Late Night Chapter 9 Summary Thinking

        In chapter 9, Employee Motivation, the correct procedures are talked about for how to correctly motivate an employee. This chapter discusses whether there a predisposition, through personality, self-esteem intrinsic motivation or needs of achievement and power, to become motivated. Also how to go about meeting the employees’ values and expectations through clarifying job expectations and employees needs. This chapter discusses the measurability of employee goals in relation to the company, the goal specificity, and its relevance. It also discusses the self-regulation theory with regards to employees receiving feedback on their goal achievement progression. The chapter then discusses the types of rewards an employee can get for achieving his/her goals and the integration of incentive plans and the difference between rewards and punishment.

        When I first started working for the postal service the plant manager had employee appreciation cookouts. The 1st 2 years I was there they did it twice a year. The next 2 years it went to once a year. In the next 3 years, it went from a cookout to one day where they ordered pizza for everyone. So far this year, it’s been nothing, and since our plant manager has changed again, I don’t sense this one as being all to employee incentive oriented. Otherwise, we used to work hard so that we could get approved for a certain day off, like maybe the pirate home opener or first penguin playoffs, but that has since ceased. They have made it abundantly clear that they are not granting any special leave requests to anyone for anything. They used to support company picnic day at Kennywood Park and have since quit doing that. In the employee appreciation department of things we the employees can definitely feel the financial hurt that the postal system is going through. However, in the amount of wasted resources we consume and dispense you wouldn’t be able to tell one bit. I believe they cut down forests for trees and make new housing developments in wooded areas just so the post office can waste paper products and they don’t even recycle. Our input/output ratios have become so out of sync that we the employees have lowered our inputs to match those postal outputs. They have since been subjected to the increases in health care costs that make the benefits we get not that desirable anymore because in order to support and the whole family you are now paying in upwards of $200 bi-weekly and you still have high co-pays. Our salaries have been in a wage freeze for years now so we have received no cost of living increases despite gas increases and health care increases. There is no way an employee can have a life of any kind outside the doors to the post office because while the news reports post offices closing and financial instability, at my building they are dishing out overtime like its candy and unless you get a doctor to sign off that you cannot work more than an 8 hour day or 40 hour week then you must be there with not one thank you or anything. There is no organizational justice, we have no say in how things are run and every day is like a brand new day, like the post office has never sorted mail before. It’s confusing and there is no incentive to be hard working at all. What once was a job that everyone thought was great has vastly changed into a drone assembly line of unhappiness. In fact, they don’t even hire anyone anymore with the assumption that you’ll have job security or great benefits and pay. People are now hired with the ability to be “let go” at any time and benefits are limited and pay has drastically decreased.

        My critical analysis of this chapter is that this chapter is right. Its theories are right and its evaluation of how companies can motivate employees is right on the mark and more so, its analysis of how employees will react to lack of motivation is spot on too.