Chapter 13 Case Analysis

Topic: Motivational & Performance

Christian Wohlfeil

Dr. Larson
BMGT 335-800
August 2, 2014

Edith Hill Updikes 1998 article from Business Week, A Nice Business Built on Being
Nice, tells the story of the innovative and young entrepreneur, Andrew Wilson. Wilson has
successfully ridden the wave of the Boston tourism boom by using amphibious vehicles, called
DUKWs, to give nearly 300,000 tourists rides annually, around Boston. Wilson has taken an
unorthodox approach to growing his business by keeping prices low, spending nothing on
advertising, rewarding his employees with bonuses and benefits, and keeping the elements of his
business wacky and different.
It is clear that Wilson understands the power of good motivational practices in how he
operates his company. His 50 plus workers are extrinsically motivated through rewards and
bonuses he paid on average $22,000.00 per employee in annual bonuses. There are further
examples of extrinsic motivations, shown through benefits offered by Wilson, such as medical
and dental insurance, life insurance and retirement. Wilson mentions the employee-friendly, but
large corporation, Southwest Airlines, as a reason to have such strong extrinsic motivations.
Some of Wilsons employees are intrinsically motivated. A specific example of this are
the drivers of his DUKW vehicles. They are allowed to have comical names and dress up in
various costumes that play into local themes. With his tour guides, Wilson encourages a certain
level of creative innovation that has a core of enthusiasm and strong interpersonal skills. These
guides receive internalized personal satisfaction in being allowed to be playful and creative on
the job. They are practicing self-efficacy, as they trust they can perform at higher than adequate
levels.
In addition to exhibiting intrinsic and extrinsic behavior, many of Wilsons workers are
also prosocially motivated. This means that their behavior actually helps others. They are in the

service industry, working with the general public, educating people on the local Boston lore.
They also are proud of the company they work for, in that it donates large amounts of tickets and
donates to charity. Each of these elements supports and improves job performance within the
company and gives them personal satisfaction.
Wilsons business model uses elements of Victor Vrooms expectancy theory. This
theory maintains that three factors help maintain an employees motivation: expectancy,
instrumentality and valence. The DUKW drivers experience instrumentality, as they know their
good performance will lead to good outcomes of pay, an interesting job, bonuses and job
security. Wilson practices high levels of instrumentality as he connects the strong performances
of his employees to desired outcomes. Within the expectancy theory, pay is an outcome that sees
high levels of valence for many employees.
Clayton Alderfers existence, relatedness and growth theory examines how certain needs
must be satisfied in order to have great workplace cohesiveness. The growth need is seen at
Boston Ducks as Wilson encourages his employees to be creative and to engage in meaningful
work. Boston Ducks fulfills the existence need by paying its employees good wages and
providing benefits to sustain a strong quality of life. Within the need theory, pay is used to
satisfy several different needs.
The equity theory of motivation shows how workers perceptions of the fairness of
outcomes at work are relative to their job inputs. Wilson believes that equity is important within
his company. His managers receive shares of the business after a certain many years with the
company. He believes that if his workers feel he is generous, than they will perform with higher
outputs in order to honor the principle of equity.

As Wilsons company evolves, he is considering the future and has an idea to possibly
sell the company to his employees through an employee stock-ownership program. This
certainly increases employee motivation, as Wilson continues to think and care about his
employees. He realizes the paramount role they play in the success of his business.
In reading the article, I could not help but see many similarities in Wilsons practices and
my own practices in operating my business. I run a small guest lodge and am constantly looking
for ways to motivate my employees. Like Wilson, I use extrinsic motivation to excite good
performance and create loyalty amongst my staff. I give generous bonuses with each paycheck
and have a 401k plan and offer health insurance for all employees on their first work
anniversary. Like Wilson, I seek intrinsically motivated individuals who are able to problem
solve, and thrive on working with the public in an environment that is ever changing.
Like employees at Boston Ducks, I want my employees to be prosocially motivated. I
encourage them to do their best and be service-forward with guests and patrons. The idea is that
through their good performance in this area, the reputation of the entire company will succeed.
They are helping guests as well as the company.
David McClelland was a psychologist who studied the needs for achievement, affiliation
and power. Boston Ducks certainly has a good need for achievement within the workplace. This
high need for achievement is also the case at my lodge. Additionally, I encourage the need for
affiliation amongst my employees. I want them to understand that we are all working together as
a team, which ultimately helps the business, which in turn helps them.
Motivation can be seen within many companies and obviously good motivation from
leaders is important to the overall structure within a corporation. I enjoyed learning about

outcomes and inputs and how they relate to motivation. It is also interesting to know how both
intrinsic and extrinsic motivation plays a part in the overall process.