Assignment task: Your next stop is at "The News Room" located in Toronto, Canada. "The News Room" is a local online podcast that posts 30 minute daily episodes, Monday to Friday, reporting on local news in the General Toronto Area. These episodes typically include a report on major news events, weather, community social events, and Fridays include special episodes in which local businesses are promoted. When you first enter "The News Room", you meet Dale, who is the producer of the show. He informs you that he has nine employees who collectively play a role in creating, completing, and posting the daily podcast episodes. Specifically, he has two 'on-air' personalities who report on the podcast, five investigative journalists, and two employees who manage the final recording and production of the show. Dale is responsible for managing the work of all of these employees and approving all aspects of the final product before an episode is posted at 6 AM EST. Dale has been struggling with two substantial issues that he fears might interfere with his ability to continue to produce this show.
Q1. First, Dale has noticed that his five investigative journalists have lowered their performance efforts in their role. Dale has noticed that the journalists have particularly decreased their efforts in vetting their sources and instead rely on the words of other sources. This has resulted in several instances of misreporting. For example, last week, the podcast aired a Friday episode featuring a local business that claimed to donate 10% of its profits to a local pet rescue charity, Saving Angel. After the episode had aired, one of the volunteers at Saving Angel who manages donations said they have never received a donation from this business. This sort of misreporting can significantly threaten the reputation of "The News Room". Dale mentions he has heard of expectancy theory as a way to motivate his employees, but he does not understand how he can apply this theory to encourage his reporters to put more effort into vetting their sources. Dale also mentions that he has recently won a grant from the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, and he believes that monetary rewards might be key to motivating his employees.
(a) Explaining and applying expectancy theory, what recommendations would you make to Dale to put the components of this theory into action? Drawing from course material, make sure to identify specific and actionable managerial recommendations and explain why you are making these recommendations according to the theory.
(b) Given that Dale is strongly in support of monetary rewards, suggest and explain one way he can reward his team via monetary rewards.
(c) Rather than relying on monetary rewards, describe and explain a more sustainable strategy for Dale to motivate his employees and suggest one way that Dale could apply one of the beliefs associated with this strategy to the investigative journalism team.
Q2. Second, Dale directs you to meet with two of his investigative reporters, Adinew and Diane, who he mentions have been struggling over the past few little while. In chatting with them about their work, you find out they are very stressed in their positions at "The News Room". Specifically, Adinew mentions that he feels like the daily turnaround time for his stories is hard to achieve. For example, last week he had eight hours to develop a three-minute story about a Syrian refugee who started a chocolate shop. This required him to interview the shop owner, gather information from customers, and create sound bites reflecting these interviews. He got the story in to his producer right at the 8-hour mark, would have preferred a little more time. Diane tells a bit of a different story. Diane has been working with the company for three years now and has always been an excellent employee, but two weeks ago her father passed away. She received three days of bereavement leave as outlined in their employee leave policy but has been struggling with her return to work, feeling overwhelmed and disengaged.
(a) Identify and explain the stressors both Adinew and Diane are experiencing. Be specific and use examples from the case.
(b) What recommendations could you make to Dale to deal to help him address the issues Adinew and Diane are facing? Draw on evidence and theory from the course materials and ensure you provide a recommendation for Adinew and a recommendation one for Diane.