters, and (3) adversarial. Did

managers do anything special for go-getters so that the go-getters felt appreciated? How were

adversarial employees managed? How would you have managed the adversarial employee?

Why?

MEASURING A MANAGER’S EMPOWERMENT BEHAVIORS

oReview the wide range of management behaviors that can foster employee

empowerment, which appear in EXHIBIT 10.6 “Empowering Behaviors Survey” as a

survey instrument for evaluating a direct supervisor’s use of empowerment techniques.

DISCUSSION ACTIVITY

Have students complete the “Empowering Behaviors Survey” in Exhibit 10.6 for a current or

previous supervisor, or organization membership leader. What were the supervisor’s strengths?

What were the supervisor’s weaknesses? What would the supervisor need to do to transform the

lowest score item into a strength? Discuss the results in small groups.

CHAPTER QUESTION 3: WHAT IS THE TEAM PROBLEM-SOLVING PROCESS?

WHAT ARE ITS ADVANTAGES?

EMPOWERING EFFECTIVE TEAMS

oEvery work unit is a team or small community.

oConversely, the most effective teams consist of members who:

o(1) trust one another

oConflict is normal in both simple and complex organizations. Highly engaged and

committed employees will disagree about the best way to manage a situation.

oThe “pinch theory” technique is a useful tool for preventing team conflicts from

oStep 1: Party calling the “pinch” (conflict) goes first

oStep 2: Second party repeats the information

oThe team problem-solving process below helps access each member’s unique

knowledge—introverts as well as extroverts—and generate solutions with the highest

likelihood of achieving superior performance.

4) Clarify individual solutions. Each team member explains his or her solution in

greater detail and responds to clarifying questions. The solutions are not judged as

5) Brainstorm. For three minutes, team members should spontaneously propose as

many solutions as possible, no matter how odd or impractical they might initially

6) Group and prioritize solutions. As a team, organize the list of potential solutions

according to common themes and prioritize them according to the greatest

7) Play devil’s advocate. Assign one team member the role of devil’s advocate. This

person should state all the reasons why the highest priority solution is likely to

8) Implement and monitor. Have teams implement high-priority solutions that fall

within the boundaries of their authority, and monitor the outcomes. Team

DISCUSSION ACTIVITY

Have students experience the problem-solving process by focusing on an experience they have

shared, such as this class. The problem statement can be: Every class is imperfect and in need of

continuous improvement. How can the professor improve this class?

Then direct the students through the remaining 7-step problem-solving process: individually list

solutions to improve the class, share solutions in small group, brainstorm other possible

solutions, group and prioritize the solutions, someone play’s devil’s advocate, and then more

fully develop the solution to share with the professor in terms of potential implementation.

END OF DAY TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT PROCESS

oSet aside 10 to 15 minutes at the end of every day for teams to process the events that

occurred during the day and make preparations for managing any ongoing problems the

following day.

oOrganize daily reflections where each employee shares the information below about the

work day. Have one employee address all five issues and then the next employee does

likewise.

1. A performance accomplishment or satisfaction experienced

2. A problem that arose

3. How the problem was solved

4. A lesson learned from the accomplishment or problem that might benefit other

team members

5. A problem that still needs to be addressed

ADDITIONAL QUESTION 1: WHAT IS OPEN BOOK MANAGEMENT?

oEmpowering employees requires giving them the information they need to make

o“Open Book” means what the term implies – opening the financial books to all

oTrusting nonmanagement employees with previously confidential financial and

oReview the TIPS AND TECHNIQUES “Open Book Management” exhibit

DISCUSSION ACTIVITY

Would open book management work in your current or previous place of employment, or

organization membership? Why? How would other employees react to this opportunity?

CHAPTER QUESTION 4: HOW WOULD YOU DESIGN AN APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY

WORKSHOP TO ACHIEVE SUPERIOR CUSTOMER SERVICE?

APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY

oA key task for managers is to empower employees by aligning employee strengths with

oAppreciative Inquiry is a team-based management technique that focuses on the

oAppreciative Inquiry is a particularly powerful method for aligning fence-sitters and

oAppreciative Inquiry is a four phase process, employees:

oidentify organizational processes that work well (discover)

APPRECIATIVE INQURY WORKSHOP

oAn Appreciative Inquiry workshop can be designed to empower employees to achieve

superior customer service based on organizational strengths.

oStep 1: Individually reflect on superior customer service [Discover]. Each

employee independently responds to the following prompts:

Describe a situation when you received superior customer service.

Describe a situation when you provided superior customer service.

Describe a situation when a co-worker provided superior customer

service.

Describe other ways the organization has provided superior customer

service.

Describe other ways the organization can provide superior customer

service.

What changes would have to be made in the organization to achieve this?

oStep 2: On a small team, determine the essential elements of superior customer

service.

Each team member presents situations when he or she received superior

customer service, provided superior customer service, and observed others

in the organization providing superior customer service.

As a team, list the most important elements mentioned in these stories that

enabled employees to achieve superior customer service (e.g., “The

common themes in these stories are x and y.”). Share these elements with

the larger group

oStep 3: Develop a collective vision of what is needed to achieve superior

customer service [Dream].

Each team member describes other ways the organization can provide

superior customer service and changes that would have to be made to

accomplish this. For instance, “We could provide superior customer

service if we did x and y.”

