Week 4 Project: Larry’s Story (Motivation in the workplace)

Larry is a customer service representative for a large nationwide insurance company. His primary job is to evaluate workers’ compensation claims and provide members assistance in accessing services and financial resources. Larry covers two states, California and Louisiana, and usually has not more than a hundred or so active cases at any given time. All information is electronic, and communication is done through e-mail and phone calls. Larry works five days a week from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with a half hour off for lunch. His workstation is a six-by-six-foot cubicle in a large room with thirty other cubicles of customer representatives. He has been in this job for five years now, and is currently making $29,000 a year. He is married and has two children, a six-year-old and an eight-year-old. His wife, Mary, works at a local nursing home as a nurse. If you asked Larry about his job, he would most probably say, “It is a routine job,” but he enjoys interacting with customers and helping them get the services they need. Over the past three years, his performance ratings have been very good. Management had reported in his annual evaluations that he is very proficient at completing his work in a timely and quality manner.

About eight months ago, Larry was asked to participate in a committee on how to improve customer relations. Larry was excited about having the opportunity to contribute his ideas on what he feels are important factors in gaining a customer’s trust and improve customer satisfaction. His enthusiasm and commitment landed him the leadership role for the committee. Over the next several months, Larry worked tirelessly, even taking the committee work home with him to complete. At the end of the project, Larry and his team submitted their findings and recommendations. Management was pleased with the work completed and took the recommendations into consideration. That was now over a month ago, and Larry has overseen his (and the team’s) recommendations being implemented. At home, he still is very active, going to the park with his kids; he enjoys playing ball with his friends and going garage-sale bargain hunting with his wife on weekends. However, over the last few weeks, Larry has been having a hard time completing his daily work schedule. A few members have complained about his lack of attention to their cases, and management is concerned about his work performance. When asked about his performance, Larry replies, “It just doesn’t seem as interesting anymore.” Larry is now considering finding a new job, but management really doesn’t want to lose him.

In a 1- to 2-page Microsoft Word document, submit the following to the Submissions Area by the due date assigned.

• Provide a brief description of Larry’s change in his work performance.
• Explain the concepts of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and how these may help explain Larry’s motivation in his work.
• What would be your recommendations to Larry and his supervisor?