Managing People and Organizations $-$ Humanized Robots?

Case Study

Lisa, who inherited Adam Machine Parts three years ago, has struggled to increase productivity and reduce costs. The business, founded by her late father Adam, had grown into a moderate$-$sized corporation with three plants across Malaysia. Adam had treated employees like family, often paying them generously, seeking their input, and listening to their complaints. Lisa, however, believed this approach was too lenient.

Upon taking over, Lisa increased production quotas by $20$ percent, eliminated idle time, and shut down the company softball field. She phased out profit$-$sharing contributions, cut future pay raises, and stopped asking employees for input. She felt these changes would increase productivity and profitability. However, despite her efforts, output only marginally improved while turnover and training costs soared.

After hiring a consultant, Lisa was advised to return to her father$$s humanistic approach, which she dismissed as "nonsense." Instead, she planned to announce a policy where employees failing to increase productivity by $10$ percent would face an equal pay cut. Lisa believed this strategy would finally yield results.

Questions

How might Lisa's approach to managing employees affect their motivation and job satisfaction?

What are the potential consequences of Lisa's decision to eliminate the profit$-$sharing plan and reduce future pay increases?

How might Lisa's approach to management impact the organization's culture and the relationship between employees and management?

What might be the long$-$term effects of Lisa's decision to increase production quotas and crack down on idle time for employee health and safety?

How might the use of humanized robots in the workplace impact employee attitudes and behavior towards work?