Provide written responses to the following questions. Prepare your responses in a Word document (with your name on it) and submit it via the TurnItIn link provided in the class Canvas site under Week 4.

15 points each

1. Store #34 of CDA Hardware Associates has had below average sales over the past few years. As head of franchise operations, you are concerned with the continued low sales volume. The store manager wants you to diagnose the problem and recommend what might be possible causes. Using at least 3 parts of the MARS model in your text, provide a possible reason for each part of the model as to why employees at Store #34 might be performing below ave2rage. Provide an example for each of the possible reasons.
2. You supervise 20 sales representatives who are spread out across the country. You must monitor their work and have frequent communication with them from company headquarters. Considering the text/course material on feedback and motivation, how would you design a feedback plan that would improve the performance of these employees with respect to increasing sales with new clients.
3. Your organization wants to improve employee motivation. The employees already appear to have strong P-O expectancies and the outcomes valences are quite favorable for supporting strong performance. However, employees seem to have a low E-P expectancy. What is this and what could your company do to address this?

10 points each

1. What is emotional labor? Provide an example of a situation when you have experienced emotional labor. What kinds of jobs tend to involve emotional labor? What can organizations do to help minimize the negative consequences of emotional labor?
2. Choose ONE of the following questions to answer.
   1. There is an ongoing debate in the organizational behavior field as to whether one should consider the personality traits of job applicants when selecting them into an organization. Take the view that personality traits should be considered in the selection process and provide an argument for your position. Why is this important? Does industry/type of job matter?
   2. A courier service laid-off a large percentage of its production staff during last year’s recession. These low-skilled employees performed routine tasks filling orders. The company now wants to rehire them. However, most of these former employees have since found employment in other companies and industries. Do you think the company lost much of its intellectual capital in this situation? Explain your answer.

Answer preview