12. A university professor of organizational behavior has been teaching two sect
ID: 445979 • Letter: 1
Question
12. A university professor of organizational behavior has been teaching two sections of leadership course for the past 4 years. His department offers other courses that deal with organizational behavior such as motivation of employees, personality, and a general OB course. The department chair tells him what book to use for his course and gives him a syllabus to follow, however some professor are able to pick whatever book they like and design their own syllabi. This professor is not very motivated to teach anymore. Based on what you read in chapter 6 how can you create a more motivating work environment for this professor?
Explanation / Answer
A more motivating work environment can be created for the professor by giving him some free hand with regards to use of book for the course and designing of the syllabus. The professor has been teaching the course on leadership for the last 4 years and must have acquired a good grip on the subject and the course. The work environment can be made more motivating for the professor by enlarging his scope of work. He should be allowed to pick from a limited set of books (if his limited experience of 4 years cannot give him the benefit of selecting his own books). He should also be a given a certain degree of freedom in designing the syllabus.
The equity theory of motivation will have to be used to motivate the professor. The professor is not satisfied as he thinks he is being treated disadvantageously and unfairly. This leads to feelings of disaffection and demotivation. Thus, a more motivating work environment can be created by treating the professor fairly like other professors who are give a free hand with selction of books and course design.
As per the self determination theory of motivation, the professor has an unsatisfied need of autonomy. This unsatisfied need is causing the demotivation in the professor. By making the professor the causal agent in the leadership course, his motivation can be increased.
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