Tom Fry is a plant manager for Ligonier Steel Corporation, located in Ligonier, Pennsylvania. The plant is small, with 250 employees. Its productivity growth rate has stagnated for the past year and a half. Tom is concerned and decides to meet with employees in various departments. During the meeting, employees disclose that they do not have a chance to interact with one another while on the job.
Furthermore, because they do not receive any recognition for their suggestions, their input of ideas for improvement has stopped. After a week elapses, Tom calls a meeting to announce a new program. He plans to offer rewards for high performance so that employees will be motivated to surpass their quotas. Bonuses will be awarded to employees who exceed their quotas. Tom believes this program will work because of his perception that "money motivates employees."
A few months later, Tom notices that productivity has increased and that employees are enjoying the bonuses they have earned. Tom decides to provide an additional means of motivation. He wants employees to continue to interact with one another to solve work problems and share information. Supervisors now recognize individual accomplishments. They praise employees who make suggestions and identify an employee of the month in the company newsletter to recognize outstanding performance. Tom strongly supports this feature of the program. The goal is for employees to grow and develop to their fullest potential. Individuals may be retrained or go back to college to permit job growth within the plant. Employees' ideas and contributions are now perceived as a way to enhance their individual career paths. The results have been overwhelming. Tom Fry, supervisors, and employees are all enjoying the benefits that have made Ligonier Steel a satisfying place to work.
Questions
1. Describe the motivation theory that applies to this case.
2. What needs can employees at Ligonier Steel satisfy in performing their jobs?
3. Describe how bonuses motivated the employees at Ligonier Steel.
3. Describe other rewards besides bonuses that can motivate work behavior in this case.
4. Ligonier does not use any negative reinforcement. Does this case illustrate any disadvantages of providing only positive reinforcement?