Case Study in Psychology 315 (I/O Psychology)

Different Strokes for Different Folks

Barbara Cristina Pineda - Trivette

Submitted by:
Retsel Piz
Robert Neolpis
Eugene Louis Dayot
Sidrik Gotico

Submitted to:
Prof. Pedro P. Galeno

Guide Questions:

1. What are the key issues presented in the case?

Franchisees raised concerns about feeling disconnected from the company especially the
ones who are far from the base, Cebu. From there the company decided that it is best to
have cluster managers per area to be based on their main area of responsibilities.
Cluster managers were required to be primarily based in their area of responsibility
especially during the work week.
Older franchisees feel like the system improvements and new products were taking
forever to be introduced to their branches.
New or potential franchisees complain about feedback and approval or even ocular of
their sites taking so long to schedule.

2. What theories, concepts, or findings from I-O psychology can help in understanding the
issue/s?
As Carnall (2008) suggested, there are 5 stages during major organizational change. As
we can see, the managers were in a state of denial when the major change was laid out
during the meeting. They were being defensive about it, too, saying things like One of
the reasons I stayed in this company is its family orientation. because they want things
to stay that way. Some of the managers, having nor accepted the companys desired
change, quit from their job positions. The ones who remained went into the third stage,
which is discarding. They accepted change and adjusted with it, which is stage 4,
adaptation. This is where the newly hired managers come in. They came into the
company whose employees are adapting for change and they (new managers) adjust
together with the old employees. Stage five is internalization. This is where the

employees have become immersed in the new culture and became comfortable with the
new system. This is also where Ocampo, a new manager who worked only for a year
with the company, has found that this company is where she belongs because she is not
only comfortable with the way things are done there but also with the people as well.

3. How would you describe this companys organization culture? Can you identify any
artifacts/practice that would support this?
The companys organization culture has five identified core values: synergy, service
excellence, honesty, integrity, and family orientation in which they wanted to permeate
throughout the whole organization by keeping the core values in the consciousness of the
employees. Once a month the company has a CCA day in which stands for Corporate
Culture Assimilation where it is meant to become a venue for people to see, learn about,
imbibe, and manifest the core values of the company. The CCA day is also a paid workday. Employees are also empowered to take part with the decision-making by the
management team, the managers and supervisors.

4. How did the company try to build and propagate this kind of culture?
The company started from a catering and canteen business owned by the family of a
simple provincial housewife. Thus, the company tried to build and propagate a culture
that focused on having a family-like relationship between the company's employees.

5. What problems did they run into with the organizational changes?
Five of the twelve cluster managers had resigned. They were unwilling to relocate
despite some added benefits that the company was giving.
One of the five cluster managers who resigned refused to stay despite the offer of a new
job position, saying that she would be uncomfortable with the job the company was
offering.
As there were 12 cluster managers originally and 5 resigned, even though 3 new
managers were hired, there are still 2 empty positions left to be filled.
Because of these empty positions, managers had to double up in areas to cover the areas
which were left without a manager.

6. What was the impact/influence of culture on the changes the company was going through?
During the companys time of growth and transition the family atmosphere really helped
each and every employee. The CEO wanted newly hired managers and employees feel
like they are supported all throughout the change process, relaying this concern to a
senior cluster manager, one who has been ni the company for a long time. The openness
and closeness of the people working together, the religiosity, the culture, and the
relationship quality in the company makes difficult times and tasks easier to achieve.

References:
Barbara Cristina Pineda - Trivette, Different Strokes for Differnet Folks, case study as
provided by Prof. Pedro Galeno
Michael G. Aamodt, Industrial and Organization Psychology, Second Edition, Chapter 14:
Organizational Development, p. 465