The schoolboy rookie
The first case is described in the “Organizational Behavior Case: The Schoolboy Rookie”. In this very case there is a vivid description of the schoolboy who wanted to work in summer, for this purpose he has taken a job in the factory. The supervisor assigned him to a small group of workers that loaded and unloaded boxcars with materials or finished goods. The schoolboy’s name is Kent. So Kent wanted to do his job and was surprised when saw that other members of their team were just talking or standing around, while he did all the job.
When Kent asked his colleagues to explain him this situation, they paid little attention to his complaints, but they excluded him from all the activities. The older worker told Kent that after many years of work in this factory he would become the same person as they are. Thus Kent was not acting within the boundaries of the group; he was breaking the rules, and was trying to establish his own ones. The supervisor here was a kind of treat (a way of punishment). The major informal role of Kent was the role of a young boy who is eager to work and does not want to be punished. Kent was not accepted by the group because he tried to act outside the boundaries of the situation.
Making a nice place to work
The next situation describes the improvements of the working places in order to increase the productivity of the staff. Traditional ways of organization of the working activity are changed to achieve better results from the point of view of productivity. Some companies like Inhale Therapeutic Systems introduce rather specific innovations: every person including the president of the company sit in large cubicles with four other people; this practice helps to limit the amount of time spent on gossiping and reduce the need to write memos and use e-mail, because everyone to whom the message or memo can be addressed sit in the same room.
Another is West Bend Mutual Insurance Company where special equipment was purchased; it allows those in certain workstations to adjust the temperature, fresh air, and noise levels. According to the results of research conducted by scientists from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, these measures increased productivity by three per cent. But Sun Microsystems made an even more radical step: as the employees are out in the field with clients or working from home, the management considered reducing the office space, thus the company can save money on cleaning or heating the office. Thus the technological progress can lead to the absence of necessity of being at office from nine to five; moreover further improvements in the sphere of increasing productivity can lead to further changes in the office structure.
The high severance pays given to the CEOs
In the last text the author argues about the high severance pays given to the CEOs; the boards of their former companies approve such enormous sums of money, thus they are sending the incorrect message that failure has its remuneration. Thus, such large companies as “Procter & Gamble”, “Conseco Inc”, “Coca-Cola Co” provide their former CEOs with high severance packages, as they contributed much to the company. Such generous pays seem to be a bonus for former employees, the severance pays serves a kind of approval to their failures; by acting like this they are insulting not just to workers, but shareholders as well. The failures must not serve a way to make a fortune.
Some of the directors argue about the enormous sums of money paid as a severance package, they tell that people that get this money deserve for these sums, as they made great contributions to the productivity of the company. But more frequent are cases when the former employees get nothing except a ‘good-bye kisses’ from their former employers.