The Bone of Contention Case Analysis

CASE ANALYSIS ON THE BONE OF CONTENTION

By: Jimmy Q. Arroyo Jr. and Walter P. Gonzalbo

MBA 560 (Human Behavior in Organization)

October 1, 2011

BACKGROUND OF THE CASEI. MAIN CHARACTERS OF THE CASE

BELLA - Certified Public Accountant from a reputable school in Manila.

- Works at the Food Corp. for the past three years.

- Joined the company right after graduation and was hired as one of the finance staff .

- Diligent.

- Happy and content with her work.

PATTY - A classmate of Bella and an Accounting Graduate.

- Recently joined the Food Corp. as a finance staff.

- Had many working experiences with various companies.

FORMER BOSS of Bella who was assigned to some other foreign office.

The Internal areas of concern includes the Top Management, Middle Management, Bella, Patty, and the rest of the employees of the company comprising of the Rank and File and the Contractual employees.

BACKGROUND OF THE CASE

II. ISSUES INVOLVED/ SUMMARY OF EVENTS

Patty received a salary higher than that of Bella.Bella was able to get the information on Patty’s salary.Bella got depressed and demotivated with the big disparity

in their salary.

There existed a silent hostility between Bella and Patty.

Rumors were heard behind Patty’s back and her competence was questioned.


II. ISSUES INVOLVED/ SUMMARY OF EVENTS

Patty did her best to learn the ropes of the trade.

Bella was assigned to one of the company’s foreign branches.

Relations between Bella & Patty seemed to improve.

Patty had a hint as to what was causing Bella’s anxiety which affected her performance.


ISSUES AND PROBLEMS INVOLVED

Salary Disparity

Office Idiosyncrasies/Confidentiality of Information

Professional Competition (Status/Competency Discrimination)

Based on the given case, the major problem was determined to be caused by several rooted problems and issues which were as follows:

ISSUES AND PROBLEMS INVOLVED

Job Security

Communication Problem

Lack of Motivation (Intrinsic and Extrinsic) and Ethics

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Hence, we derived the statement of the problem which goes:

“What should the Top Management do to motivate the employees of Food Corporation to work effectively and efficiently in accordance with the Corporation’s Rules, Regulations and Code of Ethics?”

OBJECTIVES

1. To be able to provide Positive Reinforcements as Motivation for the achievements and performance as well as setting higher goals to be achieved.

2. To be able to consistently and constantly reward the employees with incentives based on their achievements and merits.

3. To be able to set work-related goals from time to time.

4. To be able to look on the employees needs and see that they are comfortable in their working environment.

5. To be able to set and implement fair rules in the corporation.

6. To be able to resolve the issues on disparity and the confidentiality of the salary of all the employees of the Food Corporation.

7. To be able to resolve the problem on the promotion and benefits of all the employees of the Food Corporation inclusive of the impartial and equal treatment and designation of a certain employee to a particular position within the company.

8. To be able to amend effective and efficient corporate standards and policies, rules and regulations, sanctions and penalties as well as Code of Ethics and Conduct for the development of the employees’ working attitude, ethics and performance which will be strictly complied in the office.

OBJECTIVES

Based on the objectives derived from the case of the Bone of Contention, we formulated several alternative courses of action which are enumerated below, and considered in every alternative herein are the respective advantages and disadvantages.

ACA #1. Set a conference between the Heads of the Company and the Board of Directors/President addressing the issues/problems contributing to the overall problem of the company and come up with the best solution to each of these problems.

ADV- Best course of wise decision-making.

DISADV- presence of biases which could affect decision-making

ALTERNATIVE COURSES OF ACTION

ACA #2. LEARNING MOTIVATION- Conduct more and effective Seminars involving and focusing on the improvement/development of the personality and skills of each individual employee of the Company likewise for Life-long learning, knowledge gain and preparing the employees in dealing with greater company problems in the future.

ADV- Presents a huge and effective aid in the development of employees in general all through out their career.

DISADV- Seminars/trainings can sometimes be boring and inapplicable.


ACA #4. SOCIAL MOTIVATION- The Top Management should spearhead the conduction of wellness and socializing programs which will enable the employees of the company to have more interactive and social participation as well as bonding with their fellow employees in the Company.

ADV- Social needs are being met and the sense of belonging develops. Also, open and better communication starts to build a stronger foundation between the employees.

DISADV- Results would still be dependent on the will of the employee.


ACA #5. ATTITUDE MOTIVATION- Boost the self-confidence of the employees by motivating them to regulate and modify their behavior positively affecting the way they behave, perceive, react or think about life or issues.

ADV- Signifies better changes in the way they perceive the future and their reaction regarding the past occurrences/issues.

DISADV- For unwilling employees there is a need to use negative reinforcement or punishment.


ACA #6. AFFILIATION MOTIVATION- Strongly desire to associate with fellow employees with the help of respect, praise and recognition for achievements even through patting an employees back for a job well done.

ADV- Employees will increasingly be more productive and Self-Esteem needs are being met.

DISADV- Over-confidence and feeling of superiority.


