CASE APPLICATION 1 Passion for the Outdoors and for People Atits headquarters in Ventura, California, Patagoniaâs office spacefeels more like a national park lodge than the main office of a$400 million retailer.100 It has a Douglas fir staircase and aportrait of Yosemiteâs El Capitan. The companyâs café servesorganic food and drinks. Thereâs an infant and toddler child-careroom for employeesâ children. An easy one-block walk from thePacific Ocean, employeesâ surfboards are lined up by the cafeteria,ready at a momentâs notice to catch some waves. (Current wavereports are noted on a whiteboard in the lobby.) After surfing orjogging or biking, employees can freshen up in the showers in therestrooms. And no one has a private office. If an employee doesnâtwant to be disturbed, he or she wears headphones. Visitors areevident by the business attire they wear. The company encouragescelebrations to boost employee morale. For instance, at the Renostore, the âFun Patrolâ organizes parties throughout the year.Attracting people who share its strong passion for the outdoors andthe environment, Patagonia motivates its loyal employees by givingthem responsibility for the outcomes of their work and a high levelof task significance that their work is meaningful because itcontributes to the purpose of protecting and preserving theenvironment. Source: Rich Reid/Glow Images Patagonia has long beenrecognized as a great workplace for mothers. And itâs also earned areputation for loyal employees, something that many retailersstruggle with. Its combined voluntary and involuntary turnover inits retail stores was around 25 percent, while it was only 7percent at headquarters. (The industry average for retail is around44 percent.) Patagoniaâs CEO Casey Sheahan says the companyâsculture, camaraderie, and way of doing business is very meaningfulto employees and they know that âwhat they do each day iscontributing toward a higher purposeâprotecting and preserving theareas that most of them love spending time in.â Managers arecoached to define expectations, communicate deadlines, and then letemployees figure out the best way to meet those. Founded by YvonChouinard (his profile as a Leader Who Made a Difference can befound on p. 134), Patagoniaâs first and strongest passion is forthe outdoors and the environment. And that attracts employees whoare also passionate about those things. But Patagoniaâs executivesdo realize that they are first and foremost a business and, eventhough theyâre committed to doing the right thing, the companyneeds to remain profitable to be able to continue to do the thingsitâs passionate about. But that hasnât seemed to be an issue sincethe recession in the early 1990s when the company had to make itsonly large-scale layoffs in its history.
QUESTIONS: 1. According to Maslow's hierarchy, which basic needsdoes the Patagonia culture meet? What would it be like to work atPatagonia? (Hint: Go to Patagoniaâs website and find the section onjobs.) Whatâs your assessment of the companyâs work environment?(20 points)
2. Use the expectancy theory and/or the equity theory ofmotivation to explain how feeling underpaid might affect the workof a Patagonia associate and what a manager can do to increase theemployee's motivation. (20 points)
3. What do you think might be Patagoniaâs biggest challenge inkeeping employees motivated? If you were managing a team ofPatagonia employees in the retail stores, how would you keep themmotivated? (20 points)
CASE APPLICATION 1 Passion for the Outdoors and for People Atits headquarters in Ventura, California, Patagoniaâs office spacefeels more like a national park lodge than the main office of a$400 million retailer.100 It has a Douglas fir staircase and aportrait of Yosemiteâs El Capitan. The companyâs café servesorganic food and drinks. Thereâs an infant and toddler child-careroom for employeesâ children. An easy one-block walk from thePacific Ocean, employeesâ surfboards are lined up by the cafeteria,ready at a momentâs notice to catch some waves. (Current wavereports are noted on a whiteboard in the lobby.) After surfing orjogging or biking, employees can freshen up in the showers in therestrooms. And no one has a private office. If an employee doesnâtwant to be disturbed, he or she wears headphones. Visitors areevident by the business attire they wear. The company encouragescelebrations to boost employee morale. For instance, at the Renostore, the âFun Patrolâ organizes parties throughout the year.Attracting people who share its strong passion for the outdoors andthe environment, Patagonia motivates its loyal employees by givingthem responsibility for the outcomes of their work and a high levelof task significance that their work is meaningful because itcontributes to the purpose of protecting and preserving theenvironment. Source: Rich Reid/Glow Images Patagonia has long beenrecognized as a great workplace for mothers. And itâs also earned areputation for loyal employees, something that many retailersstruggle with. Its combined voluntary and involuntary turnover inits retail stores was around 25 percent, while it was only 7percent at headquarters. (The industry average for retail is around44 percent.) Patagoniaâs CEO Casey Sheahan says the companyâsculture, camaraderie, and way of doing business is very meaningfulto employees and they know that âwhat they do each day iscontributing toward a higher purposeâprotecting and preserving theareas that most of them love spending time in.â Managers arecoached to define expectations, communicate deadlines, and then letemployees figure out the best way to meet those. Founded by YvonChouinard (his profile as a Leader Who Made a Difference can befound on p. 134), Patagoniaâs first and strongest passion is forthe outdoors and the environment. And that attracts employees whoare also passionate about those things. But Patagoniaâs executivesdo realize that they are first and foremost a business and, eventhough theyâre committed to doing the right thing, the companyneeds to remain profitable to be able to continue to do the thingsitâs passionate about. But that hasnât seemed to be an issue sincethe recession in the early 1990s when the company had to make itsonly large-scale layoffs in its history.
QUESTIONS: 1. According to Maslow's hierarchy, which basic needsdoes the Patagonia culture meet? What would it be like to work atPatagonia? (Hint: Go to Patagoniaâs website and find the section onjobs.) Whatâs your assessment of the companyâs work environment?(20 points)
2. Use the expectancy theory and/or the equity theory ofmotivation to explain how feeling underpaid might affect the workof a Patagonia associate and what a manager can do to increase theemployee's motivation. (20 points)
3. What do you think might be Patagoniaâs biggest challenge inkeeping employees motivated? If you were managing a team ofPatagonia employees in the retail stores, how would you keep themmotivated? (20 points)
