BBD1223 Organizational Behaviour

Read the following case and answer all the questions that follow:

“Extreme Jobs (And the People Who Love Them)" 

Most of us would balk at the prospect of a 60-hour or more workweek with constant traveling and little time for anything else. However, some individuals are exhilarated by such professions. According to the recent Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 17 percent of managers worked more than 60 hours per week. But the demands of such jobs are clearly not for everyone. Many quit, with turnover levels at 55 percent for consultants and 30 percent for investment bankers, according to Vault.com. However, it is clear that such jobs, which are time consuming and often stressful, can be satisfying to some individuals.

Chris Lowe, 31, is an investment banker who works for Citigroup’s global energy team in New York. A recent workday for Lowe consisted of heading to the office for a conference call at 6:00 p.m. He left the office at 1:30 a.m. and had to be on a plane that same morning for a 9:00 a.m. presentation in Houston. Following the presentation, Lowe returned to New York the same day, and by 7:00 p.m., he was back in his office to work an additional three hours. Says Lowe, “I might be a little skewed to the workaholic, but realistically, expecting 90 to 100 hours a week is not at all unusual.”

Jeanne Dennis, 34, heads the government bond-trading division at Goldman Sachs. For ten years, she has seen the stock market go from all-time highs to recession levels. Such fluctuations can mean millions of dollars in either profits or losses. “There are days when you can make a lot, and other days where you lose so much you’re just stunned by what you’ve done,” says Dennis. She also states that she hasn’t slept completely through the night in years and frequently wakes up several times during the night to check the global market status. Her average workweek? Eighty hours. “I’ve done this for 10 years, and I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of days in my career when I didn’t want to come to work. Every day I wake up and I can’t wait to get here.”

Jimmy Page, 33, is a managing director at Capital Alliance Partners and raises funds for real-estate investments. However, these are not your average properties. He often travels to exotic locations like Costa Rica and Hawaii, wooing prospective clients. He travels more than 300,000 miles a year, often sleeping on planes and dealing with jet lag. Page is not the only one he knows with such a hectic work schedule. His girlfriend, Jane Evans, logs around 400,000 miles a year, working as the senior vice president of marketing for Tommy Hilfiger. “It’s not easy to maintain a relationship like this,” says Page. But do Page and Evans like their jobs? You bet.

Neil Donovan, 35, is the vice president of global marketing for MTV. His job often consists of traveling around the globe to promote the channel, as well as to keep up with the global music scene. If he is not traveling (Donovan typically logs 200,000 miles a year), a typical day consists of waking at 6:30 a.m. and immediately responding to numerous messages that have accumulated over the course of the night. He then goes to his office, where throughout the day he will respond to another 500 messages or so from clients around the world. If he’s lucky, he gets to spend an hour a day with his son, but then it’s back to work until he finally goes to bed around midnight. Says Donovan, “there are plenty of people who would love to have this job. They’re knocking on the door all the time. So that’s motivating.”  

Adapted from L. Tischler; “Extreme Jobs (And the People Who Love Them),” Fast Company, April 2005, pp. 55–60. http://www.glo-jobs.com/article.php?article_no=87.

1. What characteristics of these jobs that might contribute to increased levels of job satisfaction of Chris, Jeanne, Jimmyand Neil? Discuss your answer by referring to one relevant OB model/theory. 

Required: Are there certain elements in these jobs that may make them more motivating and satisfying? You MUST select one OB theory/model to discuss your answer (Job Characteristics Model JCM, for example) and relate your answer to examples of Chris, Jeanne, Jimmy and Neil as provided in the case above.

2. Do you think that only people with certain personalities are attracted to the types of jobs of Chris, Jeanne, Jimmyand Neil as in the case above? If so, discuss the types of personality ideally Required of Chris, Jeanne, Jimmy and Neil. 

Required: You may need to discuss personality types and characteristics of the four individuals above by using one OB theory/model (i.e. MBTI, Big 5 or John Holland’s model). You should also draw relevant examples as found in the case of Chris, Jeanne, Jimmy and Neil or relevant reading.

3. Which personality model do you think is the most appropriate model to be used to predict someone’s job performancewith reasonably accuracy? In your answer, you may need to compare the relative merits of personality models you have learnt in BBD1223.

Required: You may need to identify and compare a few OB models (Big 5, John Holland’s model, MBTI etc.) used to assess personality types, select one model that is the most suitable and useful in predicting one’s job performance. (Keep in mind that not all models are useful for predicting performance)

4. Given that many individuals today tend to be dissatisfied with their jobs, what might be the factors causing their disatisfaction? Discuss your answer by referring to OB reading and relevant examples. 

Required: You need to research the common key factors affecting employee job dissatisfaction, provide supportive reading and relevant examples to substantiate the viewpoints.