ACA #7. ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION- Focus on boosting the feeling of strong desire to follow an identified course of action with the aim of reaching a particular target. The Self-Actualization Needs are being satisfied which will motivate employees to realize their potential, continue self-development and be creative.

ADV- Those with achievement motivation crave to derive more achievement and move towards job stability and the apex of success. They do not really have a reward motive but the joy of achievement.

DISADV- Feeling of superiority in a negative manner.


ACA #8. COMPETENCE MOTIVATION- Motivate an employee through his/her desire to be a guru or professional on a particular course of action which enhances a qualitative result because of its repetitive in nature and experience. Likewise to undergo certain competence program assessment to validate an employees qualifications.

ADV- An employee becomes motivated to solve problems even as new obstacles bring out his/her creativity.

DISADV- Risk-taking is unavoidable.


ACA #9. FEAR MOTIVATION- Motivate an employee by compelling him/her through fear known or unknown to act contrary to his/her original intention achieving the task almost immediately.

ADV- It is considered good and primarily effective but only in the short run.

DISADV- Can cause minor to serious negative effect on an employee.


ACA #10. INCENTIVE MOTIVATION- Employees are particularly motivated by the presence of reward(s) for the achievement of the task at hand such as bonuses, salary increases, benefits, monetary rewards, plaque or medal of achievement and excellence, travel vacation, etc…

ADV- Extrinsic rewards energies people to put in extra effort and speed towards the actualization and achievement.

DISADV- Employees tend to be more materialistic and quality of performance at work will be dependent on the material rewards.


ACA #11. POWER MOTIVATION- Authorizing and enabling employees to do their jobs with greater autonomy such as promotion, granting access rights equal to that of the higher official, and higher authorization/power.

ADV- Boost in the morale and quality and quantity of performance of an employee.

DISADV- Over-exercise/Abuse of authority or power by employees who will tend to be negatively influenced or succumbed to it.


ACA #12. JOB REDESIGN- This alternative involves the implementation of Job Enlargement, Job Rotation, and Job Enrichment as part of the process of motivating an employee.

ADV- Multiple benefits are achieved such as gaining new knowledge, expansion of skills and expertise, job satisfaction, elimination of boredom, acquiring many opportunities, and developing a challenging mindset.

DISADV- Overload in work load and mishandling of tasks particularly to new and unfamiliar ones.


ACA #13. SALARY DISPARITY- Resolve the problem of salary disparity by re-computing the salary equation of all employees which will be based not just on the previous criteria but with additional consideration on the skills, performance/merits, and salary increase of employees, and on the output of the company as well as the equal rewards. Confidentiality of such information should strictly be implemented.

ADV- Equal salary distribution for all employees which should be discreet so as to avoid unwanted problems.

DISADV- Time consuming and Leakage possibilities.


ACA #14. GOAL-SETTING- Make specific goals which are challenging but realistic to motivate the employees making sure that they have the confidence to do such job.

ADV- Defined approach to work. Goal-oriented.

DISADV- Influence of assumptions without basis to making goals.


ACA #15. The last alternative would be to provide an amended Corporate Code of Ethics and Conduct likewise as to the Company’s Rules and Regulations including the Sanctions and Penalties which will be implemented and to be complied by all employees of the company.

ADV- Establish better and polished foundation for the company serving as basis to effectively and efficiently manage the entire company and creating a harmonious working environment.

DISADV- Non-compliance of hard-headed employees.


Realizing the different factors which could affect the motivation of the employees of the Food Corporation including the issues and other matters of interest, we therefore conclude that like the previous cases, there can be no sole alternative choice of action which will solve the main problem and the specific issues and minor problems which contribute to it. It is only by combining the various alternatives that the Top Management can create a very effective and efficient solution to their problem of how to motivate their employees to work effectively and efficiently in accordance with the company’s rules, regulations, and code of ethics and conduct thus avoiding the occurrence of the issues which causes the existence of the major problems of the company.

CONCLUSION

Each alternative has its own advantages and disadvantages which can affect in the decision-making of the Top Management from the finest details up to the larger picture since the entire scope of the problem is comprised of the multiple identified causes or the minor problems. When it comes to cases such as this, there should be careful analysis as to what alternatives to use in order to come up with an effective and efficient solution. Even though there are certain disadvantages to every alternative, when it comes to making solutions, every alternative should be reconsidered but with strict monitoring to ensure that the disadvantage attached to every alternative will be avoided and possibly be eliminated.

It is clearly evident that the Top Management should always develop the skill to understand their employees with regards to their behavior, attitude, perception, values, ethics, their strengths and their weaknesses. Along with it comes the Ability to modify and regulate

the behavior of their employees through the use of the 4 kinds of Behavior Modification. In the end, the Top Management will determine that their employees are motivated if the employees look for better ways to do a job, they are more quality-oriented, and are more productive.

PLAN OF ACTIONBased on the Alternative Courses of Actions and from our Conclusion, we established our Plan of Action which are as follows:

First and foremost, the Top Management should hold a conference or Board meeting to finally address the issues concerned and “brainstorm” their ideas, suggestions and recommendations to the problem.

