Reference no: EM132226602

Genter (Clear One Communications) It's the classic "brillant-plan-scribbled-on-a-cock-tail-napkin" kind of story. In 1997, Frances Flood, president of the audio-conferencing company Getner, mapped out the future of her firm on a resturant place mat. the company was suffering from a host of problems: Flood and her boss, founder and CEO Russell Genter, disagreed over the company's plans; the firm had a loss of $373,000; Research and development wasted time on mone-losing ideas; the product line was too diverse; the marketing team was too sluggish; investors and employees were discouraged. The situation seemed hopeless were discouraged. The situation seemed hopeless, but Flood knew that the studio-conferencing industry was ready to take off and her company company could participate in that growth. Flood's plan to recue the floundering firm was to scribble on that place mat but took several years to implement. Genter has close ties to the company he has flounded in 1981 to clean up audio signal such as phone calls for broadcast on radio or TV. When Genter stepped down, Flood became CEO. She reoorganized the company into just four product-related divisions, then took engineering. The R & D group was innovative, but "{t}here was no laser-like focus. One day they'd be making a broadcast product. The next day it was something else, "Flood says. She used manufacturing data to show engineers the cost-benefit tradeoff for each product. The result was a slimmed-down product lineup, with two-thirds of the products eliminated. When employees balked at the changes, they were asked to resign, and ultimately about half of the workers left. " The culture was very much about family," Flood claims. "In a professional organization everyone is accountable." To replace lost talent, the firm offered stock options to recruits, which will only become vested when Genter reaches its profit targets. Next, the CEO neede to get engineers focused on developing new producers that would appeal to customers and be competitive in features and price. Oone quick strategy was to upgrade exisiting products. Flood motivated R & D workers by offering them a share of the profits if their devolpment cycle time shrank 30 percent. Angelina Beitia, Genter director of marketing, says, "they key to out continued excellence with world-class marketing." Each year Flood invents a marketing theme based on popular movies, with names such as "Mission: Possible" or The Matrix." She engages in wacky stunts to pupm up enthusiasm--such as leaving a voicemail messages that begin, "Your mission, should you choose to accept it" or dressing in a black trench coat and sunglasses while screaming, "We won't conduct business as usual! We won't get sucked into the Matrix!" A wolf-related theme led to group howl-fests in the halls when a big contract was signed and to the distribiution of Wol Bucks, redeemable for cash and prizes when Genter reaches profitability targets. According to Flood, employees love the rewards, even the little ons. "You'd think they'd won thr lottery. Psychic income is huge," she maintains. Even the firm's web site conveys the message of serious fun,"saying,"At Genter, we believe that it takes stamina, courage, and even a little lunacy to stay ahead of the pack." There is also a more serious and down-to-earth side to Flood. In order to signal its new strategic direction, she changed the firm's name to ClearOne, based on a Massachusetts multimedia firm required in 2001. Another acquistion was Dublin-based Inron video and web conferencing to the firm's audio expertise. Apparently, the changes were working. During Flood's tenure, Gentner's awards have included Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year award, Fortune's ranking of the firm as the number seven "Fastest-Growing Small Public Company," and placing number eighteen on Forbe's "200 Best Small Coompanies" list. The year 2002 brought an issuance of new stock that was well received by the market, as it should be: Earnings are growing an average of 75 percent annually, with fifteen consecutive quarters of profitability, a company first. One of Flood's favorite group excerses asks managers on one side of the tabl to pretend that they are rowing a boat while the managers on the other side sit back, relaxing. After a few minutes, Flood asks, "What's happening to the boat? Well, the boat's going around in circles. We're on this little boat. We've got to get to the other side. everyone's .... got to do something. But don't just sit there because if you're just sitting there,...you're cargo. and ther's no place for cargo on the boat." Flood sums up her view of the fir, saying, "It's definitely an unortgodox company without a doubt, but I think that's the magic. I do." "Don't just sit there because if you {do}, you're cargo on the boat." ___ Frances Flood, CEO, ClearOne Communications

Flood is providing positive reinforcement to her employees. What schedule(s) of reinforcement is she using? What evidence in the case did you use in preparing your answer?

Can you use these two reinforcemts The Porter-Lawler Model - Focuses on the relationship between satisfaction and performance --Assumes that: If rewards are adequate, high levels of performance may lead to satisfaction.--- satification is determind by perceived equity of intrinsic (intangible) and extrinsic (tangible) rewards for performance.'

Acquired Needs Framework(McClelland)-The Need for Achievement..The desire to accomplish a task or goal more effectively than was done in the past--The Need for Affiliation..The needfor human companionship --- The Need for Power...The desire to control the resources in one's envireonment.