Question

Mr. Don Wood is one of five production supervisors at the Treetop Lumber Company. The employees he supervises are responsible for processing walnut logs into high-quality lumber. The process includes loading and unloading the lumber, stacking, sawing, and kilning (drying the lumber in heat controlled kilns). Each employee is assigned to one aspect of the process; example unloading the wood. Work in the sawmill subjects the employees to considerable amount of dust and noise. While working in the lumberyard the employees are exposed to cold temperatures in the winter and heat in the summer. Starting pay is just above minimum wage and pay increases are at the discretion of each supervisor. Wood was concerned that the needs of the employees, particularly those in his group, were not being met. As a result he did not believe that productivity and quality were as high as they could be. The five (5) Supervisors meet as a team every Monday to discuss issues and to suggest solutions to problems. Don brought up this issue at the next supervisors' meeting and was surprised at comments from three of the supervisors. Ted: "We're meeting their needs. They are money motivated, not achievement motivated like we are." Lee: "All they care about is getting out of here as quick as they can at the end of the day.” Bryan: "They don't care about doing challenging work. As soon as you become a Supervisor of this group you can see that they are lazy and they avoid responsibilities. After all they are just semi-skilled workers.” A heated debate began when Tom one of the other supervisors countered by saying that he disagreed with these comments and provided examples of effective employee behaviour. Don listened to their comments and sided with Tom. He had gotten to know his workers and believed that they had needs that were not being met. He felt that the other Supervisors were only concerned with productivity and nothing else. Although he was concerned about productivity he did not feel that it was the only factor a supervisor should consider. After two weeks of debate, Wood, with Tom’s support, finally convinced the other supervisors and his boss of the merits of bringing in a human resource expert form the nearby university, Dr. Amy Birch. Dr. Birch talked to the employees and had each of them complete a questionnaire. The questionnaire involved the employees' ranking a list of sixteen job factors according to how important they were to them and the extent to which each factor was present in their particular job. Dr. Birch met with the supervisors at their next team meeting and this is what she had to say. “I think you will find the results of my study here quite surprising," she began. "The data I have collected seems to indicate that your workers' needs are not being met. According to the questionnaire, the workers do not feel they are lazy. If the job is right, they won't mind putting in some extra effort. They know that extra effort results in greater output. A job is pleasant to them if it requires the use of their minds, provides feedback, and helps them to meet and work with good people.” "The employees seem to demand work that is challenging enough to require creativity and the use of their talents--work that is of sufficient variety and complexity to develop new skills that will bring about opportunities for advancement and greater cooperation." “The three most significant sources of their dissatisfaction appear to be inadequate compensation, monotonous work, and poor recognition.” One employee, Sam, spent extra time talking to Dr. Birch about his situation. Sam has worked for the company for 10 years, makes $12.00 an hour and has never missed a day of work. He is very proud of the fact that he meets his productivity goals most days. He believes in working hard for his employer. He is upset because a new employee, Hassan, was hired at $12.50 an hour and he has yet to meet his productivity goals. Sam claims that Bryan his Supervisor is always on his case, yet he never says anything to Hassan. Sam suspects this is because Bryan and Hassan are friends and worked together at another company. Sam has been considering his options. After listening to Dr. Birch the Supervisors were convinced that they need to make some changes to the way they treat their employees. Question: Identify and explain two different team roles that were demonstrated by members of the supervisors’ team during the meeting.

Answer 1

Solution:

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