Introduction
Introduction into the problem definition based on the case information
ABN Amro Bank fired 160 employees in 2001 and sent 6000 employees a letter saying they were “dispensable”, offering them a financial bonus if they left voluntarily. Other employees received no letter or a letter saying they were “indispensable” to the company. Now the board is complaining about severe motivational problems among employees and a decrease in organizational performance (NRC Handelsblad, january 2002).
Problem definition
Main problem to focus on in the case
What can management at ABN Amro do to improve employee motivation and organizational performance?
Case description
Description of relevant case-info in line with the problem definition
Explanation about the financial sector in general and ABN Amro Bank in particular in terms of activities, recent developments. Types of employees, exploration of what happened, when, how, why this letter was sent, effects on employees etc
Theory
Description of relevant theory that can be used for answering the case problem.
Motivation theories, organizational performance theories, link between the two; model of relationships between motivation and organizational performance
Analysis
Link between theory and case information in order to come to an answer to the problem in the case
What issues from motivation theories and organizational performance are relevant to this case and why, how can motivation and organizational performance at ABN Amro be improved, what options does management have (training, pay increa ...