As a team, develop a compelling image of how the organization can

achieve superior customer service in the future. Share this image with the

larger group.

oStep 4: Create a draft of a new organizational mission statement that emphasizes

superior customer service at every level of operations.

Each team member independently composes a one-sentence mission

statement and presents it to the team.

As a team, achieve consensus on a one-sentence mission statement that

meets the following four criteria, and share the mission statement with the

larger group:

Is it desired? Would you want it?

Is it stated in affirmative and bold terms?

Is it clear and achievable?

Does it stretch and challenge the organization in a desired

direction?

oStep 5: Determine the organization’s current “positive core.”

Each team member independently determines two or three core aspects of

the organization that already support the mission statement and superior

customer service. For each aspect, provide an example. For instance, “We

are already good at doing x and y.”

As a team, reach consensus on the core aspects. Share the core aspects,

and examples, with the larger group.

oStep 6: Make personal commitments [Design].

Each team member independently lists what he or she will do more of, or

differently, to deliver superior customer service. For instance, “I promise

to do x, and y.”

Share this information with team members and hold each other

accountable.

Share these commitments with the larger group.

oStep 7: Make organizational action recommendations.

Each team member recommends initiatives for how the organization can

achieve superior customer service. How can the vision and image (Step 3),

mission statement (Step 4), current strengths (Step 5), and personal

commitments (Step 6) become a highly-integrated reality?

As a team, further develop these recommendations and share with the

larger group.

oStep 8: Have management follow up [Destiny].

As an example of superior customer service and accountability, managers

commit to providing feedback on this information within a reasonable

timeframe.

DISCUSSION ACTIVITY

Have students experience an Appreciative Inquiry workshop based on improving customer

service for an organization they share in common, such as the college or School of Business.

Begin by having students independently answer the questions below and then follow the 8-step

Appreciative Inquiry workshop format.

1. Describe a situation why you received superior customer service from the school.

2. Describe a situation why you provided superior customer service to another student.

3. Describe other ways the organization has provided superior customer service.

4. Describe other ways the organization can provided superior customer service.

5. What changes would have to be made in the organization to achieve this?

CHAPTER QUESTION 5: DESCRIBE HOW TO IMPLEMENT A SCANLON-TYPE

GAINSHARING PLAN.

oEmployees can also be empowered to behave as managers and owners by providing

financial incentives that reward them as if they were managers and owners.

oScanlon-type gainsharing plans empower employees by delegating institutional

responsibility and accountability for improving operations to employee teams.

oWork unit teams elicit, evaluate, and implement continuous improvement

suggestions, and receive financial rewards for surpassing historical performance

standards.

oCost savings are then shared between the organization and its employees based on

an agreed upon formula.

oThe five elements of a Scanlon-type gainsharing plan are gainsharing coordinator,

suggestion system, gainsharing team, review board, and group based financial bonus.

oGainsharing coordinator. The gainsharing coordinator is responsible for

managing the gainsharing system. The coordinator is typically a go-getter

nonmanagement employee or human resources manager. Nonmanagement

employees tend to trust the gainsharing system more if a member from their group

is managing the system. Gainsharing coordinator duties include managing the

suggestion system process, training team members, attending team meetings, and

maintaining records. This can be a full-time position or amended to an employee’s

current job duties.

oSuggestion system. Employees submit written suggestions to the gainsharing

coordinator on how to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and increase revenue. The

suggestions are listed in a log book or computer file and sent to the appropriate

work team.

oGainsharing team. A gainsharing team consists of either all nonmanagement

employees in the work unit or work unit representatives voted to the team.

Organizations with small work units tend to put everyone on a gainsharing team,

whereas larger work units vote for representatives. The teams can be defined in

terms of job tasks (nurses on one team, facilities employees on another team) or

location (everyone on the third floor of a hospital). Teams meet weekly or

monthly to review suggestions and brainstorm solutions. The teams have a

monthly budget to implement suggestions that fall within their domain.

Suggestions that exceed the team’s monthly budget, or that impact other work

units, are forwarded to a review board.

oReview board. The review board consists of one representative from each

gainsharing team, the gainsharing coordinator, and relevant managers. The

nonmanagement representatives report on the changes their teams implemented

and respond to questions. They also present suggestions that exceed their monthly

budget allocations or impact other work units. Review board members reach a

consensus on whether to implement these more costly or inter–work unit

suggestions.

oGroup based financial bonus. A group-based financial bonus calculation is

devised that compares projected costs and actual costs for a given period of time,

usually a month. The projected costs are based on historical performance, usually

an average of the previous three years. The cost calculation can be very broad

(e.g., the total value of goods and services divided by labor costs) or narrow (e.g.,

electricity costs divided by labor costs). When actual costs are lower than the

projected historical cost, the financial difference is shared between the employees

and organization, typically on a 50/50 ratio.

Half of the nonmanagement employees’ share is then distributed as a

bonus for that month. The other half of the nonmanagement employee

share is set aside in a year-end reserve pool that accounts for months

where actual costs exceed projected historical costs. Any amount

remaining in the reserve pool at the end of the year is then distributed

among the nonmanagement employees.

DISCUSSION ACTIVITY

Have students design a gainsharing plan for the college, Business School or employer to reduce

energy consumption. As part of the plan, include answers to the following questions:

1. Who should be the gainsharing coordinator?

2. How would you set up the suggestion system?

3. Who should be put on gainsharing teams (everyone or representatives)?

4. Who should be on the Review Board?

5. How should the group-based financial bonus be constructed?