Introduction

This case study is about seeking efficient ways of motivating employees in order to keep
them in Big Bison Resorts and boost their productivity. Currently Janette Briggs is practicing
Employee of the Month program in which each month a manager at each resort was going to
nominate a top performing employee to be Employee of the Month and enjoy the glory, not to
mention a premium parking space and a framed photo posted in the lobby of the resort where he
or she worked. However, after working with her frontline staff for two weeks in disguise for a
popular reality TV show Janette doubts the functionality of this program. Janette, Frank
Schuman, Pedro Gutierrez and Marlys Higgenbotham are discussing and trying to find a way to
keep their employees motivated so that employees do not get absorbed by competitors.
Under our analysis we will discuss the previous efforts of Big Bison Resorts managers in
order to motivate for performance and we will discuss why there is a need to change the
motivating methods from here on. Acknowledging that the business is picking up in this market
area, how Big Bison Resorts managers should utilize the concept of reinforcement in a more
effective way, realize their employees needs and design more motivating jobs are our main focus
in this case study. Lastly, we will suggest some measures that Big Bison Resorts can take to
boost its performance in the competitive market.

Background of the Organization

Big Bison Resorts is a regional chain of indoor water parks. Janette Briggs is the CEO of
the company and she has Frank Schuman as vice president of human resources, Pedro Gutierrez
as head of operations and Marlys Higgenbotham as finance chief. Previously Janette had an idea
to motivate her employees and for that she asked Frank to develop such a program. After pouring
most of his time, Frank came up with Employee of the Program. It is worth to mention that the
company has preciously practiced bonus method of motivated but due to the bad economic it
could not keep up with it.

Summary
As Janette observed while working with her staff, most of the tasks are team work tasks,
workload is huge in her company yet employees perform a great job. They already take pride of
what they do so Janette thinks employee of the month is not a brilliant way of motivating them.
She argues that Employee of the Month disrupts the teamwork and she is asking Frank to deploy
his expertise in human relations to find new ways of motivating employee. Janette is concerned
about making the jobs better for her employees as an incentive for them to stay in her company.
However franks suggests to listen to employees feedback about their needs before taking any
actions.

Suggestion
Our suggestion for Big Bison Resorts is to widen Employee of the Month program. First
of all since a lot of team work is there in Big Bison Resorts thus the program must reward a team
rather than an individual. In this way a positive competition will spark among all the teams and
units in all branches of the company. Secondly after listening to employees about their needs
managers can add rewards in the program that employees really need in their life. These
additional things could be financial loans for employees, partial coverage of healthcare
insurance, scholarship for employees children and so on.

Questions
1. What kinds of behavior would an employee of the month program, as described here,
reinforce at Big Bison Resort? How might the company apply the principles of
reinforcement more effectively?
Answer:
We believe that Employees of the Month program at Big Bison Resort would result in a positive
reinforcement, as this will continue to increase the likelihood that employers are doing their very best for
the company and giving great customer service as they know they will reap the positive reinforcers that
will follow their positive behavior. (pg. 473)

This will also result in negative reinforcement by removing undesirable consequence. (pg.473)
Sometimes an employee may feel like the work they are doing is not being recognized, and they may tend
to get lazy and lose motivation. This can sometimes slow production and if you're poor work ethic is
being recognized by management. You may get penalized for unsatisfactory performance. Every
employee wants to get recognized for the work and eventually earn benefits, so if the employee of the
month program is set in place, this will improve unsatisfactory progress which in return will improve
performance and productivity as a whole.

How might the company apply the principles of reinforcement more effectively?

