Department of Accountancy

School of Business and Economics

University of San Carlos
P. Del Rosario St. Cebu City, 6000

MA 3101
Human Behavior in Organizations

____________________________________________________________________________

Submitted by:

MA 3101- Group 1 7:30-9:30 AM

Group 3

Espina, Mary Elizabeth

Malayao, Lyka Dianne
Malaza, Andrea Isabel
Malinao, Josette Rochelle
Pardillo, Krisdeo Andre
Resuera, Jeri Leigh
Tamayo, Jebrelle (Asst. Leader)
Yarot, Donalyn Isabel (Leader)

____________________________________________________________________________

Submitted to:

Mr. Harries Andaya, CPA

July 2021
 CASE STUDY 1

“How a UPS Manager Cut Turnover”

1. In dollars-and-cents’ terms, why did Katriona Roeder want to reduce turnover?

Katriona Roeder was promoted to district manager for UPS’ operation in Buffalo. As she
took over, it came to her attention that the UPS organization in Buffalo had a problem in their
turnover rate because part-time employees were leaving at the rate of 50 percent a year. Since
UPS relies heavily on its part-time employees, it was only natural of Roeder to immediately take
actions in reducing the turnover rate.

However, in the organization’s perspective, the high turnover rate and the process of
reducing the high turnover rate only added up to the dollars and cents because of productivity
loss and the cost of improving the hiring process, the communication setup, the supervisory
training and basically the entire workplace. In Roeder’s perspective, her comprehensive plan to
reduce turnover not only benefits the company and employees, but also herself as a district
manager because in terms of dollars-and-cents, cutting off the high turnover rate could also mean
that Roeder’s annual savings would go up.

2. What are the implications from this case for motivating part-time employees?

As mentioned in the case, the entire UPS organization relies heavily on part-time
employees. In fact, most executives were part-timers first before becoming full-time employees.
UPS is known to treat its part-timers well. The company provides them with high pay, flexible
work hours, full benefits, and substantial aid to go back to school, however, despite these
initiatives, UPS’s turnover rate for part-time employees was still out of control. It can be
concluded that the problem does not lie in the company's monetary reward system. There have to
be other reasons why the part-timers are not satisfied with their job. Roeder realized this, found
the underlying problem and was able to come up with an appropriate strategy to solve it. She
took into consideration employees’ expectations, different needs and interests and also utilized
the supervisors to connect better with the employees.

This taught us that in motivating employees, the extrinsic rewards are not the single most
important thing to consider. A good manager, according to Dr. Mike Crant, should also be able to
determine the level of an employee's intrinsic motivation as it is a huge part of job satisfaction.
The level of intrinsic motivation is a key element of each employee’s personality: How
conscientious or achievement-oriented are they? Some people will succeed regardless of
rewards; it is their nature to seek excellence in whatever task is at hand. It is also important for
one to understand and know the determinants of motivation in order to develop appropriate
motivational techniques.
3. What are the implications from this case for managing in future years when there may
be a severe labour shortage?

To prevent future labor shortages and workers from leaving the workplace, Ms. Roeder
discovered that college students are particularly interested in developing abilities that would be
useful later in their jobs. As a result, she provides them with Saturday workshops for computer
skill development and career preparation. Roeder enhanced lighting throughout the building and
renovated break facilities to make them more user-friendly because many new UPS employees in
Buffalo were frightened by the massive warehouse in which they had to work. She turned several
of her best shift supervisors into trainers who gave specialized assistance throughout new hires'
first week to help them adjust. She also added additional personal computers to the workplace,
making it simpler for new employees to access training materials and human-resource
information via UPS's internal network. Finally, Roeder enhanced training so that supervisors
could handle increasing empowerment and understand how tough it is to be a manager.

Unfilled vacancies are likely to lead to increased workload and stress for other
employees. Where individuals are poorly matched to the skill requirements of their job, this can
have significant impacts on job security, self-confidence and career progression but because of
what she did in giving out Saturday training and skill development served as a countermeasure
against the negative that might impact the worker in the future.

Evidence from a range of sources suggests that this may be a vicious cycle, with more
highly skilled workers more likely to receive training and those affected by skills gaps at risk of
being passed over for personal development opportunities by enhancing their supervisory skills
and empowering them to understand can greatly help them in the future years if there will be a
severe labour shortage.

4. Is it unethical to teach supervisors “to demonstrate interest in their employees as

individuals”? Explain.

