Case Study :

Green Acres Landscaping provides both hardscape and softscape landscaping to its clientele in the Hamilton region. Hardscape involves intense labour using concrete, bricks and stone pavers. Softcape involves garden bed preparation, planting, and general lawn maintenance.

Angie Smith is one of five supervisors at the Green Acres Landscaping responsible for a hardscape crew. The crew she supervises is responsible for stone and interlocking brick installations. The general installation includes loading and unloading the stone/pavers, digging and leveling the soil, screening the gravel, arranging and cutting the stone outdoors, and tamping the stone. Heavy lifting is part of the job requirement, and there are occasions when stone weights exceed what the team is physically able to lift. Angie often steps in and assists the crew by either lending an extra hand or renting machinery to assist with the large lifting jobs. Each employee is assigned to one aspect of the process example loading and unloading the stone and cutting the stone. Work on the job site subjects the employees to considerable amount of adverse weather conditions, dust and noise. While working for Green Acres Landscaping the employees are exposed to extreme weather conditions, cold temperatures in the winter and extreme heat in the summer. Starting pay is just above minimum wage and pay increases are at the discretion of each supervisor.

Smith was concerned that the needs of the employees, particularly those in her group, were not being met. As a result she did not believe that productivity and quality were as high as they could be. The five (5) supervisors meet as a team every Monday to discuss issues and to suggest solutions to problems. Angie brought up this issue at the next supervisors' meeting and was surprised at comments from three of the supervisors.

Sam: "We're meeting their needs. They are money motivated, not achievement motivated like we are."

Carol: "All they care about is getting the job done early or as quick as they can."

Manny: "They don't care about doing challenging work. As soon as you become a supervisor of this group you can see that they are lazy and they avoid responsibilities especially safety. After all they are just semi-skilled workers."

A heated debate began when Michael Mower one of the other supervisors countered by saying that he disagreed with these comments and provided examples of effective employee behaviour.

Angie listened to their comments and sided with Michael. Michael had gotten to know his workers and believed that they had needs that were not being met. He felt that the other supervisors were only concerned with productivity and nothing else. Although he was concerned about productivity he did not feel that it was the only factor a supervisor should consider. After two weeks of debate, Angie, with Michael's support, finally convinced the other supervisors and her boss of the merits of bringing in a human resource expert from McMaster University, Dr. Steven Grasse.

Dr. Grasse talked to the employees and had each of them complete a questionnaire. The questionnaire involved the employees' ranking a list of sixteen job factors according to how important they were to them and the extent to which each factor was present in their particular job.

Dr. Grasse met with the supervisors at their next team meeting and this is what he had to say. "I think you will find the results of my study here quite surprising," he began. "The data I have collected seems to indicate that your workers' needs are not being met. According to the questionnaire, the workers do not feel they are lazy. If the job is right, they won't mind putting in some extra effort. They know that extra effort results in greater output. A job is pleasant to them if it requires the use of their minds, provides feedback, and helps them to meet and work with good people and clients."

"The employees seem to demand work that is challenging enough to require creativity and the use of their talents--work that is of sufficient variety and complexity to develop new skills that will bring about opportunities for advancement and greater cooperation."

"The three most significant sources of their dissatisfaction appear to be inadequate compensation, extreme lifting, monotonous work, and poor recognition."

One employee, Anderson, spent extra time talking to Dr. Grasse about his situation. Anderson has worked for the company for 5 years, makes $14.25 an hour and has never missed a day of work. He is very proud of the fact that he meets his productivity goals most days. He believes in working hard for his employer. He is upset because a new employee, Rachel, was hired at $14.50 an hour and she has yet to meet her productivity goals. Anderson claims that Carol his supervisor is always on his case, yet he never says anything to Rachel. Anderson suspects this is because Carol and Rachel are friends and worked together at another company. Anderson has been considering his options.

After listening to Dr. Grasse, the supervisors were convinced that they need to make some changes to the way they treat and train their employees.

Questions:

1. It sounds as though the supervisors have a decision to make in order to meet the motivation needs of the employees at Green Acres Landscaping. It is time for the supervisors to act and develop a motivation factor for the employees. In class and in the eText / Revel readings the Three Stage Model of Creativity was reviewed. Using Creative Behaviour, list the four steps and suggest for each step the course of action the supervisory team should take.

2. Using the Equity Theory of Motivation explain why Anderson is considering his options. What does the Equity Theory predict that he will do?