Treetop Forest Products Case Study

Treetop Forest Products Case Study

Treetop Forest Products Case Study







February 14th, 2006








Behavioral Science for Management

Winter, 2005-6
Treetop Forest Products Case Study
1. The primary behavior problem at Treetop Forest Products appears to be a lack of focus by management on the packaging department.   This lack of attention has led to a number of negative behaviors in the packaging department such as employees taking extended lunches, extended breaks and leaving before their shift is over.   The results of these behaviors for the company are that the product packaging quality is degrading and that big customers are switching their business to competitors.

2. As a result of there being no full time manager assigned to the packaging department the management at Treetop appears to have broken their psychological contract with the packaging department employees.   Managers of other departments are expected to manage packaging part time in addition to their normal duties.   To make this even more challenging packaging is located in a building that is physically removed from the other departments.   The psychological contract as defined by our class text is “an unwritten agreement that sets out what management expects from the employee and vice versa”.   (S. Robbins, 2005, p 243).   The packaging department employees probably feel totally disconnected from the leadership of the company since supervisors rarely visit their building.   This lack of leadership has led to the deviant workplace behaviors of extended breaks, leaving early and possibly intentionally working slowly.   (S. Robbins, 2005, p 250).   This situation may have existed for some time and these behaviors appear to have become the norms for packaging and the group.   The deviant behavior norms are strong enough that others who work temporarily in the department give in to the group pressures and soon after begin to conform with those behaviors.

3. From the perspective of motivation and rewards I can...