Motivating an 'A' who's getting 'Fs'

You have definitely reached a low point. Frustrated by an employee who is uncooperative, unmotivated and sloppy about his work, you have resorted to writing a 'Dear Abby' style letter to a columnist in a popular business magazine. Letting out a heavy sigh, you scroll back to the top of your screen to review your work:

Dear Business Guru,

A few months ago, I was promoted into my first management job at the greeting card company where I work. I inherited a whiz-bang team, full of talent and energy, with the exception of one personlet's call him David. Unlike the others on our team, he is uncooperative and unmotivated and his work is sloppy, even though I know he can do better! Several veteran employees have told me David used to be the crown jewel in the team, working hard, collaborating and generating great ideas. But now he's altogether different. I'm reluctant to fire him for two reasons: from a technical standpoint, he would be difficult to replace; and our division is under an indefinite hiring freeze. But his attitude and performance are having a negative impact on the rest of the team. What can I do to pull this guy out of a slump? Evidently, he was quite the employeeand I need him to be that star employee again.

Pausing for a moment before hitting 'send', your eyes fall on an old management book in your overhead. Grabbing it, you say to yourself, 'There's got to be something in there to help me'. But as you flip through the pages, you can't help thinking of all the time you've already spent on this guy. Maybe you should just fire him and be done.

Questions

1.Which motivational theory discussed in the chapter do you think would be most successful in helping David rekindle his spark? Why?

2.Which motivational theory will be most helpful in refocusing the efforts of your entire team? Explain.

3.Do you fire David or keep him on your team?

including defining the problem, choose appropriate motivational theory to apply on the first and second question, then provide the final recommendation.