Group Assignment:
Due Date: 22-08-2025
Read a short scenario below and decide which motivation theory is most applicable.
1. “I’m really interested in the vice president of sales position. I should have a shot at the job
since my sales team always has the best sales and customer service record.” (2 Marks)
2. “This job pays well and we have a really nice place to work, but not much opportunity for
advancement. I’ll just do my job and collect my paycheck, but no extra efforts for me. I’m
content, but just not that motivated.” (2 Marks)
3. “I don’t even consider this a job. I love what I do and can’t imagine doing anything else.
I’m at the top of my game!” (2 Marks)
4. “I can’t believe Phillipe got the promotion over me. I work more overtime making our
customers happy than he does. No more overtime for me and I’m asking for a raise!”
(2 marks)
5. “My boss and I agreed my goal this month was to sell 10 units. With one week left, I have
already sold nine units. I always attain the goals I set for myself.” (2 marks)
Question 2: Case study
Read the following case study and answer the questions below:
Running a Business
At Graeter’s, tenure is á proud number
Although you might think working for an ice cream company would be motivating under almost
any circumstances, Graeter’s doesn’t take its employees’ commitment for granted. Including full-
time and part-time seasonal workers, the company employs about 800 people in three production
facilities and dozens of ice cream shops. Teenagers who take a summer job at Graeter’s shop
often return to help out during the winter holidays and then come back to work the following
summer, and the summer after that. Production employees tend to remain with the company for
long periods, as well, and Graeter’s is relying on their experience and expertise as it expands its
national distribution and opens new stores far from the Cincinnati base.
Professional procedures with personal touches
Over the past few years, Graeter’s has benefitted from tightening up some of its long-standing
human resources management (HRM) procedures, including those for hiring and evaluating
employees. David Blink, the company’s controller, explains: We hire based on potential. We are
looking for people who are conscientious about their work, who do a good job, who show up every
day. We are a fun place to work. We have turnover based on seasonal work only because we
hire a lot of college kids [and] high school kids’ to work during summer months. Managers begin
recruiting during the spring so that each store is fully staffed in advance of the peak ice cream
buying season. The company also accepts job applications through its website.”
When filling job openings at its three factories, Graeter’s looks for people with baking industry
skills. On the job, employees and managers alike wear name badges that show the number of
years they have worked for the company, “and that is a proud number”, says Blink. Graeter’s adds
a personal touch by celebrating employees’ birthdays and milestones such as 25 years of service
with the company.
According to a consultant who works with top management, goals and management systems
weren’t strongly emphasized in the company’s early days. Ïf [employees] came in and they made
ice cream, if they made enough for the week, for the day, that was enough,” he says. These days,
however, Graeter’s sets specific production and store goals so that all employees know what is
expected of them. It also has measurement systems in place to track progress toward those goals.
“We have defined the behaviours that are acceptable and not acceptable within the company,”
the consultant continues. ”We communicate that, We teach and educate people.” At the retail
level, Graeter’s training focusses on how employees can make the in-store experience engaging,
fun and memorable for customers.
In the factory, higher production goals have given newly empowered employees achievements to
boast about on the slogan T-shirts they wear. The workforce is eager to submit suggestions for
improvement, and morale is high. The company also offers advancement opportunities for
employees who are ready to take on more responsibility. Graeter’s low rate of turnover indicates
that employees feel involved with the company and the work they do. In fact, some employees
spend their entire working careers with Graeter’s and eventually retire from the company.
Benefits that pay
The benefits package for managers and full-time employees is competitive. Graeter’s offers profit
sharing, and it has made a profit year after year. It also has a 401 (k) retirement plan that matches
employees’ contributions, plus a rolling allowance for paid time off that is separate from paid
vacations and holidays, and is based on the employee’s tenure with the company. Other benefits
include medical, life and disability insurance. Store employees wear uniforms (paid for by the
company) and receive a 25 per cent discount when they buy Graeter’s products. All managers
and employees receive the training they need to be effective in their positions and to develop their
professional skills.
‘You can’t do it alone’
The management team has grown as the company moves forward with its aggressive nationwide
expansion plans. CEO Richard Graeter, a great-grandson of the company’s founders, believes in
recruiting outstanding people, compensating them well, and giving them the autonomy they need
to get things done. “In the last few months,” he notes, “I have hired a vice president of sales and
marketing [and] we hired a vice president of finance, basically a CFO [chief financial officer]
because we are big enough to support that. Identifying the gap in your executive team and your
talent pool, and going out and finding people to fill those gaps, is probably one of my most critical
functions in addition to looking out to define the strategic direction of the company. I’ve got some
wonderful people on the team now, and they are really helping us make the jump from a small
business to a medium-sized business. People at that level, you’ve got to play them well. It’s worth
it, though. They can command the kind of salary they want because they bring the talent you need
to navigate the waters.”
“You can’t do it alone,” Richard concludes. “That is the other thing that I think my cousins and I
all have come to realise; we can’t do it alone. Our fathers and aunt and the folks that came before
them …they did it all, from figuring out where to build the next store to hanging up the laundry at
the end of the day.” Now, to achieve the fast-growing company’s ambitious goals, he’s found that
“you need to rely on talent that is beyond just you.
Questions
1. Imagine that you’re a human resources manager for Graeter’s. If you were writing the job
specification for an entry-level, part-time employee who will serve customers in one of the
scoop shops, what qualifications would you include, and why? (14 marks)
2. Food production facilities like the three Graeter’s factories must comply with strict
regulations to ensure purity and safety. What kinds of teams might Graeter’s use in these
facilities, and for what specific purposes? (6 marks)
3. Graeter’s is currently a non-union company. How might the experience of working there
change if a union were to be introduced? (10 marks)
