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A REPORT ON THE INTERVIEW PROJECT

Introduction
Gary McKeown is the production manager of Lannet Company Inc. He has played an
instrumental role in the growth of Lannet making it the major supplier of pharmaceutical
products in the United States. He holds a masters degree in pharmacy from Boston University.
He has a wealth of experience in the pharmaceutical industry having worked as in various
capacities in different companies including Novartis and Roche.
Interview summary
1) What strategies do you have in place to improve employee performance and commitment?
Gary: Task performance is vital in the production department. It is concerned with changing
organizational resources into finished products.
There are various strategies including a provision of protective equipment, Recognition,
discouraging counterproductive behaviors and improving the work environment.
2)

What are some of the withdrawal behaviors shown by your employees and what causes

these?
Gary: Psychological withdrawal involves daydreaming, socializing, looking busy, moonlighting
and cyberloafing. Physical withdrawal can be displayed through absenteeism, missing important
meetings, tardiness or quitting.
3)

Do your employees have job satisfaction and why is it important?

Gary: To a greater extent I can say yes. This is because of the performance the company has
consistently posted over time. We are establishing ourselves as a leading pharmaceutical
producer in the United States thanks to a good work from all the staff members. We have
appraisal programs and various awards and promotion schemes that have a positive impact on
job satisfaction. As pharmaceutical producers, our values are consistent with those of everybody.
We all seek to attain some level of wellbeing. We want our drugs to solve most health problems.
4) Are there employees who are satisfied more than others and why?
Gary: Challenges do exist. It is very hard to satisfy all people at the same time. But at Lannet,
we have tried our best to ensure that we treat all employees according to their particular needs so
that we can attain uniform satisfaction.
.
5)

I understand that your job is ranked as the most stressful career, how is it true?

Gary: This is the question most people ask. Attitude is paramount here; it depends on how one
looks at. For me, it is the most fulfilling role for me. Overseeing the production of best quality
drugs that would change the lives of people fill my heart
6)

How best do you help employees under you cope with stress?

Gary: Stress management is crucial in ensuring that employees perform better or give their
maximum potential. As part of management, my role is not limited to production department
alone. The company tries as much as possible to provide social support to cope with a stressful
situation. We provide instrumental and emotional support. We have a guidance and counseling

department in the production department. It is tasked with solving psychological issues, and
other social problems employees face in this department.
7) What are some of the greatest sources of motivation for your employees and yourself?
Gary: My greatest source of motivation is the ultimate impact our products will have on people.
If a particular prescription that I oversee its production heals someone, which will make me wake
up early every day and work even harder. Transformations of life give me a sense of pride in my
job. Employees at Lannet are motivated by I think the reputation of the company.

8)

How is employee motivation important to your organization?

Gary: Motivation precedes job performance and commitment. When employees are
demotivated, there would be a corresponding poor performance and low commitment. It is the
extra effort that results from motivation that is required to gain a competitive edge in the
business world. The drive to wake up early every morning, follow the required procedures is as a
result of motivation.
9) What ethical challenges do you face?
Gary: There is not much in my department. There have been a few cases of employee disloyalty.
Some would try to leak out information regarding production procedures and chemical formulas
to competitors. We have put a check against these and other forms of espionage.
Concepts that is applicable from the text and other course material
a)

Employee performance and commitment.

Job performance can be described as the behaviors that the employees can control whereas
organizational commitment is the desire or the strong wish the employees have to be part of the
organization. Routine task performance includes responses to demands or tasks that happen in
ordinary life. Adaptive performance is employee responses to demands of the assignments or
work that is unusual or unpredictable. Organizational commitment determines whether an
employee stays or leaves an organization. These concepts of performance and commitment apply
to the interview. The interviewee explains the actual situation of what happens in the industry.
b)

Withdrawal behavior and their causes.

The exit is a response which is active or destructive in nature where an employee ends or
restricts membership to an organization. Exit-voice-neglect framework represents negative work
events. Psychological withdrawal is a set of actions that creates a mental escape from the work
environment. It sometimes called warm-chair attrition. They take the form of cyberloafing,
socializing, daydreaming and moonlighting.
Physical withdrawal, on the other hand, involves actions that create a physical escape from the
work environment. These are quitting, missing meetings, absenteeism and tardiness. There are
three models of withdrawal which are independent forms model, compensatory forms model, and
progression model. The interview covers these concepts are provides on the ground feedback of
the real cause of withdrawal behaviors.
c)

Job satisfaction

It is the emotional state where an employee derives pleasure from the appraisal of his or her job.
Statistics indicate that job satisfaction in the US has declined to 49% from the previous 58% a
decade earlier. Job satisfaction occurs when a particular job offers the values an employee

upholds. Value-Percept Theory posits that job satisfaction is dependent on whether you perceive
that your job supplies the things that you value.
This concept applies to the interview in that the interviewee is the person with practical
experience about the topic. Garys explanation about job satisfaction is quite detailed and gives
first-hand experience of it.
d)

Stress and stress management.

The managers job is classified as the most stressful one. The interview project gives an
opportunity to interact with a person in this position. He gives experiences about the various
challenges faced when handling employees and the companies expectation of maintaining the
reputation an healthy financial status.
e)

Motivation

It is the set of energetic forces that comes from within and outside an employee. This forces
generates a work effort and guides its direction. Expectancy theory, Goal-setting Theory and
Equity Theory are theories that explain motivation. Self-efficacy in motivation is strongly related
to performance and commitment. The interview project provided an opportunity to access the
way employees are motivated and their source of motivation.

Lessons I learned from the interview project.

I learned a great deal about interpersonal communication. The project also taught me much do to
with time management skills. I got also to learn from my group members. They thought me the
importance of commitment and being motivated. The socialization skills I gained were
invaluable. They also opened up my mind to other aspects of organizational behavior.
Application to my experience and learning materials
The interview project was an eye opener for me. The interaction with the manager opened an
avenue for me reach out to people in the corporate world for career opportunities. I will use this
contact to seek for industrial placements. I also now have a chance to visit the industry and
interact with other employees and ask them many questions about what I have learned about
organizational behavior.
The expectancy theory I have learned in class with other theories of motivation will come in
handy as I seek out to find out from employees for their experience. I will also on my visit, want
to know how employees cope with stress in their work.
Conclusion
The interview project helps in gaining a practical experience on various aspects of organizational
behavior. It is a one on one exchange between experts who encounters various issues to do with
organizational behavior daily. It offers opportunities to the learner to practice their
communication skills and gain confidence in themselves.