JGR210

Week 3 Assignment: Investing in Your Team

Types of Investment

Recall the types of investment you studied in the course. Use them in this assignment.

· Growth Mindset:  Growth mindset means you believe that you can improve (or “grow”) abilities such as intelligence, talent, and skills through hard work and self-discipline.

· Job-sculpting:  Job-sculpting means developing an employee’s role so that their work duties match what they are passionate about; what interests them.

· Work Flexibility:  Work flexibility means allowing employees to work when and where is best for them, if they get the job done.

Instructions

Assuming the role of General Manager of Hometown Cars, you have talked to the Hometown Cars employees one-on-one to see how they feel about their current work environment. For each of the employee observations, write a response in which you choose a type of investment and explain how it will improve the situation described in the observation. Explain whether the type of investment recommended leads to intrinsic motivation or extrinsic motivation. Be sure to include details from your approach to justify your response.

This example is provided to get you started.

Observation 

Your assistant manager, Jorge, shows potential for being a general manager. One day he mentions that he really enjoys the financial side of managing. 

General Manager Recommendation

Job sculpting was the motivational investment selected to use with Jorge. Because of his interest in the financial side of managing, developing his role so he can highlight his passion and interest in finance is a worthy investment. To do that, Jorge will be given the opportunity to take ownership of tracking invoices for the company. Being given the task of tracking invoices intrinsically motivates Jorge to dedicate himself to the continued success of the company. By diversifying his skill set and developing new skills, he will become a better candidate for a promotion. He will also be motivated to do well because he knows that by performing his best, he will have a better chance at a promotion and the job security that comes along with it. 

Write a response for each observation beginning under the label, General Manager Recommendation. Submit your completed responses in this document to the Week 3 assignment.

Observation 1

· Employees tell you there does not appear to be the option for personal career development at Hometown Cars. For instance, competition within the sales department prevents seasoned sales associates from mentoring new sales associates, and the company does not offer any formal training.

General Manager Recommendation

Under this, the opportunity for growth needed is the growth mindset. As seen in the description by the employees, they need to be given the opportunity to lead their own personal and professional growth journeys. Adopting a growth mindset is beneficial for the employee’s motivation since they can understand that their abilities can be improved by focusing on their skill by incorporating effort and hard work. Hometown can actualize this by providing training programs established by and paid for by the organization to grow the skills of its workers. The training can be done from within the organization, or they can outsource trainers from outside for the sake of their employees. In addition, seasoned sales associated should take the responsibility for the mentorship of new and inexperienced employees and allow them to practice and learn from their expertise. Providing mentorship and training programs for the employees will be an intrinsic motivation where they can improve their skills and take an interest in their career development.

Observation 2

· A few of the sales associates have emphasized that they are car enthusiasts and take a genuine interest in how the cars they sell perform. However, because of the animosity between departments, they have never been allowed to really explore the cars they sell.

General Manager Recommendation

These employees are recommended the investment in job sculpting. Going forward, the company needs to allow the car enthusiasts in the sale department an opportunity within their job structures to explore the cars. The employees will be able, as per the provisions of the organization to be set, to drive test and examine the performance of the cars. Further to this, Hometown can go further and organize events for the competition which entails rewarding employees depending on their knowledge of the features of the cars. Such a move is not only an opportunity but an added advantage for the organization as customers meet the employees for a unique selling opportunity in which they get to understand better the functionalities of the cars. There are great opportunities for employees to live their passion when an organization allows matching or pairing the jobs with the passion of the various employees. This situation also leads to intrinsic motivation. Job sculpting investment is also an opportunity for a supportive work environment, collaboration, and employee synergies.

Observation 3

· Employees share that they are stressed because it feels like there is little opportunity to take care of important personal issues – like keeping up with doctor’s appointments and attending their children’s school functions.

General Manager Recommendation

The best strategy to use is work flexibility. It will allow the employee's autonomy and control over their work schedules since, as explained, the employees feel they have no time for their personal issues. This includes allowing them some off time and work remotely, an opportunity to have or work on their personal matters. The introduction of paid leave programs will be key since they can take leave even without their salaries being affected. These events make the employees feel valued by the organization in terms of their well-being, which is a form of intrinsic motivation. In addition to these advantages, investment in work flexibility allows the organization to retain top talent.

© 2020 Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University Confidential and Proprietary information and may not be copied, further distributed, or otherwise disclosed in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of Strayer University.

Page 1 of 1