Isn't Fair

Individual Case Analysis 5: Isnt ' Fair

1. Indicate Mary 's attitude before and after meeting Sue. If there was a change, why?
Before Mary met Sue, she held the company in high esteem and was actually proud of working for Universal Manufacturers. The company 's organizational culture was conducive for her, and staff assisted her whenever she was in need of help. In addition to this, her input to the company was being appreciated and she was given challenging assignments which presented practical experience to her. Her manager, Tom had positive thoughts of her and she passed her annual review. Her salary was increased by 10% from $40,000, whereas most employees had an increase of 5%. However, after Mary met Sue, her attitude towards the company changed.
Sue had joined the company a year later than Mary and yet her starting salary was $45,000, which was $5,000 more than the salary they had started Mary with. It is also $1000 more than Mary would receive after her 10% increase, which is $44,000. This revealed a level of discrimination and unfair treatment of employees since employees ought to be remunerated according to their input to the company. Mary had similar qualifications with Sue when she joined the organization and had put in hard work, which was recognized by everyone in the company. However, the fact that one year after putting in these efforts, she would still have lower pay than Sue, who had recently joined the organization made her have a negative attitude towards the company. Mary 's attitude towards the company changed and became negative due to this perception of discrimination and unfairness. The change in attitude will likely influence her ability to perform, and this may have a negative impact on the company.
2. What do you think Maty will do now? Later?
I personally think that after Mary changes her attitude towards the company, her performance will be affected. At present, she will not do anything which may put her in the spotlight, but she will be secretly looking for opportunities in other companies. Her qualifications and experience make her an asset to any company.
According to the book Barron 's Educational Series, “employers should pay employees higher salaries if they perform well and lesser salaries if they are new to the job or have lower input to the organization.” That is why I also think that Mary will put less effort in the company due to a decrease in motivation, but she would not resign immediately since she does not have an alternative job which would pay her bills. However, in the long she would resign after she successfully obtains employment in a company which values her input and remunerates all employees according to their efforts.

3. What motivation theory applies best to this scenario? Explain.
The motivation theory that applies best to this case study is the expectancy theory of motivation. This theory was advanced by Vroom, and it explains the process which employees undergo when making choices.
The theory suggests that although individuals may have different sets of goals, they can be motivated if they believe that there is a positive correlation between efforts and performance, favorable performance will result in a desirable reward, the reward will satisfy an important need or/and the desire to satisfy the need is strong enough to make the effort worthwhile.

The theory is based upon the following beliefs:
Valence
Valence refers to the emotional orientations people hold with respect to outcomes [rewards]. The depth of the want of an employee for extrinsic [money, promotion, time-off, benefits] or intrinsic [satisfaction] rewards). Management must discover what employees value.
Expectancy
Employees have different expectations and levels of confidence about what they are capable of doing. Management must discover what resources, training, or supervision employees need.
Instrumentality
The perception of employees as to whether they will actually get what they desire even if it has been promised by a manager. Management must ensure that promises of rewards are fulfilled and that employees are aware of that.
According to Schermerhorn, employees expect higher rewards due to better performance in organizations. On this theory, organizations should relate rewards to performance if employees are to be motivated. Initially, Mary had positive thoughts about the company due to the increase in salary after her good performance. However, these thoughts became negative after realizing that Sue received a higher salary in spite of her low input to the organization, explaining her reaction according to the expectancy theory of motivation.

Works Cited
Montana, Patrick J. & Charnov, Bruce H. Management: 4th edition. New York: Barron 's Educational Series, 2008 p 35-43
Schermerhorn Jr. John, Hunt James & Osborn Richard. Organizational Behavior (12th Edition).
Wiley: Danvers, MA, 2007 p43-56

http://www2.ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk/dstools/paradigm/vroom.html

Cited: Montana, Patrick J. & Charnov, Bruce H. Management: 4th edition. New York: Barron 's Educational Series, 2008 p 35-43 Schermerhorn Jr. John, Hunt James & Osborn Richard. Organizational Behavior (12th Edition). Wiley: Danvers, MA, 2007 p43-56 http://www2.ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk/dstools/paradigm/vroom.html