Business Essentials, 12/e

Team Exercise

Too Much of a Good Thing

The Situation

For years, working for George Uhe, a small chemicals broker in Paramus, New Jersey, made employees feel as if they were members of a big family. Unfortunately, this family was going broke because too few “members” were working hard enough to make money for it. Employees were happy, comfortable, complacent—and lazy.

With sales dropping in the pharmaceutical and specialty-chemicals division, Uhe brought in management consultants to analyze the situation and to make recommendations. The outsiders quickly identified a motivational problem affecting the sales force: Sales representatives were paid a handsome salary and received automatic, year-end bonuses regardless of performance. They were also ...