Case: Self Competency

Instructions

Joan Murphy is a computer engineering programmer for the aerospace division of Lockheed Martin Company. Please read the case and then identify the causes of her behavior by answering the questions following the case. Then determine whether you made an internal or external attribution. After completing the task, decide on the appropriateness of various forms of corrective action. A list of potential recommendations has been developed. The list is divided into four categories. Read each action, and evaluate its appropriateness by using the scale provided. Next, compute a total score for each of the four categories.

The Case

Joan Murphy, 42, received her baccalaureate degree in aerospace engineering from a school in the Northeast. She graduated with a 3.4 GPA and had a minor in international relations. During the summer between her junior and senior years, she took an internship with Texas Instruments in Japan. Immediately upon graduation, she took a permanent position with Lockheed Martin and was assigned to its Fort Worth, Texas, jet fighter division. Joan is currently working in the aerospace engineering department as a senior engineer. During the past year, she has missed 12 days of work. She seems unmotivated and rarely has her assignments completed on time. Joan is usually given the harder engineering designs to work on because of her technical competency.

Past records indicate Joan, on average, completes programs classified as "routine" in about 45 hours. Her coworkers, on the other hand, complete "routine" programs in an average time of 32 hours. Further, she finishes programs considered "major problems," on average, in about 115 hours. Her coworkers, however, finish these same "major problems" assignments, on average, in about 100 hours. When she has worked in engineering teams, her peer performance reviews are generally average to marginal. Her peers have noted she is not creative in attacking problems and she is difficult to work with.

The aerospace engineering department recently sent a questionnaire to all customers to evaluate the usefulness and accuracy of its designs. The results indicate many departments are not using its designs because they cannot understand the reports. It was also determined that many customers found Joan's work unorganized and they could not use her work unless someone redid it.

Causes of Performance

To what extent was each of the following a cause of Joan's performance? Use the following scale:

Internal attribution (total score for causes a, b, and c) _________

External attribution (total score for causes d, e, and f) _________

Appropriateness of Corrective Action

Evaluate the following courses of action by using the scale below:

Compute a score for the four categories:

Coercive actions = a + b = _____

Change job = c + d = _____

Coaching actions = e + f = _____

No immediate actions = g + h = _____

Questions

1. What is your evaluation of Joan's performance in terms of consistency, distinctiveness, and consensus?

2. Do you attribute Joan's performance to internal or external causes? What is the rationale for your decision?

3. Which of the four types of corrective actions do you think is most appropriate? Explain.