Question:
Discuss about the Case Study of Wazza Gold.
Organizational behavior is the study of human behavior in various organizational settings (Griffin, 2011). This case throws light on the organizational behavior of a particular employee Wazza Gold. He works as a dishwasher at Bruce Fox’s restaurant ‘Suit and Thai’. The compensation structure as well as the rewards given to employees’ play a major role is impacting employee performance of employees and this case throws light on this aspect. The case emphasizes on how the performance of Wazza Gold was improved upon owing to motivational strategies adopted by Fox. Motivation is an important aspect directing the performance of employees. Therefore, it is imperative that companies adopt innovative strategies to keep their employees inspired and driven (Lazaroiu, 2015).
Bruce fox showcased perfect example of how employee motivation can impact performance of employees. The strategies adopted by Fox were as below:
Goal setting theory lays emphasis on the specificity of the goal, challenging nature of a goal and the feedback received on the same. The intentions behind working towards a goal are major motivating factors. It is also noticed that specific goals increase performance (Pervin, 2015). When fox first spoke to Wazza Gold, he put up a board outside the kitchen which would register how much earlier gold was finishing his work. Upon doing so, Fox asked him to try for 1 hour. This set a clear goal in the mind of Wazza gold. Once the goal was set, Wazza seemed encouraged to complete his work quickly and yet with precision. This is known as goal setting motivational theory where managers place specific goals for their employees which thus encourages them to work harder and achieve those goals (Kiresuk, 2014).
It is important that the goals given to employees are specific goals and not generalized goals. For example, in the same case if Fox had told the dishwasher to complete his work sooner, it might not have motivated him as much. Rather, he chose to specify, ‘let’s try for one hour’. This motivated Wazza to achieve that goal every day. It is noticed that challenging goals gain our attention and hence help in increasing concentration and focus. Secondly, difficult goals energize employees as they are expected to work much harder in order to achieve those goals.
Goal setting theory also requires the manager to provide transparent and genuine feedback to employees (Daley, 2012). Wazza gold was consistently motivated by his team helping him out as they could see that the kitchen was now spic and span clean as compared to the sloppy kitchen that was before. This goal setting theory successfully motivated Wazza gold and helped him achieve his target.
Self-efficacy theory throws light on an individuals’ beliefs about themselves and their ability to accomplish tasks. This theory talks about what employees think of themselves and their abilities. Fox believed in Wazza’s abilities and that he was able to complete his work with efficiency and on time. This led Wazza to believe in himself and he was able to successfully accomplish his task with precision and efficiency. Self-efficacy theory states that people who do not consider themselves as efficient enough tend to give up in difficult situations whereas people who believe in themselves tend to work harder during difficult times and challenge themselves in order to accomplish a tough goal (Schwarzer, 2014).
Self-efficacy theory and Goal setting theory go hand in hand and at some level they complement each other. When managers set high goals for their employees, the employees tend to believe in themselves and hence trust their ability to finish the job assigned. Research has showcased that setting difficult goals for people in some way communicates the manager’s faith in the employee’s ability. This is the exact theory applied by Fox in order to motivate Wazza Gold.
Self-efficacy theory believes that a person can be motivated by enabling him to believe in his abilities by four ways (Maddux, 2013):
Equity theory identifies that an employee simply works to achieve what he earns in an organization in relationship to the efforts that they put in their work (Lazaroiu, 2015). Every employee considers the input output ratio to remain satisfied. Wazza was putting unnecessary additional hours at work in order to earn a higher salary even though he could have completed the same task in a much lesser time. In this scenario, when Fox offered to pay Wazza his salary of $120, Wazza was really happy. This motivated him to work harder. Earlier he used to get $4 for every hour and now he realized that he will get $120 every day. This inspired him to finish off his work early in order to save time. At the same time, this gesture by his employer Fox, motivated Wazza to do his job with perfection and not give him a reason to complain.
This theory also relates well with expectancy theory. This implies that when the employee is given what he expects then he remains motivated to perform better whereas if his expectations are not matched, it adversely affects his performance (Miner, 2015). In this case Wazza Gold’s salary expectations were surpassed when Fox offered to pay him $120 irrespective of the number of hours that he puts in. This in turn motivated him to perform better, finish his task in the allotted time and with great precision.
