Case Study The Puppet & What Do They Want

*What Do They Want:
Pat Riverer is vice president of manufacturing and operations of a medium-size pharmaceutical firm in the
Midwest. Pat has a Ph.D. in chemistry but has not been directly involved in research and new-product
development for 20 years. From the “school of hard knocks” when it comes to managing operations, Pat runs a
“tight ship.” The company does not have a turnover problem, but it is obvious to Pat and other key management
personnel that the hourly people are putting in only their eight hours a day. They are not working anywhere near
their full potential. Pat is very upset with the situation because, with rising costs, the only way that the company
can continue to prosper is to increase the productivity of its hourly people. Pat called the human resources
manager, Carmen Lopez, and laid it on the line: “What is it with our people, anyway? Your wage surveys show
that we pay near the top in this region, our conditions are tremendous, and our fringes choke a horse. Yet these
people still are not motivated. What in the world do they want?” Carmen replied: “I have told you and the
president time after time that money, conditions, and benefits are not enough. Employees also need other
things to motivate them. Also, I have been conducting some random confidential interviews with some of our
hourly people, and they tell me that they are very discouraged because, no matter how hard they work, they get
the same pay and opportunities for advancement as their coworkers who are just scraping by.” Pat then replied:
“Okay, you are the motivation expert; what do we do about it? We have to increase their performance.”
1. Explain the “motivation problem” in this organization in terms of the content models of Maslow and
Herzberg. What are the “other things” that the human resources manager is referring to in speaking of things
besides money, conditions, and fringe benefits that are needed to motivate employees?
2. Explain the motivation of the employees in this company in terms of one or more of the process models. On
the basis of the responses during the confidential interviews, what would you guess are some of the
expectancies, valences, and inequities of the employees in this company? How about Pat?
3. How would you respond to Pat’s last question and statement if you were the human resources manager in
this company?
*The Puppet:
Rex Justice is a long-term employee of the Carfax Corporation, and for the last several years he has been a
supervisor in the financial section of the firm. He is very loyal to Carfax and works hard to follow the company
policies and procedures and the orders of the managers above him. In fact, upper-level management think very
highly of him; they can always count on Rex to meet any sort of demand that the company places on him. He is
valued and well-liked by all the top managers. His employees in the financial section have the opposite opinion
of Rex. They feel that he is too concerned with pleasing the upper-level brass and not nearly concerned enough
with the needs and concerns of the employees in his department. For example, they feel that Rex never really
pushes hard enough for a more substantial slice of the budget. Relative to other departments in the company,
they feel they are underpaid and overworked. Also, whenever one of them goes to Rex with a new idea or
suggestion for improvement, he always seems to have five reasons why it can’t be done. There is considerable
dissatisfaction in the department, and everyone thinks that Rex is just a pup pet for management. Performance
has begun to suffer because of his style and leadership. Upper-level management seem to be oblivious to the
situation in the finance section.
1. How would you explain Rex’s leadership style in terms of one or more of the approaches discussed in the
chapter?
2. What advice would you give Rex to improve his approach to leadership?
3. Could a leadership training program be set up to help Rex? What would it consist of?

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