If a person is not inherently born with the ability to exhibit interest in others, he/she has
the ability to learn a skill. Being a supervisor necessitates some leadership responsibilities and
possessing some additional attributes that can be learned if they do not come naturally. To begin
with the pursuit of acquisition, however, there must be an initial desire or passion because all of
the attributes and feelings that we require are the same in ourselves and others.

Is it therefore unethical to train supervisors to show interest in individuals? No, it is

unlikely for it to be considered as unethical especially when such individuals want to be taught in
the first place. When management starts to show a sincere interest in them as a person and not
merely as an employee, it helps create a working environment that celebrates individual
differences which results in a more productive and motivated group of people. It shall also be
highlighted that one of the most common reasons people quit their jobs is because of the
relationship they have with their immediate superior. A supervisor’s personal influence is shown
in their capacity to connect with people, not just professionals. If supervisors can somewhat help
the company in reducing its attrition rate and its overall performance, then we believe teaching
supervisors to show that they care about their employees as individuals is still ethical as long as
it’s in line with the company’s long-term goals.

5. What facts in this case support the argument that OB should be approached from a
contingency perspective?

The contingency approach is based on the idea that there is no single best way to manage,
that methods or behaviors which work effectively in one situation may fail in another
(encyclopedia.com). This approach discourages the habitual practice of universal assumptions
about methods and people hence, this focuses on thoroughly analyzing each situation prior to
action. The succeeding paragraphs will point out facts in this case that support the argument that
OB should be approached from a contingency perspective.

The first key point that was highlighted in Roeder’s comprehensive plan to reduce
turnover was to improve the hiring process. She modified the hiring process which would screen
out people, identifying who essentially wanted full-time jobs as it typically took new part-timers
six years to work up to a fulltime job. This modification made sense as unfulfilled expectations
may cause frustration to those whose preferences were for full-time work. She did not stick to
just one approach but she assessed and created solutions appropriate to that particular situation.

In addition to this modification, Roeder also changed the communication style and
motivation techniques with her employees. These changes are based on the analysis she did
using the large database of information that UPS had on her district’s employees which led her to
the conclusion that she had five distinct groups working for her—differentiated by ages and
stages in their careers. With this data at hand, she was able to connect with employees better
through these tailored approaches and techniques reflecting the group to which employees
belonged.

Another fact was that many new UPS employees were intimidated by the huge
warehouse in which they had to work, so Roeder improved lighting throughout the building and
upgraded break rooms to make them more user-friendly. She also turned some of her best shift
supervisors into trainers. She also installed more personal computers on the floor for easier
access to training materials and human resource information on UPS’s internal network.
 The last fact was that Roeder expanded training so supervisors had the skills to handle
increased empowerment. Since most of her supervisors were part timers, they would know how
to understand the needs of part-time employees, how to assess difficult management situations,
how to communicate in different ways, and how to identify the needs of different people.

The approach made a statement that Roeder was responsible for determining which
managerial approach was likely to be most effective in achieving her highest priority which is
cutting turnover rate. Based on the article, Roeder’s program has shown impressive results. It
resulted from a 50% turnover rate per year to 6%. Also, due to the improvements made, not one
part-timer left a night shift. They also had an annual savings of 1 million dollars. Lastly, Buffalo
district was able to gain 20% reduction in lost workdays, and dropped from 4 percent to 1
percent in packages delivered on the wrong day at the wrong time. In this way, we can conclude
that the facts mentioned above support the argument that organizational behaviour should be
approached in a contingency perspective.
 REFERENCES:

Atwater, D. & Jones, A. Preparing for a Future Labor Shortage. Retrieved July 13, 2021 from
https://gbr.pepperdine.edu/2010/08/preparing-for-a-future-labor-shortage/?fbclid=IwAR
1T8tXTu9hAfa3LznTazklItWhkmpcn1EflIcgcNFggbH0mk2vXJQCFpCg

Bonelli, L. (2019). “Management shows a sincere interest in me as a person, not just an

employee”. Retrieved July 13, 2021 from https://www.greatplacetowork.it

Encyclopedia.com. (n.d) Contingency Approach To Management. Retrieved July 12, 2021 from
https://www.encyclopedia.com//management/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-
maps/contingency-approach-management

University of Notre Dame. (n.d) How to Motivate Employees. Retrieved July 13, 2021 from
https://www.notredameonline.com/resources/leadership-and-management/motivating-e
mployees-key-to-effective-management/

HRZone. (2019). What is a Contingency Approach? Retrieved July 12, 2021 from
https://www.hrzone.com/hr-glossary/what-is-a-contingency-approach