Along with the discussion, they must include in the conference the following plan of action, goal-setting, amending the company’s rules, regulation, policies, sanctions, and Code of Ethics, salary disparity, job redesign and motivational methods.

The disparity between salaries can be treated by implementing measures and rules required in this concern to be focused on Transparency and disclosure of salaries; and of finding relations between the minimum and maximum salaries.

On the other hand, there should be the formation and approval of specialized committee to study the situation of the employees’ salaries and income, as well as suggesting new structure to reduce the current disparity and contradictions with the following reconsiderations:

• Measures and regulations shall not affect situation of insurance and pensions.

• These recommendations will be reported to coming cabinet meeting for approval.

• Delegating the National Council for Income to determine minimum salaries in the private sector.

Also, the re-computation of the Salary must be done with equal adjustment in the equation and reconsideration on basis such as skill, performance, salary increases, output of the company, goal-achieving, and rewards be divided should also be acknowledged.

For the Top management to amend their Code of Ethics and Conduct. Again the same principle will be applied to amending the Codes of conduct and ethics since the Top Management should still reconsider certain aspects and matters which could very much affect their final decision on this subject. After undergoing the process of amending the Code of Ethics and Conduct, the PAD thru the HRMD should issue a Memo Coming from the President/CEO addressed to the Company’s Unit/Group Heads regarding the implementation of the Amended Code of Ethics and Conduct which will then be complied by all the employees with the proof of signing a Compliance of Code of Conduct Agreement, duly approved by the respective Heads, altogether with the Code of Conduct Compliance Recommitment Certificate of each employee

of the company which consist of the commitment of the employees to abide to the terms of the company and report any violation of the Code as well as understanding that violating the agreement set thereto will be subjected to sanctions and penalty under the laws and regulations of the company. With this, the Top Management should also consider that the organizational culture they will establish will support and reinforce specific ethical behavior. The Heads will then submit the Certification of Conducted Reorientation of Code of the Company and the Recommitment Compliance Certificate of the employees to the Area/Regional Head and retain copies of the said documents for records purposes and shall be available anytime for audit purposes. The Area/Region Head will then submit Certifications based on the certifications submitted to them and forward the same to the ERD on their compliance with the foregoing requirements not later than a month and a half.

Using Job Redesign will also be applicable to the employees of the Food Corporation so as to further enhance the company’s flexibility and achievements through it’s employees.

• Job Enlargement- an increase in the number of similar task assigned to a job.

• Job Rotation- the systematic movement of a worker from job to job to improve job satisfaction and reduce boredom.

• Job Enrichment- the inclusion of opportunities for achievement and other motivators in a job by making the job itself more challenging.

o Implementing motivation to the problem involves considering three elements in motivation which are the Creativity, Cashing in on whatever opportunity an employee encounters, and Learning from one’s failure. Creativity is present in motivation in the sense that if

an employee is creative and believes that his/her ideas will contribute and be useful, then no matter how small it is, the employee will still be, motivated to do the job as this will be the key to success. Cashing in on the opportunities that an employee come across with will help him/her survive only when that employee is proactive towards the windows of opportunities, after all “survival of the fittest” instinct will come out naturally. Lastly, is the element of learning from one’s failure. It is through accepting the fact that even as an employee fails, he/she will still learn from it and still manage to be motivated to do better and defeat his/her failure.

When motivating an employee, there are certain factors that the Heads of the company should strict be careful of with their employees as this factors inherent in an employee will affect the ability to motivate their employees. Such factors are: Laziness, Fear of failure, Low self-esteem, Procrastination, Lack of adequate time, Excessive consideration for what people will say, and Low morale.

With the implementation of motivation, the Top Management should also provide a skill competency program which take semi-annually, to measure an employees’ ability in terms of competency in their job/work, as it will serve as basis for their remuneration, and to avoid altercation of employees about their salary.

Boosting the self-confidence of employees will also help in their development particular through the regulation and modification of their behavior, the use of positive reinforcements, negative reinforcements, extinction and punishment will likely be applicable depending on the necessity of the situation.

Seminars and trainings should also be spearheaded by the Top Management through the HRM and Planning Management as this seminars/ trainings will be very much vital in the reformation and reorientation of their employees as to their expected changes with their working career particularly with their mastery of the field of work and their personality development. This alternative can also be

be further enhanced thru Yoga sessions, wellness activities and even through Music and Meditation since these methods will really boost up the positive aura of a person, particularly inspirational songs as it is evident in recent surveys and experimentations, thus creating a balance with his/her personality giving them perfect advantage as to their working environment.

Managers and Top executives should also help their boost their

employees’ morale particularly that desire for achievement and success as this will be very advantageous with their company’s growth and success. Even a simple pat at their backs or a simple congratulatory acknowledgement will definitely make a big effect on their employees thus benefitting not just the employee but the company itself as well as boosting the desire of their employees to continue and strive to always excel and succeed. Simple things and actions can do great changes.

Documents

The Bone of Contention Case Analysis