Running head: MOTIVATING PERFORMANCE 1

Sterling Cooper Case

Motivating Performance

Across the Generations

Course name: Human Resource Management - 1103

Instructor: Nader Sadek

Lambton College

Submitted by,

Abhimanyu – C0754000

Amandeep Singh – C0752656

Amanjot Kaur – C0751979

Arjun Parekattu Sambasivan – C0755257

Gurjeet Singh – C0754248

Submission date

16 MAY 2019
MOTIVATING PERFORMANCE 2

1. How are the generations in this case different from one another?

In this case, the three of the mentioned employees are from three different generations.
Mr. Norman represent the Baby Boomers, Mrs. Cindy is from the generation X and Mr.
Pete is the member of Generation Y.
Norman is having a lot of experience in the Sterling Cooper company and he is on the
stage of retirement. Since he is from Baby Boomer generation, he has the character being
stable for longer periods and so he remained committed to Sterling Cooper for 25 years. He
is facing difficulties in adapting to this dynamic working environment as well as in the
technological aspect. But he is ready to work as much longer as he can, and he is expecting
this from others too.

However, Pete is recent university graduate who wants to kick-start his career with
competitive tasks and projects and tend to switch companies in short time. He likes to work
in a team and good at coordinating with colleagues. He is good at adapting to new
technological advances. He is looking for new challenges and a competitive career. Pete is
also good at providing innovative ideas. Adding to this he is highly motivated about his
career.

Whereas Cindy is having 8 years of experience with the company and has been a part of
various successful projects and she is expecting for her promotion. She has good leadership
qualities and self-sufficient too. Hence, she is interested to work independently. Also, she is
friendly with modern technology and work smartly to cut the working hours. She is highly
committed towards her job and looking to have work and family balance.1
MOTIVATING PERFORMANCE 3

2. Acting as Roger, how would you create a new motivational policy or policies for the
workplace in order to motivate all employees of the firm?

In order to motivate all employees of the firm, Roger should be motivated, enthused,
energized, and passionate about his own work and the work of the team. Then his team will
follow him as a good example. Roger need to build a friendly workplace environment and
inspire all employees towards work. This will create a positive energy on employees to
work. Roger can also acknowledge employees’ achievements and rewarding them by
proposing an Employee Stock Option Plan. This will create a sense of ownership in
employees and they will have interest to contribute towards company goals as they can get
a share of profit if the company perform well.

As a leader Roger should communicate the goals to employees towards which they are
working for and need to encourage friendly competition among colleagues. Roger should
welcome new ideas and creativity from employees and not let them become isolated. Roger
can take the team for outings, such as to have lunch together and bring goodies to the team
by celebrating milestones, this makes the team more cheerful. By doing so, it will create a
sense of unity and responsibility among them. Recognizing employees on their efforts can
turn their attitude positively towards company. Having a company or team tour in once a
year will help them to relax during their hard missions.2
MOTIVATING PERFORMANCE 4

3. How do you motivate an employee who may not be motivated because of future plans?

If an employee does not get motivated because of the future plans, discuss with that
employee personally, analyse what employee want from their job, for example: check if he
needs work life balance, then company can allow him to work in flexible working hours.
Supervisors or managers can make employees closer to them by trying to understand about
their career goals and family. They can also provide special gifts on their important family
days and celebrating their birthdays with the team members. These are not a huge expense
for the company, but it will create a positive impression on employees about the company.
The company can allow additional vacation if the employee needs it.

Sterling Cooper can also provide wellness programs such as yoga classes at work,
gym membership, family insurance and yearly free health check-up. This will make them
free from the worry of expenses for being sick. Employee can also be motivated by giving
some decision-making powers as a recognition for his or her efforts. Roger can also arrange
workshops or training programs to make the employees to have a better idea about their
career. In the present scenario employee empowerment is having a lot of importance.
Delegating authority and responsibility in product or service development can make them
more responsible towards their work. Providing individual feedback can help the employees
to understand their weak points and can get the opportunity to rectify it.
MOTIVATING PERFORMANCE 5

4. Explain the 5 stages of team development that Pete, Cindy, and Norman are likely to
encounter as they begin working on this company project.

Every project is different from each other. But the stages they go through are almost
same. Typically, there are five stages included in a team development of a project. They are
Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing and adjourning.3

1. Forming
In this stage Cindy, Pete and Norman meet and introduce each other. They will talk about
the project objectives and discuss about the role each of them needs to play, while working
on this project. The team leader should ensure that everyone has a clear understanding
about their responsibilities
2. Storming
During this stage each member will come up with their ideas about how the project
should move on. In this case all the team members are from different age groups and
experiences, so it will be no exception that a little conflict will arise. Norman should make
sure that the team members learn to listen to each other opinions and respect their
differences in ideas.
3. Norming
In this stage team members will start to listen and respect each others’ ideas. Project will
move on quickly as they begin to work together more effectively. They will start to give
feedback for other members.
4. Performing
In this stage everyone is performing at higher levels as a team. The team will be highly
motivated towards the job. On differences they will start to be reliant on team members
rather than team leader. But team leader should have an eye on everything because there is
possibility that the team may revert back to another stage. Norman will also have to serve as
the gateway when decisions need to reach at a higher level within the organization.
5. Adjourning
The project will come to an end and the members may move to different projects.
Norman should find time to celebrate their success.
MOTIVATING PERFORMANCE 6

5. What overall recommendations would you make, as Roger, to the other senior partners of
Sterling Cooper to keep Pete, Cindy and Norman motivated?

Since all the three generations are different from each other, they have different needs
and requirements to fulfil. So, they have different criteria to get motivated. As a common
way to motivate all the three individuals, Roger can recommend a project completion bonus
for each of them. Norman is on the verge of retiring from the company and has contributed
a lot to Sterling Cooper in his 25 years of work. For boosting his efforts towards the project,
these achievements should showcase in front of the employees in a meeting before
beginning of the project by explaining this could be his last project. Moreover, Roger can
recommend him as a ‘Mentor’ for other employees as this would benefit employees like
Pete to develop his career.

Whereas for Cindy, after completing the present project, since she is having enough
experience in this field and she was also a successful entrepreneur before joining Sterling
Cooper, Roger can suggest her an individual project. Since Norman is leaving the company
after this project, the same position can be offered to Cindy by considering her
contributions to the firm.

Pete is already highly motivated to do his first major project. Roger should try to retain
because he has enough capabilities to support the organisation in the future. According to
his characteristics he wants to work in a challenging work environment. So, offering him a
position in more complex and challenging projects can make him feel motivated to stay
with the company. Roger also need to consider that he is still young, he is eager to learn
new technologies and offer him support for his further studies while working with the
company. 4
MOTIVATING PERFORMANCE 7

References
1
- http://www.wmfc.org/uploads/GenerationalDifferencesChart.pdf

2
- How to Motivate your Employees in 12 Easy Steps. (2018, October 29). Retrieved from
https://inside.6q.io/how-to-motivate-your-employees-in-12-easy-steps/

McCarthy, D. (2018, December 12). Here Is a List of 10 Ways You Can Motivate Your
Team. Retrieved from https://www.thebalancecareers.com/motivate-your-employees-
2276060

3
- The Five Stages of Project Team Development. (2018, October 16). Retrieved from
https://project-management.com/the-five-stages-of-project-team-development/

4-
HRM – Human Resource Management. Fourth edition. Sandra L. Steen, Raymond A.
Noe, John R. Hollenbeck, Barry Gerhart, Patrick M. Wright