STUDYING A SHORT CASE LET ON EMPLOYEE

MOTIVATION

-: PREPARED BY: -

NAME: AKASH DEBNATH

ID NUMBER: 21IUT010023
PROGRAM: MBA 1ST YEAR (SEM 1)
BATCH: 2021-23

ICFAI UNIVERSITY
TRIPURA
1
 STUDYING A SHORT CASE LET ON EMPLOYEE
MOTIVATION

-: PREPARED BY: -
NAME: AKASH DEBNATH
ID NUMBER: 21IUT01600023
PROGRAM: MBA 1ST YEAR (SEM 1)
BATCH: 2021-23

A report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement of the

course INM541 Organizational behaviour of MBA program; batch
2021-23.

ICFAI UNIVERSITY
TRIPURA
2
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

. I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to assistant Professor

Dr. T.S Haokip sir, who gave me the golden opportunity to do this wonderful
live project on ‘studying a short caselet on employee motivation’, which has
helped me to learn so many new things about the topic and I am thankful for
that.
Without his constant guidance and valuable support during the
project, it would have been impossible for me to complete the project.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Particulars Page number

Caselet 5-6

Introduction 7

Discussion 8

Solution 9-10

Conclusion 11

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 CASELET
Rohit Narang joined Apex Computers (Apex) in November after a successful
stint at Zen Computers (Zen), where he had worked as an assistant programmer. Rohit felt
that Apex offered better career prospects, as it was growing much faster than Zen, which
was a relatively small company. Although Rohit had enjoyed working there, he realized that
to grow further in his field, he would have to join a bigger company and preferable one that
handled international projects. He was sure he would excel in his position at Apex, just as he
had done in his old job at Zen.
Rohit joined as a Senior Programmer at Apex, with a handsome pay hike. Apex
had international operations and there was more than a slim chance that he would be sent
to the USA or the UK on a project. Knowing that this would give him a lot of exposure,
besides looking good on his resume, Rohit was quite excited about his new job. Rohit joined
Aparna Mehta’s five-member team at Apex. He had met Aparna during the orientation
sessions and was looking forward to working under her. His team members seemed warm
and friendly and comfortable with their work. He introduced himself to the team members
and got to know more about each of them.
Wanting to know more about his boss, he casually asked Dipti, one of the
team members, about Aparna. Dipti said, “Aparna does not interfere with our work. In fact,
you could even say that she tries to ignore us as much as she can.” Rohit was surprised by
the comment but decided that Aparna was probably leaving them alone to do their work
without any guidance, in order to allow them to realize their full potential. At Zen, Rohit had
worked under Suresh Reddy and had looked up to him as a guide and mentor – always
guiding, but never interfering. Suresh had let Rohit make his own mistakes and learn from
them. He had always encouraged individual ideas, and let the team discover the flaws, if
any, through discussion and experience. He rarely held an individual member of his team
responsible if the team as a whole failed to deliver – for him the responsibility for any failure
was collective. Rohit remembered telling his colleagues at Zen that the ideal boss would be
someone who did not interfere with his/her subordinate’s work.
Rohit wanted to believe that Aparna too was the non-interfering type. If
that was the case, surely her non-interference would only help him to grow. In his first week
at work, Rohit found the atmosphere at the office a bit dull.
However, he was quite excited. His team had been assigned a new project
and was facing a few glitches with the new software. He had thought about the problem till
late in the night and had come up with several possible solutions. He could not wait to
discuss them with his team and Aparna. He smiled to himself when he thought of how
Aparna would react when he told her that he had come up with several possible solutions to
the problem. He was sure she would be happy with his having put so much effort into the
project, right from day one. He was daydreaming about all the praise that he was going to
get when Aparna walked into the office.

