Brian CohenPaul Jepsen

Kateri NguyenMegan Stiegelmar

Yance Yu

The Hovey and Beard Company manufacture many different type of

wooden toys. The toys begin in the wood stages, they are cut, sanded, and

partially assembled, dipped in shellac and sent to the painting room which is

where this case begins.

Before After

Skill Variety Low Low

Task Identity Moderate Moderate

Task Significance Moderate Moderate

Autonomy Low High

Job Feedback High High

Skill Variety

•The degree to which a job includes a variety of different activities and involves the use of a number of different skills and talents

Before After

Low Low

Task Identity

•The degree to which the job requires completion of a “whole” and identifiable piece of work, one that involves doing a job from beginning to end with a visible outcome.

Before After

Moderate Moderate

Task Significance

•The degree to which the job is important and involves a meaningful contribution to the organization or society in general.

Before After

Moderate Moderate

Autonomy

•The degree to which the job gives the employee substantial freedom, independence, and discretion in scheduling the work and determining the procedures used in carrying it out

Before After

Low High

Job feedback

•The degree to which carrying out the work activities provides direct and clear information to the employee regarding how well the job has been done.

Before After

High High

Job enrichmentIncreases job content by giving workers more responsibility for planning and evaluating duties

Was the learning bonus handled properly in this case? How can its motivational impact be explained? What alternative approaches could have been taken with

similar motivational results

• The learning bonus was not handled properly.

• Loss of morale• Loss of income 6 months into position

• Alternative approaches:– Job enlargement: Increases task variety by

adding new tasks of similar difficulty to a job.– Job rotation: Increases task variety by shifting

workers among jobs involving tasks of similar difficulty.

How do you explain the situation described in the last paragraph of the case? How

could this outcome have been avoided by appropriate

managerial actions?

Superintendent

SupervisorEngineer

•Situation was not handled appropriately. •Superintendent, the Supervisor and the Engineers should have a meeting to set goals for each department in order to obtain the productivity the painters obtained•Frequent meetings to uphold morale