Practicing OB
Managing People Who Are Goofing Off
Employees at a corporate call center have not been spending enough time at their cubicles
answering phones, as required. Instead, they've been walking throughout the facility, talking to
each other about personal matters. In other words, they're socializing and goofing off instead of
working. Important calls have gone unanswered and customer service problems have arisen as
a result.
1. What types of attributions would you be prone to make about these employees, and how
would these be related to the performance evaluations you give them?
2. What types of errors would you be prone to make while making these judgments and what
might you do to overcome them so that you can make more accurate judgments?
3. How might you use training, innovative reward systems, and discipline to address the
problem?
Answers
Answer:
Practicing OB
Managing People Who Are Goofing Off
Employees at a corporate call center have not been spending enough time at their cubicles
answering phones, as required. Instead, they've been walking throughout the facility, talking to
each other about personal matters. In other words, they're socializing and goofing off instead of
working. Important calls have gone unanswered and customer service problems have arisen as
a result.
1. What types of attributions would you be prone to make about these employees, and how
would these be related to the performance evaluations you give them?
2. What types of errors would you be prone to make while making these judgments and what
might you do to overcome them so that you can make more accurate