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 Rohit waited for her to go into her cabin, and after five minutes, called
her up, asking to see her. She asked him to come in after ten minutes. When he went in, she
looked at him blankly and asked, “Yes?” Not sure whether she had recognized him, Rohit
introduced himself. She said, “Ok, but why did you want to meet me?” Rohit started to tell
her about the problems they were having with the software. But before he could even
finish, she told him that she was busy with other things, and that she would send an email
with the solution to all the members of the team by the end of the day, and that they could
then implement it immediately. Rohit was somewhat taken aback.
However, ever the optimist, he thought that she had perhaps already
discussed the matter with the team. Rohit came out of Aparna’s cabin and went straight to
where his team members sat. he thought it would still be nice to bounce ideas off them and
also to see what solutions others might come up with. He told them of all the solutions he
had in mind. He waited for the others to come up with their suggestions but not one of
them spoke up. He was surprised and asked them point-blank why they were so
disinterested. Sanjay, one of the team members, said, “What is the point in our discussing
these things? Aparna is not going to have time to listen to us on discuss anything. She will
just give us the solution she thinks is best, and we will just do what she tells us to do; why to
waste everyone’s time?”
Rohit felt his heart sink. Was this the way things worked over here?
However, he refused to lose heart and thought that maybe, he could change things a little.
But as the days went by, Rohit realized that Aparna was the complete opposite of his old
boss. While she was efficient at what she did and extremely intelligent, she had neither the
time nor the inclination to groom her subordinates. Her solutions to problems were always
correct, but she was not willing to discuss or debate the merits of any other ideas that her
team might have. She did not hold the team down to their deadlines nor did she ever
interfere. In fact, she rarely said anything at all! If work did not get finished on time, she
would just blame her team, and totally disassociate herself from them.
Time and again, Rohit found himself thinking of Suresh his old boss, and of
how he had been such a positive influence. Aparna, on the other hand, even without
actively doing anything, had managed to significantly lower his motivation levels. Rohit
gradually began to lose interest in his work – it had become too mechanical for his taste. He
didn’t really need to think; his boss had all the answers. He was learning nothing new, and
he felt his career was going nowhere. As he became more and more discouraged, his
performance suffered. From being someone with immense promise and potential Rohit was
now in danger of becoming just another mediocre techie.

Questions for Discussion

1. What, according to you, were the reasons for Rohit’s disillusionment? Answer the
question using Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

2. What should Rohit do to resolve his situation? What can a team leader do to ensure
high levels of motivation among his/her team members?

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 INTRODUCTION

The given case study illustrates how highly enthusiastic

employees can lose motivation under management that does not
praise creativity. Rohit, after joining Apex Computers found himself
in a situation where his boss Aparna does not show any interest in
the opinions of her subordinates. Initially, Rohit was working for
Suresh, who would reward every attempt and innovative solution. He
would also allow mistakes to occur without severe punishment. In
the end, Rohit loses all of his motivation due to the lack of self-
expression.
The case study demonstrates a motivation loss of Rohit who
used to be highly enthusiastic and energetic. The absence of positive
reinforcement led to his discouragement and decreased
performance. Suresh was highly positive in terms of letting the
subordinates come up with their ideas and solutions for the
problems. Although both Suresh and Aparna were completely
disengaged from their employees’ activities, they possessed different
attitudes towards giving feedback. Suresh gave constant input in
terms of appraisals and recognition, whereas Aparna was simply
disinterested in her subordinates. She did not provide them with a
creative playground, but only correct answers to the issues.
The key terms of the given case study are team motivation and
achievement recognition. Team motivation and environment play an
essential role in determining the overall team effectiveness.
However, achievement recognition is important for individual
motivation because a person cannot be constantly energetic and
enthusiastic for an activity without regular rewards in the form of
appraisals. In addition, the case study shows how the most engaged

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employees can lose interest in their jobs due to the incorrect
management style. It is critical to allow the subordinates to learn
through their mistakes and creativity.

