Case Assignment 4 (Research Paper): Beverly Matthews
Instructions
Case Overview:
Our book discusses how various business functions (HR, IT, Finance, etc) can align and promote
the companys overall strategy. This case describes a company that seems misaligned in terms
of its purported family-friendly values and the actual practices and its strategy (in terms of and
culture). While there are many topics that can be addressed, your research will focus on the
following two topics: work-family balance and stress.
Readings (all located within D2L)
Case:
Clayton, R., Stratton, M. T., Julien, M., & Humphreys, J. H. (2015). Beverly Matthews.
Organization Management Journal, 12(4), 221-234.
Full Academic Journal Articles:
1. Harms, P. D., Cred, M., Tynan, M., Leon, M., & Jeung, W. (2017). Leadership and
stress: A meta-analytic review. The Leadership Quarterly, 28(1), 178-194.
2. Fiori, M., Bollmann, G., & Rossier, J. (2015). Exploring the path through which career
adaptability increases job satisfaction and lowers job stress: The role of affect. Journal of
Vocational Behavior, 91, 113-121.
3. Karkoulian, S., Srour, J., & Sinan, T. (2016). A gender perspective on work-life balance,
perceived stress, and locus of control. Journal of Business Research, 69(11), 4918-4923.
Book Chapters and Harvard Business Review Articles:
1. Frone, M. R. (2003). Work-family balance. Handbook of Occupational Health
Psychology, 7, 143-162.
2. Russo, M., & Morandin, G. (2019). Better Work-Life Balance Starts with Managers.
Harvard Business Review Digital Articles, 25.
3. Perkins, A. (1993). The costs of inflexible job arrangements. Harvard Business Review,
71(4), 910.
4. Valcour, M. (2014). Give Your Organization a Work-Life Vision. Harvard Business
Review Digital Articles, 24.
5. Riordan, C. (2013). Work-Life Balance Isnt the Point. Harvard Business Review.
Assignment Guidelines
After reading the case:
1) Problem Identification; address the following (no more than 2 pages):
a. What are the central facts of the case? Limit yourself to the 2-3 most crucial facts.
b. Stakeholders: Which individuals and groups have an important stake in the outcome?
c. Relevance: Is this case still applicable? In other words, do you believe the main issue is
common in todays organization? Explain.
2) Topic Analysis and Integration; do not discuss the case in this section. Address the
following (3+ pages):
a. Provide substantial overviews of the following topics:
i. Workplace Stress
ii. Work Family Balance
b. Integration of topics: Based on your research, discuss the relationship between
leadership, workplace stress, and work-family balance. Be specific; go deeper than,
leadership impacts stress.
SECTION NOTES:
Do not discuss the case in this section. Also, do not provide examples (from the case or
elsewhere) to demonstrate your knowledge; instead, focus on the research.
The resources provided should give you a general overview of each topic. If you decide
to use them in your overviews, do not write about the hypotheses/methods/results
sections of the articles (I will take off points). Instead, focus on what the articles state
about the topics. (BAD: One hypothesis of the article is.)
You can use outside resources, but limit yourself to no more than 10 references total
(including the ones listed above)
3) Self-Reflection; after reading Work-Life Balance Isnt the Point, discuss what work-life
effectiveness means to you at this point in your career, and how you achieve it. (1+ pages)
4) Case Analysis and Recommendations; address the following (3+ pages):
a. As Beverly: If you were Beverly, what would your next actions be?
b. As a Manager: Do you find your personal management style to align with the one TRex portrays, or do you consider yourself more employee-oriented? Based on your
style, how do (or would) you handle employees like Beverly?
c. As MTB&T: What could the company as a whole do differently to institutionalize its
family-friendly policies?
