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Jim Madison is the district manager for the Social Security Administration. The office serves a community of 200,000 people and has a staff of 30 employees, most of whom work as claim representatives. The primary work of the office is to provide the public with information about social security benefits and to process retirement, survivors, disability and Medicare claims. Madison has been the manager for 6 years, and during that time he has made many improvements in the overall operations of the office. People in the community have a favorable view of the office and few complaints about the services provides. Almost all the employees who work for him have been employed at the district office for 6 years or more. Although Jim takes pride in knowing them all personally, he calls on a few more frequently to help him accomplish his goals. When it comes to training staff members about new laws affecting claim procedures, Madison relies heavily on Shirley and Patti, both of whom are very knowledgeable and competent. Shirley and Patti view the additional training responsibilities as a challenge. This helps Jim because he does not need to do the job himself or supervise them closely since they are highly respected in the office and have a history of being mature and conscientious about their work. Shirley and Patti like the additional responsibility because it gives them greater recognition. To showcase the offices services to the community, Madison called on Ted and Jana. Ted and Jana serve as field representatives for the office and give presentations to community organizations about the nature of social security and how it serves the citizens of the district; In addition, they speak to local radio stations, answering call in questions about various components of security benefits. Although many of the claim people in the office could act as field representative, Madison typically calls on Ted and Jana because of their willingness to take on the public relations challenge and because of their special capabilities in the area. This is advantageous for Madison for two reasons. First these people do an outstanding job of representing the office to the public and second he finds it quite threatening to be in the public eye. Ted and Jana like to take on the additional role because it gives them added prestige and a greater freedom. Being a field representative has its perks because the field staff can function as their own bosses when they are not in the office; they can set their own schedule and come and go as they please. A third area in which Madison calls on a few representatives for added effort is helping him supervise the slower claim representative who seem to be continually behind in writing up the case reports of their clients. When even a few staff members get behind, it affects the entire office operation. Madison usually calls on Glenda and Annie who are both highly talented to help the slower staff complete their case works. Other than personal satisfaction, no additional benefits can accrue to these people for taking on the additional responsibilities. Terri and Hope also perform well for the district, but they are unhappy about how Madison treats them. Terri and Hope feel that Madison favors Ted and Jana and gives them less desirable assignment. They also feel that these select few get the best assignment, privileges, and budgets. Hope and Terri feel that they are given less challenging assignments and arent trusted as much. Madison had tried them as field representatives, but found them to be incompetent speakers. He also tried them as trainers, but they failed to show up to their own training sessions. He tends to supervise them more closely since he cant trust them to get their work done. He also gives them less challenging assignments since they cant handle more. Overall, people under Madisons leadership are satisfied with his supervision there are some who feel that he caters to much to a few special representatives, but most staff think that he is fair and impartial. Madison tries very hard to attend to the wants and needs of the entire staff.

1. Do you think we need to have a different manager for the company? Why or why not?
2. How much do you think we need to worry about the LMX theory in real life? Why?
3. Do you think there is a time where LMX theory would be helpful in the workplace and perhaps even make the workplace better? When would this be?