190 Part 3 . Organizing CASE APPLICATION #1 You Work Where? Y the person ahool, a pioneer in Web search and navigation, strug. there at work did as little work as needed and then took off gles to remain relevant in the face of competition from early. She also discovered that other employees who workel the likes of Google, Facebook, and Twitter. It missed from home did little but collect a paycheck or maybe work the two biggest Internet trends-social networking and mobile. on a sideline business they had started. Even at the office.one However, in July 2012, after the company did its own search, former manager described morale as being as low as it could it snagged a gem as the company's new CEO Marissa Mayer, be because employees thought the company was failing. These one of the top executives at Google. Mayer had been one of the were some of the reasons that Mayer abolished Yahoo few public faces of Google and was responsible for the look work from home policy. If Yahoo! was to again become the and feel of Google's most popular products. Guiding Yahoo! nimble company it had once been a new culture of innova as it tries to regain its former prominence is proving to be the tion, communication, and collaboration was needed. And challenge that experts predicted, but they're also saying that if that meant employees had to be at work, physically at work anyone could take on the chal- together. Restoring Yahoo's lenge of making Yahoo! an "cool" -- from its products to Innovator once again, Mayer is Where IS work done most its deteriorating morale od efficiently and effectively? culture would be difficul Two of her initial deci. if the organization' people sions included free food at the weren't there. That's why office and new smartphones for every employee something Mayer's decision at Yahoo! created such an uproar. Yahools that Google does. However, in February 2013. Mayer launched only official statement on the new policy said. "This isn't an employee initiative that has generated lots of discussion- broad industry view on working from home. This is about positive and negative, She decided that as of June 2013, Yahoo! what is right for Yahool, right now." employees who worked remotely had to come back to the Where work is done most efficiently and effectively, office. The memo from the vice president of people and de office, home, combination-is an important workplace issue velopment (code for head of Human Resources) clarified that The three main managerial concerns are productivity. Inho the new initiative was a response to productivity issues that viation, and collaboration. Do flexible arrangements lead to often can arise when employees work from home. With a new greater productivity or inhibit innoyation and collaboration boss and a renewed commitment to making Yahool a strong Another concern is that employees, especially younger ones. company in a challenging industry, employees were expected expect to be able to work remotely. Yes, the trend lus been to be physically present in the workplace, hopefully leading toward greater workplace flexibility, but does that flexibility to developing a strong common bond and greater productivity, lend to a bloated, lary, and unproductive remote workforce! The announcement affects not only those who work from home These are the challenges of designing work structures fall time--mainly customer service reps-but also those em ployees who have arranged to work from home one or two days Discussion Questions a week. Yahool isn't the only company asking remote workers 6-14 Evaluate Yahool's new work initiative. Did it have to be an to retum Bank of America, which had a popular remote work or nothing proposition Discus program, decided late in 2012 that employees in certain roles 6-15 What can managers and organisations do to help employees had to come back to the office. who work from home be efficient and effective? Before Mayer became CEO at Yahool, it was a wonder 6-16 Take the three main contem--productivity, innovation and collaboration. From the perspective of management, how anything ever got done there. What she found wasn't even remotely like the way employees functioned at Google. Ar you think ble arrangements stack up? How about from the employee's perspective Yahool, few people were physically at work in the office 6-17 is "face-time that is showing up at work to be seen by yo cubicles throughout the building. Few cars or boss and other critical to one's career? Discus vehicles could be found in the facility's parking lots. Even more disturbing some of the employees who were physically 6-18 is being able to work remotely important to you? Why why or other