Intrinsic rewards are forms of employee recognition which motivates people to work hard and feel valued in any organization. Wazza Gold was helped by his team mates on a regular basis to accomplish his goal. Before giving him the utensils, his team mates would stack the plates and help him in separating the silver. Even Fox consistently motivated him to achieve his goals and took special efforts in recognizing his performance in front of the whole team. This was another source of motivation for Wazza Gold which encouraged him to achieve his targets which were then celebrated by the entire team.
Conclusion
The case of Wazza Gold and Bruce Fox is a perfect example of how employees can be motivated in workplace using simple tools. Wazza used to earn $4 every hour and an approximate average of $120 on his efficient days. However upon noticing that his work was sloppy and slow, his employer Fox took the responsibility of encouraging him to work harder and better by paying him $120 irrespective of the working hours that he puts every day. Fox also put up a board in the kitchen that registered how much time earlier can he complete his work. He even gave him a target of one hour. This motivated Wazza as his goal was set and his efficacy was established by his employer. His expectations were fully met, even surpassed. This encouraged Wazza Gold to perform better.
The case is great example of employee motivation, however, a few other things that Fox could have done would include slowly and gradually enlarging his job by offering him more responsibilities (Jehanzeb, 2012). He could be given a day off in a month and especial attention could be paid to assist him in completing his studies. We have learnt from the case that how motivating an employee in the right manner can change “Wazza the slob” to “Wazza the perfectionist”.
References
Daley, D. M. (2012). Strategic human resources management. Public Personnel Management, 120-125.
Duffield, C., Baldwin, R., Roche, M., & Wise, S. (2014). Job enrichment: creating meaningful career development opportunities for nurses. Journal of nursing management, 22(6), 697-706.
Griffin, R. W., & Moorhead, G. (2011). Organizational behavior. Cengage Learning.
Jehanzeb, K., Rasheed, M. F., & Rasheed, A. (2012). Impact of rewards and motivation on job satisfaction in banking sector of Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 3(21).
Kiresuk, T. J., Smith, A., & Cardillo, J. E. (2014). Goal attainment scaling: Applications, theory, and measurement. Psychology Press.
Lazaroiu, G. (2015). Employee Motivation and Job Performance. Linguistic and Philosophical Investigations, 14, 97.
Lazaroiu, G. (2015). Employee Motivation and Job Performance. Linguistic and Philosophical Investigations, 14, 97.
Maddux, J. E. (Ed.). (2013). Self-efficacy, adaptation, and adjustment: Theory, research, and application. Springer Science & Business Media.
Miner, J. B. (2015). Organizational behavior 1: Essential theories of motivation and leadership. Routledge.
Pervin, L. A. (Ed.). (2015). Goal concepts in personality and social psychology. Psychology Press.
Schwarzer, R. (Ed.). (2014). Self-efficacy: Thought control of action. Taylor & Francis.
Essay Writing Service Features
Our Experience
No matter how complex your assignment is, we can find the right professional for your specific task. Contact Essay is an essay writing company that hires only the smartest minds to help you with your projects. Our expertise allows us to provide students with high-quality academic writing, editing & proofreading services.
Free Features
Free revision policy
$10Free bibliography & reference
$8Free title page
$8Free formatting
$8How Our Essay Writing Service Works
First, you will need to complete an order form. It's not difficult but, in case there is anything you find not to be clear, you may always call us so that we can guide you through it. On the order form, you will need to include some basic information concerning your order: subject, topic, number of pages, etc. We also encourage our clients to upload any relevant information or sources that will help.
Complete the order form
Once we have all the information and instructions that we need, we select the most suitable writer for your assignment. While everything seems to be clear, the writer, who has complete knowledge of the subject, may need clarification from you. It is at that point that you would receive a call or email from us.
Writer’s assignment
As soon as the writer has finished, it will be delivered both to the website and to your email address so that you will not miss it. If your deadline is close at hand, we will place a call to you to make sure that you receive the paper on time.
Completing the order and download