DISCUSSION

QUESTION 1:
In the process of using intangible incentives, it is necessary to
use, first of all, recognition of the merits of employees. It stimulates
everyone and always aids the management when no resources are
available for material rewards. Therefore, companies, such as Zen,
often have the practice of awarding the best workers of labour.
However, it must be remembered that this practice should apply to
all levels, and the excellent work of a department employee should
not go unnoticed. This is made to directly satisfy Maslow’s self-
actualization need, which is located at the top of the pyramid of
necessities. So, the question is to find the reasons for which Rohit
was not able to connect with the new boss Aparna.
QUESTION 2:
Rohit was unable to focus on his job as he was not getting
enough attention he required. He was discouraged and his
performance also suffered. He was learning nothing new and he was
not growing under Aparna. So, the question is about leadership, how
can a leader motivate their employee so that they can perform
better under his/her leadership.

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 SOLUTIONS

QUESTION 1.
The main reason for Rohit’s disillusionment was his
expectation that his new boss would be similar to the previous one.
According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Suresh was providing
Rohit with basic needs, psychological needs, and self-fulfilment
needs.
The entire pyramid of human motivational requirements was
met under the management of Suresh. However, Rohit under the
governance of Aparna could not satisfy his needs for esteem and
self-actualization. He was highly unmotivated, although the payment
was significantly higher and working conditions were far better. In
addition, the case study does not inform on Rohit’s family and
friends, but it is clear that his needs for belongingness and love at
the workplace are not satisfied too.
The main reason is that all of the subordinates were
unmotivated and disinterested in their jobs due to Aparna’s
management style.
QUESTION 2.
To solve the lack of motivation problem, Rohit should
satisfy his needs in other available ways. For instance, he can self-
actualize himself by setting long-term goals for international
projects, where he can get an opportunity to travel to the USA. It can
result in the relocation within the company, which will change
Rohit’s current team and boss. A team leader can motivate
subordinates by offering them autonomy at the job and allowing
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them to learn from their mistakes. According to Two-Factor Theory,
the motivators are achievement, recognition, work, responsibility,
advancement, and growth. Although Rohit cannot derive his
motivation from success and recognition, there are still available
sources for enthusiastic behaviour, such as advancement and
growth. According to Alderfer’s ERG Theory, Maslow’s Pyramid can
be divided into existence, relatedness, and growth needs. A team
leader can also satisfy the growth needs of his/her subordinates by
showing them the methods of the correct solutions and allowing
them to test these ideas.
When solving the problems of effective stimulation of young
workers, it is necessary to take into account certain features. Usually,
young people do not imagine the development of their careers, with
rare exceptions, they are energetic and often do not think about any
motivational issues. The opportunities in various fields and the
system of rotation within the company are examples of outstanding
solutions for Rohit’s case. To preserve the young employee’s
enthusiasm and motivation, the incentive for personal growth must
be provided. The main reason is that it is the highest and most
essential Maslow’s need of any person.
For young professionals, it should be noted that this
category of people is ambitious and aimed primarily at moving up
the career ladder. They have a great deal of need for independence,
the desire to try their strength and to manage projects with full
responsibility for the result. Therefore, the delegation of serious
tasks, involvement in decision making, responsibility for a whole
block of functions, recognition of the result obtained at the
management level will serve as a significant motivating factor for
further activities.

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 CONCLUSION

It is important to note that the given case study represents the

problems of motivation among subordinates, which is highly
important for both managers and employees. The organization’s
motivation system must be constantly improved since changes in the
external environment lead to intra-organizational changes. In turn,
intra-organizational alterations, in combination with shifts in the
external environment, can cause an improvement in the motivation
of employees. In addition, with time and with age, the needs of
people tend to change, which is why Rohit is more ambitious and
energetic. The content of the motivation system in a particular
organization depends on its leader, who must skillfully combine
material and non-material incentive methods. He/she also needs to
take into account the motivation theories, such as Maslow’s
Hierarchy of Needs and Two-Factor Theory.

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