Introduction
Sullivan Soap Company is a company founded by a married couple, Grace and Jack Sullivan, and has grown from a small enterprise into a moderately successful company with 32 employees. The majority of the employees, however, come from the Sullivan family; therefore, the business is mostly family-owned and family-operated. The Sullivans are now at a crossroads, as Grace and Jack plan to retire and need to select their future CEO. On the other hand, they are striving to achieve a nationwide presence.
The company, however, is suffering from a lack of productivity as the mistakes of many employees are overlooked. There are also serious issues regarding agreement on ethical matters among employees. This case study aims to provide recommendations to enhance the productivity of Sullivan Soap Company’s employees, relate these recommendations to motivational theories, and explain their significance.
Recommendations
The company’s philosophy has remained unchanged throughout its existence, and Sullivan Soap Company has not communicated its mission and values to employees clearly. To improve employee productivity and prevent conflicts, the mission and values statement is the first and most crucial step. A necessary step would be to revisit and refine the company’s core values.
The CEOs should determine whether it is solely a commitment to producing high-quality personal care products or whether values regarding animal testing and ethical production will also be considered. The disagreement between Sanjay and the other employees needs to be resolved through establishing concrete values and deciding whether it is possible to introduce any changes. If one employee disagrees with the company’s values, it can undermine the productivity of everyone and the company’s overall success.
The Sullivans are at the point where they need to determine what the future leadership of the company will look like. The productivity at the present moment is also dependent in many ways on the current leadership style. Currently, the CEOs have not defined what ethical leadership means for Sullivan Soap Company.
As a leader, Grace tends to overlook the mistakes of the employees. Jim, the Vice President of Distribution and Sullivan’s son, is seen as a possible successor, and his leadership style causes dissatisfaction among certain employees. Bethany is another possible successor, and her leadership style is more similar to that of Grace, but she does not see herself as a firm leader. In order to prepare the company for potential successors and increase employees’ motivation at the same time, it is necessary to help the leaders acquire ethical leadership skills and promote ethical decision-making. It is also crucial to establish clear accountability mechanisms for all employees.
The company’s CFO, Adam, already encourages employees to express their ideas. There is, however, a disagreement between Adam and Jim regarding the necessity of involving all employees in the decision-making process. Adam’s actions are rather informal as there is no clear mechanism to consider employees’ opinions. In order to avoid other employees’ disagreement and increase job motivation, the Sullivans need to establish a mechanism that will allow the participation of all employees.
Motivational Theories and Their Significance
This recommendation to establish and communicate clear vision and values aligns with Herzberg’s Two-Factor theory, which explains the factors that influence job satisfaction and dissatisfaction among employees (Alrawahi et al, 2020). This theory is significant in most situations when it is necessary to increase productivity through motivation, as employees’ motivation depends on the factors of job satisfaction. In this particular case, establishing mission and values correlates with Herzberg’s motivational factors (Alrawahi et al, 2020). Understanding the purpose of one’s job can increase motivation and, thus, productivity considerably.
The ethical leadership recommendation can be tied to the transformational leadership theory. This theory implies that leaders play an essential role in inspiring the followers to achieve exceptional outcomes (Eliyana & Ma’arif, 2019). In an organization, the behavior of the leader will define the behavior of the employees. They serve as role models, stimulate others intellectually, and pay attention to the individual needs of the followers (Eliyana & Ma’arif, 2019). Transformational leadership as a theory plays a significant role in forming the motivation of the employees, as it has been demonstrated that job satisfaction and outcomes depend heavily on leaders’ actions (Eliyana & Ma’arif, 2019). Therefore, Sullivan Soap Company can apply this theory to create a motivating workplace culture.
Involving employees in the decision-making process can be explained by Vroom’s expectancy theory. According to this theory, employees are motivated when they believe their input can influence decisions (Supatn & Puapradit, 2019). When they perceive that their input matters, they are more motivated to engage in the decision-making process actively. This participation can lead to increased job satisfaction because employees feel a sense of control over their work and its outcomes. Therefore, if the Sullivans establish rules regarding employees’ participation, their productivity and engagement will grow.
Conclusion
The productivity of Sullivan Soap Company’s employees can be enhanced through motivation in several ways. The company needs to establish clear values and a vision for the staff to understand the purpose of their work. The Sullivans also need to define the company’s leadership style and focus on ethical leadership. Finally, they must create a mechanism that will involve all employees in the decision-making process, which will boost their motivation and productivity.
References
Alrawahi, S., Sellgren, S. F., Altouby, S., Alwahaibi, N., & Brommels, M. (2020). The application of Herzberg’s two-factor theory of motivation to job satisfaction in clinical laboratories in Omani hospitals. Heliyon, 6(9).
Eliyana, A., & Ma’arif, S. (2019). Job satisfaction and organizational commitment effect in the transformational leadership towards employee performance. European Research on Management and Business Economics, 25(3), 144-150.
Supatn, N., & Puapradit, T. (2019). Roles of expectancy on employee engagement and job performance. Journal of Administrative and Business Studies JABS, 5(2), 88-98.