The Hopeful Communicator

1. You are Jennifer. What “talking points” would you prepare to support your case? Include both the strengths and limitations of telecommuting. Keep in mind the needs of your “customers,” the human resources VP, as well as Sarah, and the VP of operations. There are many different talking points Jennifer can bring up to support her case. By Jennifer telecommunicating it will increase the level of satisfaction with the job based on increased autonomy, especially when she needs that independence the most. Jennifer can argue she is the kind of employee who is capable of starting things on her own and staying organized, the customer and supplier satisfaction survey’s demonstrates she is a accomplished employee. By her employer granting the opportunity to telecommunicate it shows the employer cares about Jennifer’s needs and is willing to make arrangements to accommodate those needs. If the employer is able to grant telecommunicating not just to Jennifer but to other employee’s as well it can open up the possibility to not rent or acquire additional square footage in order to hire additional employees while expanding. Telecommunicating opportunities also allows employees to access a larger talent pool since the employer is not longer limited to same city applicants. Telecommuting also provides several benefits for the employee such as reduced time in traffic, less money spent on gas and lunches, greater flexibility, more time spent with family, and reduced transportation expenses. (Haberman, 2010) Some disadvantages of telecommunicating are the employee must have the appropriate technology in place to handle telecommuters, change in methods of management and difficulty with tracking time worked. The employee might also face challenges with lack of connectivity or social interaction, lack of direction and being overworked. Lastly, there could be an issued with career advancement and opportunities since the employee is always working from home.
2. What issues do you think that the VP of human resources might raise? What issues do you think the senior VP of operations might raise? The Operations VP might raise issues of procrastination, isolation, and reduced productivity. Increase coordination that is required between telecommunicating employees to make sure things are getting done could also be another issue. The operations VP might also be concerned with increased short-term costs associated with accommodating telecommunicating employees. The VP of Human resources might have concern with the difficulty of not having much oversight of the activities done by Jennifer, which could affect job performance. The VP might have concern with no actual face-to face contact with the shared workplace. There is also a fear for more distractions such as family and other activities that telecommunicating is faced with. Security loopholes would also be another worry with an employee that telecommunicates.
3. How does your answer demonstrate the principles of empowerment? How might it fit the components of the Hackman–Oldham Job Characteristics model?
According to the text, “empowerment simply means giving people authority – to make decisions based on what they feel is right, have control over their work, take risks and learn from mistakes, and promote change” (Evans & Linsday, 2011). By allowing Jennifer to telecommunicate she will be empowered to take control of her work and be accountable for her own success or failure. Empowerment will lead Jennifer to increased satisfaction, which will motivate her to achieve a better job performance. Managers can give the support and training to adopt a ‘hands-off’ leadership style; and, employees can be trained in the amount of latitude they are allowed to take.” (Evans & Linsday, 2011). Management has an opportunity to take a step toward empowering their employees. This step can lead to great job satisfaction, higher motivation and increase productivity among employees. According to the Hackman-Oldham Job characteristics model, five core job characteristics impact three psychological states, which in turn impact job outcomes. “Quality of a product or service is undoubtedly increased by a worker’s dedicated application of skills, which is enhanced by task identity, and a feeling of task significance. More directly, quality of work is enhanced by a job design that incorporates autonomy and feedback relating to quality characteristics. The key outcomes of high general job satisfaction and high work effectiveness can then be seen as results that define and reinforce excellent quality.” (Evans & Linsday, 2011). Jennifer has an opportunity to have great autonomy in carrying out her job. This will lead to higher job satisfaction and improved performance. Hackman and Oldham’s model proposed the following formula to calculate the motivating potential of a given job: MPS = ((Skill Variety + Task Identity + Task Significance) ÷ 3) × Autonomy × Feedback. “According to this formula, autonomy and feedback are the more important elements in deciding motivating potential compared to skill variety, task identity, or task significance. Jennifer’s motivation and job performance is very important due to autonomy and feedback. Without these two Jennifer is likely to be less motivated and she could consider finding a new job where she is better appreciated. This company has a great opportunity to produce great results for the future. They run a risk of losing high performing employees by not accommodating to Jennifer’s needs, and also might miss out on the benefits of having an employee who could have a positive impact on other employees.

Sources

Evans, & Linsday. (2011). Managing for Quality and Performance Excellence (9 ed.). Mason, OH, USA: South Western Cengage Learning. Retrieved 01 22, 2015
Haberman, M. (2010, 11). Retrieved 01 21, 2015, from http://hr.toolbox.com/blogs/HR-Observations-Too/telecommutingadvantages- and-disadvantages-42840