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Assignment #3: What to Do With Harry?
Joe Collins, Production Manager of York Tool and Die Company, tapped Harry Simpson on the shoulder. “Harry,” Collins said,
“I’d like to talk to you in my office.”
“Right now?” asked Simpson.
“Right now,” Collins replied.
Simpson took off his safety goggles and put them on the rack. He was a line foreman, and it was unusual to be called away from
his line. He figured it had to be something big; otherwise, Collins would have waited until break.
“Hey, Willie,” Simpson yelled at his lead man, “cover for me, will you? I’ve got to talk to Joe.”
Simpson walked into Collins’s office and sat down. The look on Collins’s face told him it wasn’t going to be good news.
“Harry, I’ve known you for eight years,” Collins began. “You’ve always kept your nose to the grindstone. You’ve been
conscientious and diligent. I’ve had fewer problems with you than with most of the other foremen. But lately things have been
different. You’ve come to work late five times in the past month. You’ve been late turning in your weekly production sheets. The
scrap rate of your line has been going up, too. I was also told that Willie had to spend a lot of time breaking in the two new guys.
That’s your job. What’s going on, Harry?”
Simpson shuffled his feet and cleared his throat. “I didn’t realize these things were happening.”
“You didn’t know you were late?” Collins was incredulous.” You’ve been coming to work at seven-thirty for eight years. When
you punch in at seven-forty-five, you’re late, and you know it.”
“I don’t know, Joe. I just haven’t felt with it lately,” Simpson explained. “Doris says I’ve been moping around the house a lot
lately, too.”
“I’m not here to chew you out, Harry,” Collins replied. “You’re a valuable man. I want to find a way to get you back in gear.
Anything been bugging you lately?”
“Well, I’ve finally figured out I’m not going to make it to supervisor. At least not in the near future. That’s what I’ve been working
for all along. Maybe I’ve hit my peak. When Coleman made it to supervisor, I figured I’d be the next one up. But it never
happened. I’m not sore—Coleman is a good man and he deserved it. I just feel kind of deflated.”
“You’re well respected by management, Harry, and your line thinks you’re great, too. You’ve set a tough example to live up to. I
want you to keep it up—we need people like you.”
“I know I have an important job,” said Simpson, “but I figure I can’t get ahead anymore, at least not on how well I do my job. I
guess it boils down to luck or something.”
“What if I give you a new line to run?” Collins asked. “Would that give you a new challenge?”
“No, I wouldn’t want that, Joe,” replied Simpson. “I like my line, and I don’t want to leave them.”
“All right, Harry, but here’s the deal,” Collins stated. “I want you to cut back on the lateness, pronto. Get your production reports
in on time, and watch the scrap. With the price of copper going up, we’ve got to play it tight. Oh, and give Willie a break. He’s got
enough to do. Does this sound okay to you?”
“Yeah,” Simpson said. “You’re only telling me to do what I’m supposed to be doing.”
“Keep at it, Harry,” Collins said with a smile. “In two more years, you’ll get a ten-year pin.”
Simpson got up to leave. “It won’t pay the rent, but I’d like to have it.”
Simpson walked back to the line. Willie looked up and saw him coming. “What’d Joe want?” Willie asked.
“Oh, nothing much,” Simpson replied.
Willie knew Simpson was hiding something, and Simpson figured Willie knew what it was.
Questions
1. Which theory of motivation do you think best explains Simpson’s recent behavior? Please explain, making sure to incorporate
elements of the theory.
2. What would Equity theory have predicted about Simpson’s behavior following Coleman’s promotion? How would he be
expected to respond to the situation?
3. In terms of Expectancy theory, how would you describe Simpson’s valence for a promotion and its instrumentality before and
after Coleman’s promotion? Please make sure to appropriately apply the terms “valence” and “instrumentality” in your response.
4. What psychological needs (Maslow’s) did Collins appeal to in talking to Simpson?