BBMM301 Case Study: Analyzing LINK650 Organizational Behavior Issues

This case study analyzes the "Rough Seas on the LINK650" scenario, focusing on organizational behavior and management challenges within the WestOil drilling rig. The analysis identifies key issues such as employee dissatisfaction, lack of commitment, and the negative impacts of prioritizing output over employee safety and well-being. Root causes include the reliance on outsourced recruitment, ignorance towards employee satisfaction and safety concerns, and a failure to address employee needs. The study evaluates these problems through the lens of employee attrition, unionization, and the influence of management practices. It applies organizational behavior models such as the MARS model, Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, and Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory to understand employee attitudes and motivations. Recommendations include addressing employee training needs, implementing internal feedback systems, utilizing both monetary and non-monetary motivation strategies, and prioritizing employee needs based on Maslow's hierarchy. The analysis emphasizes the importance of differentiating between employee motivating and hygiene factors based on Herzberg's theory to improve employee engagement and overall organizational performance.

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR AND
MANAGEMENT
ROUGH SEAS ON THE LINK650

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
• Study regarding human behavior in organizational setting
• Micro-level (Individuals in an organization)
• Meso-level (Work groups)
• Macro-level (Behavior of organization)

CASE SUMMARY- KEY FACTS
• Case depicted the false perception of Shaun O’Neill of work commitment
from the involvement of outsourced recruitment agency
• Management of LINK were completely ignorant about employee
satisfaction and work safety
• Only thing prioritized in the organization was final output
• Efficiency was prioritized over safety regulations and required training
needs

CASE SUMMARY- KEY FACTS
• Management ignored ensuring safety by avoiding the issues and
malfunction of equipment
• Employees expressed work dissatisfaction by quitting and forming
union
• Organization tried battling through union formation by recruiting
outsourced safety officer and conducting seminars for managing
unionized employees
• Shaun joined as enthusiastic employee and quit being dissatisfied

PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION - SYMPTOMS
• Work dissatisfaction
• Employee commitment
• Demoralization
• Employee demotivation

PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION – ROOT CAUSES
• Complete control on the outsourced recruitment agency
• Ignorance towards employee satisfaction
• Ignorance towards employee safety
• Prioritizing outcome over workforce satisfaction and safety

ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION
Employee dissatisfaction:
• Employee attrition
• Employee unionization (Bin 2015)
EVLM - Consequences:
• Influence of employer ignorance on the
employee attrition
• Outsourcing influenced the job
commitment at initial stage (Dalkrani
and Dimitriadis 2018)
• Influence of management pressure on
forming of voice through unionization
Employee commitment:
• Commitment for working with full
efficiency
• Commitment of increasing skills with
job satisfaction
Factors affecting job commitment:
• Excessive pressure
• Prioritizing output over safety (Huang
et al. 2015)
• Improper management for worker
satisfaction and concerns

ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION
Employee attitude towards authority:
• Disrespect for management and
supervisors
• Negative job commitment
• Clock-punching (Lee and Raschke 2016)
• Exemption from responsibilities
Employee emotions:
• Emotional labor- Managing feelings in
different circumstances (Mikkelsen,
Jacobsen and Andersen 2017)
• Negative emotions: Due to work
satisfaction
MARS Model-Employee performance
• External factors such as safety concerns
affected work efficiency
• Internal factors such as management
behavior towards employee skill
development and work safety
Motivational theories- Maslow Need Hierarchy
theory
• Organization failed to address the safety
needs by avoiding operational security
• Failed in addressing Esteem needs of
employees by incorporating mutual respect
(Wheatley 2017)

RECOMMENDATIONS
• Addressing employee training needs
• Addressing employee concerns through internal feedback system
• Non-monetary and monetary measures for employee motivation
• Prioritizing employees needs by considering Maslow Need Hierarchy model
• Differentiating between employee Motivating and Hygiene factors based on
Herzberg’s theory of motivation

REFERENCES
BIN, A.S., 2015. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JOB SATISFACTION, JOB PERFORMANCE AND EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT:
AN EXPLORATIVE STUDY. ISSUES IN BUSINESS MANAGEMENT AND ECONOMICS, 4(1), PP.1-8.
DALKRANI, M. AND DIMITRIADIS, E., 2018. THE EFFECT OF JOB SATISFACTION ON EMPLOYEE COMMITMENT.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BUSINESS & ECONOMIC SCIENCES APPLIED RESEARCH, 11(3).
HUANG, M., LI, P., MESCHKE, F. AND GUTHRIE, J.P., 2015. FAMILY FIRMS, EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION, AND CORPORATE
PERFORMANCE. JOURNAL OF CORPORATE FINANCE, 34, PP.108-127.
LEE, M.T. AND RASCHKE, R.L., 2016. UNDERSTANDING EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION AND ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE:
ARGUMENTS FOR A SET-THEORETIC APPROACH. JOURNAL OF INNOVATION & KNOWLEDGE, 1(3), PP.162-169.
MIKKELSEN, M.F., JACOBSEN, C.B. AND ANDERSEN, L.B., 2017. MANAGING EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION: EXPLORING THE
CONNECTIONS BETWEEN MANAGERS’ ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS, EMPLOYEE PERCEPTIONS, AND EMPLOYEE INTRINSIC
MOTIVATION. INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC MANAGEMENT JOURNAL, 20(2), PP.183-205.
WHEATLEY, D., 2017. EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION AND USE OF FLEXIBLE WORKING ARRANGEMENTS. WORK,
EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIETY, 31(4), PP.567-585.