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Unit 11: Work Motivation

She asked him to come in after ten minutes. When he went in, she looked at him blankly Notes
and asked, "Yes?" Not sure whether she had recognized him, Rohit introduced himself. She
said, "Ok, but why did you want to meet me?"
Rohit started to tell her about the problems they were having with the software. But
before he could even finish, she told him that she was busy with other things, and that she
would send an email with the solution to all the members of the team by the end of the
day, and that they could then implement it immediately.
Rohit was somewhat taken a back. However, ever the optimist, he thought that she had
perhaps already discussed the matter with the team.
Rohit came out of Aparna's cabin and went straight to where his team members sat. He
thought it would still be nice to bounce ideas off them and also to see what solutions
others might come up with. He told them of all the solutions he had in mind.
He waited for the others to come up with their suggestions but not one of them spoke up.
He was surprised, and asked them point-blank why they were so disinterested.
Sanjay, one of the team members, said, "What is the point in our discussing these things?
Aparna is not going to have time to listen to us or discuss anything. She will just give us
the solution she thinks is best, and we will just do what she tells us to do; why waste
everyone's time?"
Rohit felt his heart sink. Was this the way things worked over here? However, he refused
to lose heart and thought that maybe, he could change things a little.
But as the days went by, Rohit realized that Aparna was the complete opposite of his old
boss. While she was efficient at what she did and extremely intelligent, she had neither the
time nor the inclination to groom her subordinates.
Her solutions to problems were always correct, but she was not willing to discuss or
debate the merits of any other ideas that her team might have. She did not hold the team
down to their deadlines nor did she ever interfere.
In fact, she rarely said anything at all! If work did not get finished on time, she would just
blame her team, and totally disassociate herself from them.
Time and again, Rohit found himself thinking of Suresh, his old boss, and of how he had
been such a positive influence. Aparna, on the other hand, even without actively doing
anything, had managed to significantly lower his motivation levels.
Rohit gradually began to lose interest in his work - it had become too mechanical for his
taste. He didn't really need to think; his boss had all the answers.

He was learning nothing new, and he felt his career was going nowhere. As he became
more and more discouraged, his performance suffered. From being someone with immense
promise and potential, Rohit was now in danger of becoming just another mediocre
techie.
Questions

1. What, according to you, were the reasons for Rohit's disillusionment? Answer the
question using Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs or Expectancy Theory of Motivation.
2. How would you evaluate Aparna's behaviour in terms of need for power, need for
achievement and theory X/Y?
3. What should Rohit do to resolve his situation? What can a team leader do to ensure
high levels of motivation among his/her team members?

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