Green Mountain Camp

GREEN MOUNTAIN CAMP: ITS MORE THAN A SUMMER JOB Case Summary: Nick and Carol Randall purchased Green Mountain Camp in Vermont to live out their dream of raising their two boys in a summer camp. But the camp was not all that it seemed to be, and it took extensive repair work to bring the physical facilities up to code. Now Nick and Carol are faced with a more daunting task hiring new employees. They want to hire people who will be motivated to stay with the job for more than one summer, and although they cant offer much in the way of salaries and benefits, they are promising their new employees a welcoming positive atmosphere with opportunities for forming new camp programs, social time, and more comfortable accommodations. so Candidates far have included school teachers, recent college grads, and even one retired business man who wants to spend his summers outdoors teaching kids to kayak and sail. Chapter Topics Related to the Case: Discuss the concept of motivation. Define ways to create jobs that motivate. List principles for setting goals that motivate employees. Discuss the impact of needs on motivation. Summarize how to reward good performance effectively. Discuss ways in which peoples individual needs affect their behavior. Identify causes and consequences of a satisfied workforce. Case Discussion

Questions: 1. What steps might the Randalls take to design motivating jobs for the camp staff? Suggested Response: The Randalls can do two things to create motivating jobs. One is to build skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy and feedback into the job. For example, the retired businessman wouldnt just teach kids to kayak and sail, he would have complete control over the kayaking and sailing program (maybe even hiring or evaluating the people who work with him.) Another thing the Randalls can do is to empower their employees by reinforcing employee perceptions of meaning, competence, self-determination, and impact. For example, camp