The company can apply the principles of reinforcement more effectively by managing rewards and
punishment. Sometimes organizations and managers enforce the wrong behaviors. To use reinforcement
effectively, managers must identify which kind of behaviors they reinforce, and which they discourage.
The reward system has to support the firm's strategy, defining people's performance in ways that pursue
strategic objectives. "The things that get rewarded get done." Examples of things that should be rewarded,
but are not limited to: solid solutions instead of quick fixes, smart work instead of busywork, quality work
instead of fast work, and the greatest of them all, working together instead of working against. pg475.
Other keys to applying the principles of reinforcement more effectively would be to manage mistakes,
and to provide feedback. Feedback can be offered in many ways, from managers, from customers directly,
and even requesting customer feedback and giving it to the employee. (pg 476)

2. How might Big Bison Resorts get input from employees to make the companys jobs
more motivating? What impact would this effort have on the companys
performance?
Answer:
I would have to say by receiving feedback directly from the employee can go along way if the manager
listens. But, for the jobs to be more motivated; expectancy, instrumentalities, and total valence of all
outcomes must all be high. The expectancy theory helps the manager zero in on key leverage points for
influencing motivation: (1) Increase expectancies (2) Identify positively valent outcomes, and (3) Make
performance instrumental

3. How would Big Bison employees perceive the equity of the Employee of the Month
Program? Compare their reaction to that program with the response you would expect from
an effort to involve employees in improving their jobs?
Answer: Many employees welcome the recognition, and employers who

implement employee reward programs usually do so as an expression of

appreciation for their most valuable resource, human capital. Employee
reward programs come with disadvantages as well, but eliminating the
programs isn't the solution.
The employees would perceive the equity of the employee of the month
program if there are some changes instead of nominating the same person
each month or nominating someone who is really close to the top level
manager. In that situation the employees will perceive this program as
unfair, which will lead the employee to be less motivated. Which will lead
also
to
less
productivities.
It would have a positive effect on employees because they are going to do
their best in order to win.

4. Think about a previous job you have held or hold currently if you
have the power to make such decisions what would you do to make
the job more motivating for employees?
Answer:

Islamic Perspective
The very culture of rewarding people for their good works is a concept in modern business
management whereas Islam more than 1400 years ago made it an obligation on its followers to
encourage and appreciate peoples good deeds and dislike and stop any wrong doings. Our case
which is entirely about rewarding good employees as an appreciation of their good performance
is closely related the following Ayaat:
Allah states that those who do good in this world -- by having faith and performing righteous
deeds will be rewarded with a good reward in the Hereafter. Allah said:

(Is there any reward for good other than good)(55:60) Then Allah said:

(and even more.) the reward on the good deeds multiplied ten times to seven hundred times and
even more on top of that. This reward includes what Allah will give them in Paradise, such as the
palaces, Al-Hur (virgins of Paradise), and His pleasure upon them. He will give them what He
has hidden for them of the delight of the eye. He will grant them on top of all of that and even
better, the honor of looking at His Noble Face. This is the increase that is greater than anything
that had been given. They will not deserve that because of their deeds, but rather, they will
receive it by the grace of Allah and His mercy. The explanation that this refers to looking at
Allah's Noble Face was narrated from Abu Bakr, Hudhayfah bin Al-Yaman, `Abdullah bin
`Abbas, Sa`id bin Al-Musayyib, `Abdur-Rahman bin Abu Layla, `Abdur-Rahman bin Sabit,
Mujahid, `Ikrimah, `Amir bin Sa`ad, `Ata', Ad-Dahhak, Al-Hasan, Qatadah, As-Suddi,
Muhammad bin Ishaq, and others from the earlier and later scholars. There are many Hadiths that
contain the same interpretation. Among these Hadiths is what Imam Ahmad recorded from
Suhayb that Allah's Messenger recited this Ayah,

(For those who have done good is the best and even more.) And then he said:

Going to through the abovementioned ayaat we can conclude that it is Allahs approach
(sunnatullah) to reward good with good. Therefore Big Bison Resorts rewarding programs are in
line with teaching of our religion and is even encouraged by our prophet (peace be upon him).

Conclusion
Its been seen through this case that motivating programs are very crucial in keeping best
employees in the organization. Employee of the Month program practiced by Big Bison Resorts
can be counterproductive because it disrupts the teamwork in the organization and also it might
lead to a negative way of resorting equity among employees. Meaning to say that instead of
increasing their input employees might decrease their inputs in order to meet their outcomes.
Moreover, its been discussed that Big Bison Resorts must deploy expectancy theory and
empowerment concepts to get input from its employees and that necessarily leads to boosting the
performance in the organization.