DATATRONIC is a company started by George Pandry and Rolin Martin, two friends who had just graduated with degrees in business administration and saw an opportunity to start their own business. With an increasing number of organizations conducting employee attitude surveys, they saw a need for data input and analyses as well as for the design of Web-based surveys. With a loan from their parents, they rented space, purchased 20 used computers, and set up shop. They hired some students they knew at the university and began advertising their services. Employees were paid minimum wage and usually worked threehour shifts in the mornings and afternoons several days a week.

The assignment of projects to employees was fairly straightforward. Whenever a new project was accepted by DATATRONIC, Rolin would review the job and then set a deadline for completion based on the nature of the project and the customer’s needs. While some employees only worked on Webbased surveys, all employees were able to input data and conduct some basic data analyses. If a project required more advanced data analysis, it was assigned to one of a handful of employees who were able to do it. It was George’s responsibility to check on the progress of projects and make sure they were completed by the deadline. Once a project was completed, Rolin would review it and check for mistakes and errors. If a project was found to have errors, Rolin would send it back to the employee who worked on it, with instructions on what needed to be corrected and the new deadline. If the corrections were minor, then the employee would be asked to do them immediately and put aside what he or she was currently working on. If the corrections were more substantial, then the employee’s current project would be given to another employee so that the employee could work on the project that required corrections.

Within a relatively short period of time, DATATRONIC was having trouble keeping up with demand. In fact, business was so good they had to hire more employees and purchase more computers. After about six months, however, they began to notice some problems. An increasing number of projects were not being completed on time, and customers were beginning to complain. In some cases, George and Rolin had to give big discounts to customers who threatened to take their business elsewhere.

QUESTIONS 

1. What factors do you think contribute to the performance of the employees at DATATRONIC?

2. Consider the needs of the employees at DATATRONIC. What is most likely to motivate them? How important are intrinsic and extrinsic motivators? Is their motivation autonomous or controlled?

3. Discuss the motivational strategies being used at DATATRONIC. What are employees motivated to do? How do the theories of motivation help us understand employees’ motivation and performance and the effectiveness of the motivational strategies?

4. Using the theories of motivation, what advice would you give George and Rolin on how to motivate employees at DATATRONIC? Be sure to refer to the need theories and the process theories of motivation.

5. What would you do to motivate DATATRONIC employees? Be specific in terms of how to motivate them to complete projects on time, to complete projects without errors, and to continue to work at DATATRONIC. Justify your answers using the theories of motivation.