Read "DTE Energy Ignites Employees with Shared Sense of Purpose" at the end of Chapter 9 in the textbook. Assume that you have been hired as a consultant to assist the company in its employee practices. Lengthily answer the following questions.

1. How could expectancy theory explain the success of DTE Energy's approach to motivating employees during the Great Recession?
2. How well do need theories support Anderson's approach to motivating employees? Would these models alone have prepared him to solve this challenge? Why or why not?
3. In DTE's effort to motivate its employees, what were the goals? What kinds of reinforcement existed? Would you have expected these to be effective? Why or why not?
4. What is your summarized recommendation for this company?

EV VS G PSG PO GD WAS F D E E Bb G I G G G I A G G G + ubcfi/6/42[%3Bvnd.vst.idref%3DChapter09]!/4/20/16/2/2/4/2/1:49[se%20%2Cof%20] Update Apple ID Settings Some account services will not be Vie available until you sign in again. AA DTE Energy Ignites Employees with a Shared Sense of Purpose A s an energy utility, Detroit-based DTE Energy serves more than 2 million electricity customers and more than 1 million natural-gas customers in southeastern Michigan. It also owns business units that operate power projects, ship natural gas through pipelines, engage in energy trading, and more. It employs more than 10,000 workers in Michigan and other states. When Gerry Anderson became president of DTE in 2004, its performance was mediocre: costs exceeded goals, stock value was underperforming, customers were dissatisfied, and employees were disengaged from their work. Attempts to improve performance with new training programs, compensation plans, and greater supervision had little impact. On that unsteady foundation, DTE was unprepared to weather the shock of the Great Recession beginning in 2008. The auto companies that had once brought prosperity to Michigan, along with their suppliers, found themselves teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, closing plants, and laying off employees. That would bring a tremendous drop in the demand for energy. The company estimated it would lose $200 million in revenue. Anderson could keep DTE afloat with drastic layoffs, but he wanted to do something different. He announced that the company was sticking to its value of continuous improvement, including the principle that layoffs are a last resort. He challenged managers to find ways to cut costs by $200 million so they could avoid layoffs altogether. Then he shared with all employees a video in which he presented his challenge and commitment. As the months passed, DTE's executives were astonished to see costs falling below budgeted levels. Newly energized employees were finding one way after another o operate more efficiently so they could keep everyone employed. By the following year, with zero layoffs, the company had to revise its projected profits upward to reflect the performance improvement. From this experience, Anderson concluded that a shared sense of purpose has a practical value to a company: It energizes employees at all levels o give of themselves because they care. At that point, as CEO as well as president, he set about making purposefulness part of DTE's culture. He portrayed the company as a necessary part of the community. As Michigan's people struggled through the recession, Anderson and the other managers communicated that making energy available to Michigan's residents was a way to empower their communities to get stronger. The more efficiently DTE operated, the better off its customers and its community would be. The company expressed this vision in a video that showed workers on the job at all levels of the organization, along with a message that the energy they provided is the "lifeblood of communities and the engine of progress." DTE incorporated the message into its training programs and meetings. According to DTE's surveys of employee engagement, employees have become more committed to their work and more satisfied with their jobs. page 315 Several years into the purpose-driven culture, however, Anderson realized that union employees were not on board as managers and salaried workers were. In a meeting between company executives and union leaders, a safety report detailed exceptional performance, yet the tone of the meeting was mostly critical. So Anderson spoke from the heart and asked how they could work together on addressing the engagement of the union members, who were also Anderson's employees. The union leaders replied that engagement was poor because supervision was poor. Rather than defending the company's first-line management, Anderson agreed to address the issue. This provided a favorable context for management and union to define a shared purpose: engaging unionized employees and achieving continuous improvement. In the years that followed, Anderson further engaged employees by broadening his message of purpose. The idea of the company being a force for growth and prosperity in its community now extends to community service and greater use of renewable energy sources. Employees serve hundreds of community nonprofits each year, including the establishment of new schools in Detroit. DTE has committed to reducing its carbon emissions by more than 80% by 2050, including the replacement of all its coal-burning power plants by 2040. Since DTE has begun motivating employees with a shared purpose, its business performance has improved significantly. Between 2008 and 2017, its stock price more than tripled. It also has become a desirable place to work, landing on Indeed's list of the 50 Best Places to Work, based on employees' reviews of their experiences with the company. This is a practical advantage in a tight labor market, especially because DTE expects about half its workforce to reach retirement age over the next decade. Questions for Discussion 1. How could expectancy theory explain the success of DTE Energy's approach to motivating employees during the Great Recession? 2. How well do need theories support Anderson's approach to motivating employees? Would these models alone have prepared him to solve this challenge? Why or why not? 3. In DTE's effort to motivate its employees, what were the goals? What kinds of reinforcement existed? Would you have expected these to be effective? Why or why not? 314 / 504 > Dil DD F11 F12 F5 F8 F9 F10 F6 F7