Kian Khandashti

Student Number: 300383295

SOSC-2140-090

Case Study Assignment

Question 1:

There are numerous factors for an employee to take into consideration when deciding

whether they would accept or decline the “Pay-To-Depart" offer. The employee’s organizational

commitment and job satisfaction would determine their attitude towards the company, which

would ultimately determine whether they would accept or decline the offer. Looking at the three

different types of organizational commitment, if the employee has high effective commitment.

They are more likely to decline the offer since they have a higher emotional attachment to the

company and find more enjoyment in the work that they are required to do there. In addition, if

an employee has a higher continuance commitment, they are also more likely to decline the offer

as they feel like they will lose more and benefit less from leaving the company. Furthermore, if

the employee has high normative commitment, they would also be more likely to decline the

offer as the employee would feel a sense of obligation to stay. Each of these forms of

commitment will increase the chances of the employee declining the “Pay-To-Depart" offer.

Additionally, Job satisfaction would also play a significant role in the employee’s decision. An

employee’s job satisfaction is determined by many different variables such as fairness,

dispositional factors, and compensation. An employee with high job satisfaction would be more

likely to decline the offer and stay with the company. Another factor that would influence the
employee’s decision would be whether the employees are motivated or not. If the company gives

their employees feelings of achievement and provides meaningful and mentally challenging

work, then the employees will have high motivation. Therefore, increasing the likelihood of them

declining the offer. Ultimately numerous factors influence an employee's decision but if the

employees have a good attitude towards the company, they will not want to leave the company,

even if they are faced with the “Pay-To-Depart" program.

Question 2:

The “Pay-to-Depart" Program will heavily affect an employee’s motivation. The

employees who decided to stay with FutureTech had different reactions. Some we more

motivated and some were uncertain and seemed more demotivated. Firstly, let's look at

Alderfer’s ERG theory. This theory has three levels of hierarchy that determine motivation,

existence needs, relatedness needs, and growth needs. This theory can help us explain why some

employees felt unmotivated after they declined the “Pay-To-Depart" offer. About existence

needs, the program could have indirectly signaled that their financial and job security may be at

risk in the future, this would demotivate those who highly value job security. Looking at

relatedness needs, social ties may be disrupted as many employees leave, which would

demotivate other employees. Lastly, regarding growth needs, this could motivate employees as it

would allow for new opportunities, especially if those left open desirable positions or projects.

Furthermore, we can also look at Vroom’s expectancy theory. Vroom’s expectancy theory states

that motivation is a function of three factors; expectancy, instrumentality, and valence. Firstly,

concerning expectancy, the perception of whether the effort will lead to performance might be

shaken. Since many employees have left, it would raise questions as to whether the company can
perform as well as before. Secondly, looking at instrumentality, a clear link between

performance and desirable outcomes must be maintained. If employees believe that staying

implies a more promising career trajectory or more substantial rewards in the long term, their

motivation to exert high performance remains high. However, if the program induces uncertainty

about what the company values, this could negatively affect motivation. Lastly, about valence,

the attractiveness of the reward for staying, compared to the $10,000 for leaving, plays a crucial

role. If the remaining employees see significant personal value in the non-monetary benefits and

career opportunities that come with staying, their motivation is likely to increase. Ultimately the

“Pay-To-Depart" program has a different effect for each employee, FutureTech's challenge will

be to manage these perceptions carefully to ensure that employees will stay motivated.

Question 3:

The “Pay-To-Depart" Program could be a benefit or a detriment to the company. Firstly,

Group cohesion will rise since the group of people will be smaller. This would increase group

cohesion because it would decrease social loafing. Group cohesion could also increase because

the employees have mutually demonstrated a commitment to the company by declining the “Pay-

To-Depart" program. Furthermore, the departure of some employees can disrupt collaborative

norms and set the employees back in the stages of group development. Employees would be

forced to re-establish these pathways which could lead to increased or decreased productivity.

Moreover, with many employees leaving, there will be shifts in roles and responsibilities among

the rest of the employees. This realignment could have positive effects on the company if it leads

to employees taking on more fit or desirable roles, increasing productivity and job satisfaction.

However, it could have the opposite effect where employees find many role conflicts or are
forced onto undesirable roles. The program could also have a great effect on morale and

motivation, it may boost morale since the program can reaffirm employees' commitments to their

coworker's commitment. On the other hand, seeing many colleagues leaving could lead to

confusion which could damage morale. Ultimately, the "Pay-to-Depart" program's impact on

group dynamics is multifaceted and will cause mixed reactions among employees which would

affect the group dynamic of the company.

Question 4:

Many negative, unintended consequences may be faced when implementing the “Pay-To-

Depart" program. Firstly, performance may decrease, this can be attributed to role conflicts. As

many employees leave, there may not be enough employees remaining to fill the required jobs. If

employees were forced to do this, their job satisfaction would likely go down, which would lead

to a decrease in performance. Moreover, FutureTech is said to be a company that is known for its

culture. By implementing the “Pay-To-Depart" program which causes employees to leave. The

culture of the company may become unclear, and it would have to be re-established over time.

This would make it harder for new employees to learn how to fit into the work environment.

Furthermore, the program's implementation can cause conflict in politics, as employees may see

it as a sign of the company restructuring or the company wanting to lay more people off. This

could reduce employees' motivation if they value job security highly, it will also encourage a

more competitive environment rather than a cooperative one. Additionally, the program could

also cause conflict between employees as it could be perceived as unfair if some employees feel

that the offer was more beneficial to certain groups or individuals in the company. Lastly, the

uncertainty and speculation around the program may increase stress levels. Employees who
choose to stay may feel more pressured to perform well to justify their decision to stay with the

company. This new level of stress could be detrimental to many employees' productivity and

well-being.