Case 10.1

Antonio's company has an employee orientation program;has an extensive employee performance review program;and encourages managers to praise,write letters of appreciation for jobs well done,and take the time to listen to their employees.Years ago,the company began a positive reinforcement program.Managers were initially reluctant to support the program because they expected employees to begin demanding pay raises.But the company kept working at it,and eventually the program was accepted.Then,in order to increase quality and productivity,assembly-line workers were paid based on piecework for each acceptable component that they built.When the incentive programs were first introduced,employees competed with each other,teamwork was destroyed,and interpersonal relations dropped to an all-time low.Now the incentive programs and other positive reinforcement programs seem to be working.However,due to cutbacks in management levels and increasing work demands,managers are finding it harder and harder to determine which employees most deserve recognition.
-Refer to Case 10.1.Problems with diminished teamwork resulting from the introduction of the incentive program could have been avoided by
A) paying overtime wages.
B) utilizing employee input in the planning stage,then field testing the program.
C) devising incentives that reward individual performance.
D) replacing pay with noncash "trophy value" awards.

Question

Case 10.1​
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Antonio's company has an employee orientation program;has an extensive employee performance review program;and encourages managers to praise,write letters of appreciation for jobs well done,and take the time to listen to their employees.Years ago,the company began a positive reinforcement program.Managers were initially reluctant to support the program because they expected employees to begin demanding pay raises.But the company kept working at it,and eventually the program was accepted.Then,in order to increase quality and productivity,assembly-line workers were paid based on piecework for each acceptable component that they built.When the incentive programs were first introduced,employees competed with each other,teamwork was destroyed,and interpersonal relations dropped to an all-time low.Now the incentive programs and other positive reinforcement programs seem to be working.However,due to cutbacks in management levels and increasing work demands,managers are finding it harder and harder to determine which employees most deserve recognition.
-Refer to Case 10.1.Problems with diminished teamwork resulting from the introduction of the incentive program could have been avoided by​
A) ​paying overtime wages.
B) ​utilizing employee input in the planning stage,then field testing the program.
C) ​devising incentives that reward individual performance.
D) ​replacing pay with noncash "trophy value" awards.

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Utilizing employee input in the planning stage and field testing the program would have allowed for the identification of potential issues such as diminished teamwork and the development of strategies to address them before full implementation of the incentive program. This approach would have ensured that the program was not only effective in increasing quality and productivity but also in maintaining positive interpersonal relations and teamwork. The other options (paying overtime wages, devising incentives that reward individual performance, and replacing pay with noncash "trophy value" awards) do not address the root cause of diminished teamwork resulting from the incentive program.

Case 10.1​ ​

Case 10.1