Submitted by: Submitted by Brooke202
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Category: Business and Industry
Date Submitted: 06/06/2011 01:48 PM
In 1986 Fred Mariorino was salesperson of the year for a large and thriving drug manufacturer, Schering-Plough. In 1987, while receiving his performance review, he was assigned a new boss, Jim Reed, who subsequently micromanaged Fred that eventually put Fred in a tailspin with respect to his performance. Jim Reed, like a doctor who misdiagnosed a patient, was guilty of malpractice. His prescription to improve Fred’s performance was the equivalent of a doctor giving their patient arsenic. Jim Reed failed to achieve mindshare with Fred with respect to his performance and directly caused his demise. In this case study, we will compare and contrast both the ineffectiveness of Jim Reed’s methods, as well as more favorable methods he could have used to influence a more positive outcome.
1) What attribution do you believe Jim Reed has made concerning Fred’s poor performance:
Attributions are the judgments we make about the characteristics and behavior of others. Three primary factors affect the attributions or judgments we make; perception, stereotyping and ethnocentrism. In the case of Jim Reed, the attribution that he made with respect to Fred’s poor performance was a lack of effort and carelessness. Jim Reed stereotyped Fred as “set in his ways” and, as was stated in Fred’s termination letter, ignored suggestions for improving his performance.
Ultimately, the outcome proved negative for Fred. In order to avoid this result, Jim and the other managers at Schering-Plough should have relied on a more systematic method for diagnosing the downward trend in Fred’s performance and identifying and implementing methods for motivating Fred to improve his performance. According to the attribution theory, Fred’s supervisors should have made a more concerted effort to first observe Fred’s behavior. Once observed, they could then interpret his behavior and decide if his behavior was deliberate or not. At that point, a determination of the cause of his behavior should...