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CHAPTER 8: MOTIVATION AND EMPOWERMENT 255
in completing the food orders. An unwritten and informal policy is that each cook would
clean up his specific work area at closing time.
One especially busy night, Ron’s fellow cook became involved in a shouting match
with McCarthy after the cook returned five minutes late from his shift break. McCarthy
fired him right on the spot and commanded him to turn in his apron. This meant that
Ron was required to stay over an extra half-hour to wash the other fellow’s utensils. He
did not get to bed until 3 a.m. But McCarthy wanted him back at the store at 9 a.m. to
substitute for a daytime cook whose wife reported him ill. Ron was normally scheduled
to begin at 4 p.m. However, when Ron arrived somewhat sleepily at 10 a.m. (and after an
8 a.m. accounting class), McCarthy was furious. He thereupon warned Ron, “Once more
and you can look for another job. If you work for me, you do things my way or you don’t
work here at all.” “Fine with me,” fired back Ron as he slammed his apron into the sink.
“You know what you can do with this job!”
The next day, McCarthy discussed his problems with the owner. Purvis was actually very
upset. “I can’t understand what went wrong. All of a sudden, things have gone to hell.”
Source: Bernard A. Deitzer and Karl A. Schillif, Contemporary Incidents in Management (Columbus, OH: Grid,
Inc., 1977), pp. 167–168. Reprinted by permission of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
QUESTIONS
1. Contrast the beliefs about motivation held by Purvis and McCarthy.
2. Do you consider either Purvis or McCarthy a leader? Discuss.
3. What would you do now if you were in Purvis’s position? Why?
Cub Scout Pack 81
Things certainly have changed over the past six years for Cub Scout Pack 81. Six years
ago, the pack was on the verge of disbanding. There were barely enough boys for an effec-
tive den, and they had been losing membership for as long as anyone could remember.
The cub master was trying to pass his job onto any parent foolish enough to take the helm
of a sinking ship, and the volunteer fire department that sponsored the pack was openly
considering dropping it.
But that was six years ago. Today the pack has one of the largest memberships of any
in the Lancaster/Lebanon Council. It has started its own Boy Scout troop, into which the
Webelos can graduate, and it has received a presidential citation for its antidrug program.
The pack consistently wins competitions with other packs in the Council, and the fire
department is very happy about its sponsorship. Membership in the pack is now around
60 cubs at all levels, and they have a new cub master.
“Parents want their boys to be in a successful program,” says Cub Master Mike
Murphy. “Look, I can’t do everything. We depend on the parents and the boys to get things
done. Everybody understands that we want to have a successful program, and that means
we all have to participate to achieve that success. I can’t do it all, but if we can unleash the
energy these boys have, there isn’t anything in the Cub Scout Program we can’t do!”
It was not always like that. “About five years ago we placed fourth for our booth in the
Scout Expo at the mall,” says Mike. “Everybody was surprised! Who was Pack 81? We were
all elated! It was one of the best things to happen to this pack in years. Now, if we don’t win
at least something, we’re disappointed. Our kids expect to win, and so do their parents.”
Fourth place at the Scout Expo eventually led to several first places. Success leads to
success, and the community around Pack 81 knows it.
“Last year, we made our annual presentation to the boys and their parents at the
elementary school. We were with several other packs, each one trying to drum up interest
in their program. When everyone was finished, the boys and their parents went over to
the table of the pack that most interested them. We must have had well over half of the
people at our table. I was embarrassed! They were standing six or seven deep in front of
our table, and there was virtually nobody in front of the others.”
Source: “Case IV: Cub Scout Pack 81,” in 2001–02 Annual Editions: Management, Fred H. Maidment, ed.
(Guilford, CT: McGraw-Hill/Dushkin, 2001), p. 130.

