Don Wood is one of five production supervisors at the Treetop Lumber Company. The employees he supervises are responsible for processing walnut logs into high-quality lumber. Each employee is assigned to just one aspect of the process; example unloading the wood. While working in the lumberyard the employees are exposed to cold temperatures in the winter and heat in the summer. Starting pay is just above minimum wage and pay increases are at the discretion of each supervisor. Wood was concerned that the needs of the employees, particularly those in his group, were not being met. Don brought up this issue at the next supervisors' meeting and was surprised at comments from three of the supervisors. Ted: "We're meeting their needs. They are money motivated, not achievement motivated like we are." Lee: "All they care about is getting out of here as quick as they can at the end of the day." Bryan: "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. After all they are just semi-skilled workers." Don listened to their comments but did not agree with them. He 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, a human resource expert form the nearby university, Dr. Amy Birch was brought in to resolve these issues. Dr. Birch talked to the employees and had each of them complete a questionnaire asking them to list 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. Birch met with the supervisors at their next team meeting and this is what she had to say. "The data I have collected seems to indicate that your workers' needs are not being met. According to the questionnaire, if the job is right, they wouldn't mind putting in some extra effort. 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." "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, monotonous work, and poor recognition."One employee, Sam, spent extra time talking to Dr. Birch about his situation. Sam has worked for the company for 10 years, makes $15.00 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, Hassan, was hired at $15.50 an hour and he has yet to meet his productivity goals. Sam claims that Bryan, his supervisor, is always on his case, yet he never says anything to Hassan. Sam suspects this is because Bryan and Hassan are friends and worked together at another company. Sam has been deciding what he should do. QUESTION TO ANSWER: Using Equity Theory and the EVLN model explain what Sam's choices might be now that he is feeling dissatisfied and an unfairness. Ensure you identify who he compares himself to