Question

Scott’s Dilemma

Scott is a licensed physical therapist who works for a national rehabilitation company. The rehabilitation facility in which Scott works is located in an urban Southwest city. He has worked at this facility for 4 years and until recently was satisfied with his working environment and the interactions he shared with his coworkers. In addition, Scott received personal fulfillment from helping his patients recover from their disabilities and seeing them return to productive lives.

Last year the health system went through reorganization with some new people being brought in and others reassigned. Scott’s new boss, George, was transferred from one of the system’s Midwest facilities. Almost immediately upon taking his new position, George began finding fault

with Scott’s care plans, patient interactions, etc. Scott began feeling as if he couldn’t do anything right. He was experiencing feelings of anxiety, stress, and self-blame. Although his previous performance evaluations had been above average, Scott was shocked by his first performance review under George’s authority—it was an extremely low rating. Scott began trying to work harder, thinking that by working harder he could exceed George’s expectations. Despite the long hours and addressing George’s critiques, George continued to find fault with Scott’s work. Staff meetings began to be a great source of discomfort and stress because George would belittle Scott and single him out in front of his

colleagues.

Scott began to feel alienated from his family, friends, and colleagues at work. His eating and sleeping habits were adversely affected as well. Scott’s activities held no joy for him and the career that he had once loved and been respected in became a source of pain and stress. He began to call in sick more often and started visualizing himself confronting and even hurting George, which created even more guilt and anxiety for Scott. As time went on, George encouraged Scott’s coworkers to leave Scott

alone to do his work. The perception of the coworkers became more sympathetic to George’s point of view. Scott’s coworkers mused that perhaps Scott really was a poor worker and that George knew better due to his position as the supervisor of the rehabilitation department. Eventually, Scott’s coworkers began to distance themselves from him, in order to protect their own interests. They began to see Scott as a outsider, with whom it was unsafe to associate.

In an effort to resolve the situation, Scott spoke to George directly, stating his feelings and expressing an interest in how they might improve the situation. Rather than making the situation better, what George perceived as Scott’s insubordination served to enrage George, and the personal attacks against Scott intensified. Feeling frustrated and helpless, Scott then decided to take his problem to the Human Resources Department (HRD). A human resources manager listened to Scott’s complaints and suggested that Scott return with documented evidence of what Scott perceived to be George’s mistreatment. In an effort to help ease the situation, the HRD manager discussed the issue with George, which only stirred the flames of George’s anger and his negative behavior toward Scott.

As a last resort, Scott decided to go to George’s boss, Rebecca. Rebecca met with George to get his side of the story. George portrayed Scott as an unproductive employee with no respect for authority. The result was a strong letter of reprimand in Scott’s file for insubordination.

1- Discuss the cognitive dissonance reflected in the case as well as the various sources of power. (200 or more words)

2- Describe French and Raven’s five sources of power. What power(s) do the individuals in Scott’s dilemma hold? (200 or more words)

Answer 1

1. The theory of cognitive dissonance is an OB theory which is based on attitude as well as change. The theory throws light on the various conflicts that arise, mainly between attitudes, beliefs and behaviors. These conflicts are the fundamental reason behind the feeling of discomfort and uneasiness in an individual which, eventually pushes him or her, to modify or change any of his attitudes or behaviors.

In the given case, the attitude and perception of George towards Scott had lowered his morale down. George’s perception of Scott was shared among the co-workers and even the attitude of the co-workers had changed about Scott. This is a clear case of cognitive dissonance.

2. French and Raven’s 5 sources of power:

• Expert power: The leader is a subject matter expert of his domain and has core, in-depth knowledge.
• Coercive power: This power requires the leader to force someone to do something by the use of threats about the consequences. This is the least effective power.
• Legitimate power: This power is the earned legitimate power of an individual in the company. This power depicts the extent of control that a manager has on his subordinates.
• Reward power: This power is all about exerting power by making an individual do something in the expectation of getting rewards.
• Referent power: The leader uses his influence and charisma to influence and win followers and make them do the required work.

Types of power exhibited in the case are

• Coercive power: This power requires the leader to force someone to do something by the use of threats about the consequences. This is the least effective power.
  • George’s critique and coercive power was lowering Scott’s morale down.
• Referent power: The leader uses his influence and charisma to influence and win followers and make them do the required work.
  • George was using his referent power and was making a negative persona of Scott, being reflected in the workplace