It is possible to identify several models that can be applied to this case. For example, one can mention motivation-hygiene or two factor theory introduced by Frederick Herzberg. This scholar identifies two groups of factors that affect a person’s attitude toward his/her job.
One should first focus on the so-called motivators such as recognition, opportunities for professional development, and opportunities for promotion (Sheldrake, 2003, p. 153). They are important for increasing a person’s satisfaction with his/her job and making him/her more motivated. In turn, there are hygiene factors such salary, work conditions, or schedule.
They do not make an individual more committed to a particular organization (Sheldrake, 2003, p. 153). However, if the management disregards these issues, the workers of a business can become dissatisfied with their job. This theory can be useful for explaining this case. It should be kept in mind that the management of JC’s Casino increased the wages of employees, but many of them chose to leave this organization.
So, this example confirms Herzberg’s assumption, according to which compensation does not increase an individual’s satisfaction with his/her work. The supporters of this approach may say that the management should focus on the factors that are called satisfiers; for example, one can speak about opportunities for promotion.
Furthermore, it is possible to speak about equity theory introduced by Stacey Adam. This model implies that employees are more likely to be satisfied with their work if they believe that their compensation reflects their individual effort (Anderson, 2001, p. 55). In turn, workers are more likely to feel discontent, if they believe that other people receive a preferential treatment (Anderson, 2001, p. 55).
This theory can also be helpful for explaining this case, since some employees in JC’s Casino occupy a privileged position even though they do not display good results. In particular, it is possible to speak about the pit boss Joe who is the step-son of the owner.
There are several stressors that should not be overlooked by the management. For example, one should speak about the behavior of Joe. He is described as an incompetent and overbearing person. This individual might have forced many dealers to leave the casinos. It is possible that these people do want to accept him as a manager.
Therefore, the HR managers should first determine if these accusations are true. One should not forget that many people, who choose to quit any company, can accuse the managers of various misdeeds. So, one should take such accusations for granted. However, if these claims are confirmed, HR managers should not disregard this issue. In particular, they should inform the owner about Joe’s behavior.
It may be necessary to find a new employee who will act as a pit boss. The problem is that people may lose their commitment to an organization, if they have to deal with a manager who bullies or humiliates them. It is possible that a new pit boss will be able to motivate employees and make them more committed to the goals set by this organization. This is one of the recommendations that can be made.
Another stressor that should be considered is role ambiguity. In other words, employees do not always know what kind of responsibilities they will be asked to assume. For instance, some full-time employees, who work in accounting departments, have to clean-up the rooms. Yet, at the same, they have to be diverted from their direct duties.
Under such circumstances, people can believe that they cannot cope with each of the tasks that are assigned to them. As a result, they may experience stress. In order to overcome this challenge, the managers should develop a new schedule and hire new employees to ensure that the casino is sufficiently staffed. Apart from that, they need to develop an orientation program which is supposed to meet the needs of new hires. They should understand the performance standards that are set for them.
Moreover, these people should be warned about the main pitfalls that they should avoid in the future. These are the main suggestions that can be put forward. Overall, in this case, Frederick Herzberg might have been helpful because the difficulties faced by JC’s Casinos can be explained by hygiene factors and absence of motivators.
Overall, job satisfaction is critical for service organizations like casinos. Such companies are very concerned with the growing turnover of employees (Biolsi 2008, p. 123). As a rule, this turnover increases their operational expenses because they need to spend more money on training and recruitment (Biolsi 2008, p. 123).
Moreover, employees’ attitudes toward their work can affect customer relations management. For instance, clients can be dissatisfied with the services of a casino, if they have to interact with employees who have lost their motivation. This is why the role of job satisfaction should not be dismissed. Overall, this casino can improve retention in several ways.
First of all, they can implement a performance appraisal system that can take into account the individual contribution of every worker. These people should see that the compensation accurately reflects their performance. Furthermore, the management should promote employees if they consistently show good results. This strategy may enable the management to address its HR problems. It should be mentioned that motivated and satisfied workers can improve retention in a casinos.
For example, experienced employees can act as mentors and they help new hires adjust to the requirements of employers (Biolsi 2008, p. 123). These people attract the attention of new employees to the major difficulties that they will need to overcome. Provided that a company lacks such professionals, it will not be able to retain new workers. In the long-term, this casino may not remain competitive. This is why the role of job satisfaction should not be overlooked by managers.
Judging from this case study, the employees of this casino can be engaged in a counter-productive behavior. For example, they may do the work which is not directly related to their job. As it has been said before, some employees, who work in payroll or accounting departments, can be asked to do room cleaning.
Therefore, they cannot do the tasks that best fit the education and skills. There are several alternatives that are available to the management. For example, they can hire new employees to make sure that the casino is adequately staffed. Furthermore, it is possible to say that the demand for the services of JCs casino has seasonal variations. Therefore, the management should focus on the development of a schedule that can reflect these seasonal variations.
Overall, these examples suggest that employee retention is critical for effective performance of casinos. In order to recruit and retain employee, one should focus on aspects as performance evaluation methods, role clarity, work conditions, and promotion opportunities. This case is useful because it exemplifies some of the common HR problems faced by service organizations such as casinos.
Reference List
Anderson, N. (2001). Handbook of Industrial, Work & Organizational Psychology: Volume 2: Organizational Psychology. New York, NY: Sage.
Biolsi, T. (2008). A Companion to the Anthropology of American Indians. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons,
Sheldrake, J. (2003). Management Theory. New York, NY: Cengage Learning EMEA.