LEI 3542 – Case Study #5 1

Case study #5 – Ch. 10 (Motivational Basis of Leading)

Due date: April 4 (Tuesday. Submit via Canvas or [email protected])

Nathan Hamel has been an employee of ManageSport, Inc., since its inception. His career began

as a paid intern helping with marketing the new company. Hamel impressed ManageSport with

his organizational skills, creativity, reliability, work ethic, and ability to work closely and

effectively with individual staff members as well as clients. Upon completion of his internship

and graduation from college, ManageSport hired him fulltime as assistant director of marketing.

During his tenure at ManageSport, Hamel has worked in many departments within the

organization: sales, marketing, public relations, and programming. His goal was to attain an

executive position with the company; therefore, he sought to learn how the entire organization

operated. He always received good performance evaluations, which led to his being appointed

vice president of ManageSport, Inc. this past year.

ManageSport has 23 employees who work in various capacities toward the

accomplishment of the company’s mission: to assist organizations within the sport industry with

their business operations. ManageSport’s aim is to work jointly with clients in the development

of business plans and the accomplishment of organizational goals. Its employees work with

clients to design and implement activity programs to meet the client’s general and specific goals.

As vice president, Hamel works directly with groups of people within and outside the

organization. This is in contrast to his previous roles within the organization, in which he worked

with individuals as opposed to groups. Therefore, his strategies of motivating staff members and

clients will need to change.

Recently, Hamel has noticed that many company employees are less productive.

Employee performance evaluation ratings are lower and overall morale seems to be down. Staff

members are arriving late for staff meetings. Some have missed staff meetings. Clients have

reported that phone calls and emails have not been returned in a timely manner. Client reports

and programs are submitted late, and many times they need corrections before being sent out.

This behavior pattern is of great concern to Hamel as it is a poor reflection on ManageSport and

on him.

To get a handle on the situation, Hamel met informally with a number of employees to

discuss the situation. He learned that many employees feel overworked and underpaid. The

number of ManageSport employees has decreased during the past three years from 28 to 23, with

no new employees being hired. Some employees have taken on more responsibilities with no

reward—“not even a thank you,” in their words. Other employees noted that ManageSport, Inc.

LEI 3542 – Case Study #5 2

is falling behind in technology. Computers are old and often use outdated software or are unable

to operate software programs used by their clients. Employees feel embarrassed about this

situation. Some have even purchased computers at home that they use for work projects and thus

work at home instead of in the office, explaining why some employees are late for meetings or

just not around the office as much.

Hamel made an appointment to discuss the situation with the president of ManageSport,

Inc., Mr. Frey. Frey did not seem too concerned and said, “This behavior is nothing new. It has

been going on for at least two years. That is why I appointed you as vice president. I figured that

you work well with people and that you would be able to motivate our employees. Therefore, I

am charging you to develop a conceptual framework on how to improve employee motivation at

ManageSport. Please have a draft of your proposal on my desk next week.”

Hamel was stunned by the conversation with Frey. As he walked back to his office,

Hamel wondered why this problem had just surfaced and why Frey had not mentioned it earlier.

As he pondered the situation, Hamel was also thinking of strategies he could develop to motivate

ManageSport employees.

1. What might have motivated Hamel to do his internship with ManageSport?

2. How did Hamel’s motivation change when ManageSport hired him fulltime? Which

motivational theory or theories apply?

3. What role has Frey played in the motivation of ManageSport employees?

4. As vice president of ManageSport, what strategies might Hamel develop to motivate

employees to return phone calls and emails in a timely manner, attend meetings, and submit

professional reports? Which motivational theory or theories apply?