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RSM260 Midterm—Fall 2020
Note 1: software varied some details, such as names, for several of the prompts, so the text below may not
exactly match such details in the exemplar submissions.
Note 2: question 1 was for logistics such as name, student number, and so forth. The midterm proper
began with question 2.
Question #2
Chemixal is a large pharmaceutical company that has recently encountered problems with employees
under-producing, and not meeting quarterly targets in its sales division. The pharmaceutical sales division
is responsible for visiting potential customers (e.g., physicians, pharmacy owners, etc.) in order to try to
sell them to new medications and products.
The CEO of Chemixal watched a documentary about Lincoln Electric describing how Lincoln switched to
a pay-for-performance model in which factory workers at Lincoln receive piece-rate wages (i.e., they
were paid for each unit produced) with no guaranteed minimum hourly wage. After two years of working
there, employees got to participate in a year-end bonus plan which determined their bonus based on the
company’s gross profits, as well as both an employees’ base piece rate and merit rating (a rating of them
given by their manager at the end of each year). Some Lincoln factory workers made more than $100,000
a year (in a good year); however, in a bad year, Lincoln employees’ average earnings might fall as much
as 40%. “Good” and “bad” years were determined not only by factors inside the organization, such as
employee performance, but also the general economy.
After reading about the success of the model at Lincoln Electric, the top management team at the
pharmaceutical sales division unanimously decided to implement this model, such that employees’ year
end would be determined by a combination of their own sales (commission), managers’ ratings, and the
company’s overall financial performance. Unfortunately, the model seems to have failed - it has actually
decreased employee motivation and productivity.
2a) Though you don’t yet know much about this company, they’ve asked you to come in as a
consultant and conduct a motivational audit. Drawing on expectancy theory, describe possible
reasons the new incentive system might have failed (6 pts).
2b) Then, describe how you could effectively tighten the linkages in this model in order to boost
motivation, and in turn productivity (6 pts).
2c) Jack is a factory worker at the pharmaceutical company. He runs the pill and tablet coaters that
coat the pills. He only observers this stage of production and this is the main part of his job. A
manager gives Jack his goals and targets and tells him when he can go on breaks. List two core
job dimensions that are relevant in this scenario and explain why they are applicable (4 pts).
Question #3
Since he was young, Benham has always shown talent for and is interested in sculpting. According to
family and friends, Benham can usually be found in his small studio that he set up in his garage and
reemerges after days of effort, proudly sharing his latest creation with his family and friends.
A family friend posted a photo of Benham’s latest creation, and the post gained popularity. After noticing
Benham’s work, a senior executive at an upscale international hotel chain, Posh Hotels, offered a job to
Benham to create ice sculptures for the various hotels. The pay was satisfactory and most importantly,
Benham felt that his talent was being recognized.
Benham’s role is to create elaborate ice sculptures for Posh Hotel’s locations; he would travel to the
hotel’s various locations around the world and create the sculptures on site. The theme of the sculpture
would be determined by the local hotel management team. All of Benham’s travel and accommodations
are taken care of by Posh Hotels; this would be in addition to his compensation. It sounded like the dream
job for Benham.
After a few months of working with Posh Hotels, Benham was very unhappy. He called his family to
share his grievances; here are a few excerpts from his conversation:
“While it’s nice to travel around the world, I miss being home and miss seeing my friends and family.”
“I like my colleagues, but I haven’t been able to see you (my family) in a few months. I have no idea
where I’ll be traveling to next, but I know I won’t be home for a while.
“I hate sculpting now. I don’t like being told what to sculpt. These people don’t even know what art is,
but they pay me so I need to listen to them. It’s so meaningless.”
“I don’t even know if all of the customers actually appreciate my work. I saw a kid try to sit on my
sculpture the other day. We were told not to stop him because his parents are VIPs. I felt like that kid
disrespected my work.”
“I don’t feel passionate about my creations anymore. I just create them because it’s my job. It’s so
mechanical now.”
“I told my manager that I want to quit, but he tried to persuade me to stay, saying that he can arrange for a
raise. But it’s not about the money … I just don’t want to do this anymore.”
3a) Benham was offered a raise for what seemed like a dream job, yet he wasn’t motivated. Explain
why a raise is not an effective motivator. Propose another motivator that would be more effective
and explain why it would be more effective (4 pts).
3b) In your own words, explain the concepts of facet and overall job satisfaction, and provide an
example of each from Bentham’s experience (4 pts).
