Management and Organizational Behaviour: Case Study of LINK, Inc.

This case study examines the organizational behavior issues at LINK, Inc.'s oil rig, KINK650, focusing on Shaun O’Neil’s experiences. The initial attraction of high salaries and generous time off quickly faded as employees faced harsh working conditions, poor treatment from supervisors, and a lack of clear communication. The absence of a proper reward system, job security, and motivation led to widespread dissatisfaction, with employees resorting to faking ailments to avoid work. The tragic death of Bob MacKenzie due to negligence sparked unionization efforts, which the management resisted. The analysis utilizes the MARS model to evaluate the factors affecting employee performance, highlighting deficiencies in motivation, ability, role perception, and situational factors. Recommendations include fostering employee commitment, managing workplace stress, improving communication, prioritizing employee safety, and collaborating with the union to create a more positive and productive work environment. Desklib provides access to similar case studies and solved assignments for students.

MANAGEMENT
AND
ORGANIZATIONAL
BEHAVIOUR

NAME OF STUDENTS

INTRODUCTION
• Shaun O’Neil who is an ex-organizational behaviour
student of Professor Suzanne Baxtor shared his
experiences with her while working at the oil rig KINK650
in the North Sea which was built by LINK, Inc. in Texas.
• The job seemed attractive in the beginning as LINK had a
high salary structure and the time off was generous.
• However, the first few months into the job and the
conditions were horrible and gruesome and all the
employees had to do the dirtiest jobs.
• The employees were treated badly by the supervisors.

• Shaun almost lost his job one time because the supervisor
thought that he was intentionally working slow.
• Employees stared making excuses to do as little as
possible and to stay away from the supervisors.
• The co-workers started to develop back problems. Many of
them started to fake the ailments so that they could get
paid sick leaves and stay away from the rig.
• The supervisors did not make clear communication with
the employees.
• One of the employees, Bob MacKenzie, died due to the
negligence of the supervisors regarding the safety of the
employees.
• In the end, Shaun quit the job because of the intense
dissatisfaction that he faced.

PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
• The supervisors started to ignore the problems in the rig
and pushed the employees to work harder without
thinking about their safety.
• Even though many employees wanted to stay loyal to their
work, they were unable to do so because of the
dissatisfactory situation in the oil rig.
• Many of the employees wanted to stay away from the rig
to avoid the problems that were continuously emerging
and also to avoid the supervisors. This is why they faked
ailments such as back problems so that they could get
paid sick leaves.

• The death of an employee, Bob MacKenzie, led to a revolution in
the rig, where many employees decided to unionize the rig and
very quickly signed union cards.
• The management was shocked by this action and tried several
ways to break the union. They also sent a safety officer to the rig,
which the employees later came to realise was a consultant on
behalf of the company who had come to decrease the support of
the union.
• There was no proper reward system, or job security and no
proper communication from the mangers.
• There was no motivation in the oil rig for the employees to
perform their best and hence many quit the job and so did Shaun
O’Neil.
• The root cause of all these problems was a the bad management
of the company.

EVALUATION
MARS Model1–
• Motivation – The motivation of the employees decreased along with the
three elements of motivation which are direction, intensity and persistence.
• Ability – Due to no formal training available, the employees were not able
to get the desired outcome.
• Roles Perception – No clear communication was made regarding the role of
the employees and hence were from doing their job in the right manner.
• Situational Factors – The factors were not good for the employees and they
had no regard for the safety of the employees.
1. McShane, Steven Lattimore, Sandra L. Steen, and Kevin Tasa. Canadian organizational behaviour. Toronto: McGraw-Hill
Ryerson, 2009.

None of the needs of the employees were met by the
company, except the physiological need2. This greatly
affected the performance of the employees because they
were not fully satisfied with the situation and environment
of the company.
2. Poston, Bob. "Maslow’s hierarchy of needs." The Surgical Technologist 41.8 (2009): 347-353.

RECOMMENDATIONS
• The company should be able to persuade the employees to
make themselves committed to the work.
• There should be proper strategies to manage the stress ta
work.
• Clear communication should be present between the
management, supervisors and employees.
• The safety of the employees should be the first thing on
the agenda of the company.
• The company should work with the formed union and not
against them

REFERENCES
1. McShane, Steven Lattimore, Sandra L. Steen, and Kevin
Tasa. Canadian organizational behaviour. Toronto:
McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 2009.
2. Poston, Bob. "Maslow’s hierarchy of needs." The Surgical
Technologist 41.8 (2009): 347-353.