- Case Study Rough Seas On The Link650 By Steven L Mcshane University Of Newcastle Australia Professor Suzanne Baxter 1 (46.08 KiB) Viewed 50 times
have seen the desired behaviour and results from the employees.
• How did the mental models formed by the newly hired employees
differ from reality? How could the newly hired employees prepared
themselves with a more accurate mental model?
• Identify the various ways that employees expressed their job
dissatisfaction on the LINK650.
• Shaun O’Neill’s commitment to the LINK organization dwindled
over his two years of employment. Discuss the change in
organizational commitment and the factors that affected his
organizational commitment.
• Identify which ethical principles, as described in the course
textbook, have been violated in this case study, and describe why
you believe they have been violated.
• Describe the stress experience for Shaun and his crew members
using the four major stressors.
• How could Shaun and his crew have used the five ways to manage
stress during this time. Were there any of the five ways they did
apply in this case?
Case Study: ROUGH SEAS ON THE LINK650 by Steven L. McShane, University of Newcastle (Australia) Professor Suzanne Baxter was preparing for her first class of the semester when Shaun O'Neill knocked lightly on the open door and announced himself: "Hi, Professor, I don't suppose you remember me?" Professor Baxter had large classes, but she did remember that Shaun had been a student in her organizational behaviour class a few years earlier. Shaun had decided to work in the oil industry for a couple of years before returning to school to complete his diploma. "Welcome back!" Baxter said as she beckoned him into the office. "I heard you were working on an oil rig in the United Kingdom. How was it?" Page 111 "Well, professor," Shaun began, “I had worked two summers in the Texan oil fields and my family's from Ireland, so I hoped to get a job on the LINK650. It's that new WestOil drilling rig that arrived with so much fanfare in the North Sea fields a few years ago. The LINK650 was built by LINK Inc. in Texas. A standard practice in this industry is for the rig manufacturer to manage day-to-day rig operations, so employees on the LINK650 are managed completely by LINK managers with no involvement from WestOil. We all know that drilling rig jobs are dangerous, but they pay well and offer generous time off. A local newspaper there said that nearly one thousand people lined up to complete job applications for the 50 nontechnical positions available. I was lucky enough to get one of those jobs.
a "Everyone hired on the LINK650 was enthusiastic and proud. We were among the chosen few and were really pumped up about working on a new rig that had received so much media attention. I was quite impressed with the recruiters so were several other hires-because they really seemed to be concerned about our welfare out on the platform. I later discovered that the recruiters came from a consulting firm that specializes in hiring people. Come to think of it, we didn't meet a single LINK manager during that process. Maybe things would have been different if some of those LINK supervisors had interviewed us. "Working on LINK650 was a real shock, even though most of us had some experience working in the oil fields. I'd say that not one of the 50 nontechnical people hired was quite prepared for the brutal jobs on the oil rig. We did the dirtiest jobs in the biting cold winds of the North Sea. Still, during the first few months, most of us wanted to show the company that we were dedicated to getting the job done. A couple of the new hires quit within a few weeks, but most of the people hired with me really got along well–you know, just like the ideas you mentioned in class. We formed a special bond that helped us through the bad weather and gruelling work. "The LINK650 supervisors were another matter. They were mean taskmasters who had worked for many years on oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico or North Sca. They seemed to relish the idea of treating their employees the same way they had been treated before becoming managers. We put up with their abuse for the first few months, but things got worse when the LINK650 was shut down twice to correct mechanical problems. These setbacks embarrassed LINK's management and they put more pressure on the supervisors to get us back on schedule. "The supervisors started to ignore equipment problems and pushed us to get jobs done more quickly without regard to safety procedures. They routinely shouted obscenities at employees in front of others. A couple of my workmates were fired and a couple of others quit their jobs. I almost lost my job one day just because my boss thought I was deliberately working slowly. He didn't realize-or care-that the fittings I was connecting were damaged. Several people started finding ways to avoid the supervisors and get as little work done as possible. Many of my co-workers developed back problems. We jokingly called it the "rigger's backache' because some employees faked their ailment to leave the rig with paid sick leave. w
. "Along with having lousy supervisors, we were always kept in the dark about the problems on the rig. Supervisors said that they didn't know anything, which was partly true, but they said we shouldn't be so interested in things that didn't concern us. But the rig's problems, as well as its future contract work, were a major concern to crew members who weren't ready to quit. Their job security depended on the rig's production levels and whether WestOil would i sign contracts to drill new holes. Given the rig's problems, most of us were concerned that we would be laid off at any time. "Everything came to a head when Bob MacKenzie was killed because someone secured a hoist improperly. Not sure if it was mentioned in the papers here, but it was big news around this time last year. A government inquiry concluded that the person responsible wasn't properly trained and that employees were being pushed to finish jobs without safety precautions. Anyway, while the inquiry was going on, several employees decided to unionize the rig. It wasn't long before most employees on LINK650 had signed union cards. That really shocked LINK's management and the entire oil industry because it was, I think, just the second time that a rig had ever been unionized there. "Since then, management has been doing everything in its power to get rid of the union. It sent a 'safety officer' to the rig, although we eventually realized that he was a consultant the company hired to undermine union support. Several managers were sent to special seminars on how to manage a unionized workforce, although one of the topics was how to break the union. "So you see, professor, I joined LINK as an enthusiastic employee and quit last month with no desire to lift a finger for them. It really bothers me, because I was always told to do your best, no matter how tough the situation. It's been quite an experience."