Kinicki/Williams, Management, 9e: Chapter 11 Managing Individual Differences and Behavior: Supervising
People as People
11–56
GROUP EXERCISE
GROUP EXERCISE #1: USING ATTRIBUTION THEORY TO RESOLVE PERFORMANCE PROBLEMS:
THE CASE OF MARY MARTIN
Objectives
● To gain experience determining the causes of performance.
● To decide on corrective action for employee performance.
Introduction
Attributions are typically made to internal and external factors. Perceivers arrive at their
assessments by using various informational cues or antecedents. To determine the types of
antecedents people use, we have developed a case containing various informational cues about
an individual’s performance. You will be asked to read the case and make attributions about the
causes of performance. To assess the impact of attributions on managerial behavior, you will also
be asked to recommend corrective action.
Instructions
Presented is a case that depicts the performance of Mary Martin, a computer programmer. Please
read the case, and then identify the causes of her behavior by answering the questions following
the case. Then determine whether you made an internal or external attribution. After completing
this task, decide on the appropriateness of various forms of corrective action. A list of potential
recommendations has been developed. The list is divided into four categories. Read each action
and evaluate its appropriateness by using the scale provided. Next, compute a total score for each
of the four categories.
The Case
Mary Martin, 30, received her baccalaureate degree in computer science from a reputable state
school in the Midwest. She also graduated with above-average grades. Mary is currently working
in the computer support/analysis department as a programmer for a nationally based firm. During
the past year, Mary has missed 10 days of work. She seems unmotivated and rarely has her
assignments completed on time. Mary is usually given the harder programs to work on.
Past records indicate that Mary, on the average, completes programs classified as “routine” in
about 45 hours. Her co-workers, on the other hand, complete “routine” programs in an average
time of 32 hours. Further, Mary finishes programs considered “major problems,” on the average,
in about 115 hours. Her co-workers, however, finish these same “major problem” assignments,
on the average, in about 100 hours. When Mary has worked in programming teams, her peer