Management 14th Edition by Leslie Rue,Lloyd Byars ,Nabil Ibrahim

Exercise 26

Talkative Mike
Mike was an exceptionally friendly and talkative man-to the extent that he bothered his supervisor by frequently stopping the whole work crew to tell them a joke or a story. It didn't seem to bother Mike that it was during working hours or that somebody other than his crew might be watching. He just enjoyed telling stories and being the center of attention. The trouble was that the rest of the crew enjoyed him too.
The supervisor had just recently taken over the department, and he was determined to straighten out the crew. He thought he would have no problem motivating such a friendly person as Mike. Because the crew was on a group incentive, the supervisor believed he could get them to see how much they were losing by standing around and talking. But there was no question about it: Mike was the informal leader of the crew, and they followed him just as surely as if he were the plant manager.
Mike's crew produced extremely well. When they worked-and that was most of the time-their output could not be equaled. But the frequent nonscheduled storytelling breaks did bother the supervisor. Not only could that nonproductive time be converted to badly needed production, but they also were setting a poor example for the other crews and the rest of the department.
The supervisor called Mike in to discuss the situation. His primary emphasis was on the fact that Mike's crew could make more money by better using their idle time. Mike's contention was, "What good is money if you can't enjoy it? You sweat your whole life away to rake in money, and then all you've got to show for it is a lot of miserable years and no way of knowing how to enjoy what's left. Life's too short to spend every minute trying to make more money." The discussion ended with Mike promising the group would quiet down; if their production didn't keep up, the supervisor would let him know.
Things did improve for a while; but within a week or so, the old pattern was right back where it had been. The supervisor then arranged to talk with the other members of the crew individually. Their reactions were the same as Mike's. As before, some improvements were noted at first; then the crew gradually reverted to the old habits.
Does the supervisor really have a complaint in light of the fact that Mike's group produces well above average?