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 Introducton to the Caselet
Neha Kapoor(Neha) & Tina Menon(Menon) were excited about their first job
offer from a leading multinational company, Meridian Business
Solutions(MERIDIAN).It is a UK-based consultancy , offered business
development and improvement solutions to organizations in wide range of
industries . Both have passed their MBA from prestigious college, where
Menon was topper. In their new job,the job-responsibility was to tap
potential clients from corporate world. This was an ideal break for them as it
provided exposure , adequate opportunities and compensation offered was
even at par.
The first few months were a learning experience for both of them, when they
were given adequate training and reasonable autonomy to perform their job.
Nitish Bajaj(Bajaj) , Regional Sales Manager was more impressed with Menon
as she was able to get into a deal with a very high profile client that could get
huge profits for the firm. Hence in a party ,Bajaj even announced cash award
for the commitment and dedication of Menon, that motivated her to strive
harder to better her performance .
 Contd͙
The company had a yearly Performance Appraisal System in which employees
were rated, on the basis of that they were paid hefty performance bonuses
that served as effective motivators for its employees.
Menon had hoped to receive a handsome bonus for her performance as
earlier stated by Bajaj . But Meridian did not have any transparent policy
regarding appraisals and remunerations paid to employees. So outcome was
not known to anyone but the employees that to by the information gathered
informally. Similarly Menon and all her colleagues had an unpleasant surprise
when they found that Kapoor had been rated high & even given higher bonus
than her.
The performance bonus acted as a demotivating factor for Menon . She began
to perceive an inequity in reward system & put in less effort to bring about a
perceived equity of pay between Kapoor & herself. Consequently her
productivity level declined. The negative attitude affected the performance of
the organization. Her frustration made her look fro new jobs.
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The motivation theory that best describes Menon͛s response to the appraisal
is ͞Herzberg͛s two factor theory͟. According to Herzberg the factors
contributing to Job satisfaction are different from those contributing to Job
dissatisfaction. They are not the opposites of each other.
The hygiene factors i.e the extrinsic factors contributing to dissatisfaction ,
here relate to Menon͛s demotivation as follows-
· Îrganization policies and practices in Meridian are not transparent regarding
appraisals and remuneration paid to the employees. So such information was
not immediately known to anyone unless gathered informally as Menon came
to know about Kapoor and was shocked.
· The Superior-Subordinate Relationship was earlier sound as Bajaj being
impressed announced for cash reward just within few months of joining. But
on the yearly performance review Bajaj didn͛t turn-up rather gave ratings &
bonus to Kapoor higher than what Menon had been given. So it proved to be
bad Superior-Subordinate Relationship.
· There was initially a safe & healthy working environment as they were
given adequate training & reasonable autonomy to carry out their job.
Everyone knew that Menon was a better performer but when
performance review was given it was a surprise for the rest employees
where rather they could contribute to her performance appraisal & make
her get a better rating. Hence the quality of supervision was not good
making no further security for job.
Here the motivational factors /motivators i.e Recognition,
responsibility, advancement, achievement, personal growth, work itself
lead to her satisfaction but were not the demotivating & dissatisfaction
factors .
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Equity theory states that individuals compare their job inputs & outcomes
with those of others & then respond to eliminate any inequities.
Menon could have used the different referent comparison that would add to
the complexity of the equity theory. Her selection of referent depends on the
information about the as well as the attractiveness of the referent. Here she
has considered ͞Îther-inside͟->Another individual inside her organization.
She also took into consideration four variables ʹ
Gender, length of tenure, level in the organization & amount of education or
professionalism.
Menon has decided to Change her input and is looking out for new jobs. The
other ways Menon could have reacted to the outcome of the performance
appraisal are-
· Distort perceptions of oneself.
· Distort perceptions of others.
· Change her outcome.
· Choose a different referent.