3c) Bentham’s manager has started to sense that his performance on the job has started to decline.
From RSM260, we know that job satisfaction and job performance are correlated with one
another. What is the current state of thinking about whether (4 pts):
• Being satisfied with your job causes you to perform better on that job?
• Performing well on your job causes you to feel more satisfied with the job?
Be sure to discuss the types of issues that researchers need to keep in mind as they interpret
correlations between satisfaction and performance in order to sort out which of these possible
explanations is most likely valid.
Question #4
For the next question, please read the following excerpt from the article titled, “Steve Wozniak: When
Apple got ‘big money’ Steve Jobs’ personality ‘changed’”
Before Steve Jobs was the serious, turtleneck-wearing CEO and co-founder of Apple, he was a young guy
who would goof off, scheme elaborate pranks and go to concerts with friends.
According to Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Jobs’ personality shifted once he became the founder of
“a company with big money,” Wozniak said recently on a podcast.
When Wozniak and Jobs met in the ’70s, the pair bonded over their love of electronics and shenanigans,
and would go to concerts together, “chasing concert paraphernalia, driving around and playing pranks,”
Wozniak said. “We had a lot of fun times.” They founded Apple Computers, Inc. in 1976, when Jobs was
21 and Wozniak was 26. Wozniak said the antics stopped after Apple received its first big investment, a
guaranteed bank loan of $250,000 from Mike Markkula in 1977 (the equivalent of over $1.1 million), and
the company started to take off.
″[Jobs] all the sudden disdained that,” Wozniak said. “He didn’t want to talk about jokes, [or] fun kid
things, only business suits on the front of magazines, talking business talk and learning how to speak it.”
Instead, Jobs focused on developing his personal brand and “becoming sort of a different presence to the
world,” Wozniak said. “That’s when his personality changed, and he got kind of strict.”
As a leader, Jobs had a reputation for being demanding. Even the way he dressed was severe: In the ’80s,
he started wearing his personal uniform of a black turtleneck designed by Issey Miyake and jeans,
because he heard that Sony employees wore uniforms.
Wozniak said that from the day he met Jobs, his friend would talk about important historical figures who
“have really changed humanity forever,” like William Shakespeare. “He wanted to be one of them, and he
felt he had the motivation,” Wozniak said. “Sometimes motivation, wanting something, is a lot more
important than having the real skill.” On the other hand, Wozniak said he himself wanted nothing to do
with fame or money and was perfectly content being a computer engineer designing calculator chips at
Hewlett-Packard for life, where he worked before Apple. “I loved it, and I didn’t want to ever be
corrupted by big money,” he said. (Wozniak’s net worth is an estimated $100 million as of 2017.)
Jobs was less hands-on when it came to developing computer software, and instead focused on design,
advertising and talking to press, Wozniak said. “One thing he wanted was to somehow be important in the
world, though he didn’t have the academic or business, background, he had me,” he said. Wozniak
believes that Jobs’ stark shift in his comportment was a way of communicating that he could be
a legitimate business person. “He wanted to make sure the world got a message that all the computer
thinking came from him his head, and his thinking,” Wozniak said.
To this day, Wozniak said still is on the Apple payroll “out of loyalty,” although he left the company in
1985. He receives about $50 a week, and has joked that he still reports to Jobs, who died in 2011 from
pancreatic cancer. In late 2019, Apple’s market cap reached a record $1.4 trillion, and tech analysts
predict that it could reach a $2 trillion valuation at the end of 2021. But Wozniak insists that money,
power and fame are not the factors guiding his life. “I only want to know interesting people, like Steve
Jobs for instance,” he said.
4a) Based on what we’ve learned about personality in RSM260, what are potential reasons to
disagree with the proposition that “Steve Jobs’ personality changed”? What might you
suggest as a title for this article instead and why? (4 pts)
4b) Using the Big 5 model of personality, how would you describe the personality of Steve
Jobs BEFORE Apple got big money, using two of the five dimensions? Explain why,
citing evidence from the article. (4 pts)
4c) Your manager has read the Steve Jobs biography and has decided that she wants to funnel
employees with similar personality traits into a leader development program because that
personality type worked so well for him. Drawing on what we learned in Lecture 1, offer
two reasons why might her inference be incorrect. (2 points)
Question #5
Your boss is interested in using personality testing at work. In comparing different types of personality
tests, what would you tell your boss is important in assessing these tests (listing two key considerations
and explaining why she should care about those considerations)?