Carol Roberts was in charge of running the annual ‘‘SpringFest'' put on by her college student organization. SpringFest was a campus tradition, and her student organization counted on this event for much of their funding. The event was only one month away, and she knew that her committee was way behind schedule in planning for each of the elements of the event. The committee members needed to be motivated to do their job, and she would need to communicate in an effective manner. Tom, Leroy, Gladys, and Renae were on the committee. Tom wanted to chair the committee but was not chosen for this task. Since learning that he would not be the chair, he has slowed down his output. Leroy loved to cook and was chosen to be the food coordinator based on this interest, but he is only interested in the cooking part and is lagging in some of the logistical details needed prior to cooking. Gladys was a single mom with two young and talented children, and she explained that she simply had not found the time to organize the advertising for the event. Renae was very well liked by everyone and could be counted on to keep people smiling, but she did very little work; and Carol was not clear whether this was a ‘‘can't do'' or a ‘‘won't do'' problem for Renae in terms of her lack of production.

Tomorrow, Carol is planning an important meeting for her committee. She knows they need to ‘‘get in gear'' quickly.

Questions to Consider:

1. What should she do?

2. Does each person need to be motivated and communicated with differently? Can this be done in a small team? How about a large team?

3. If you were a member of this group, what type of communication and/or motivational approach by Carol would be most likely to result in your working at your highest level?