Reference no: EM133411654

CASE: ACTIVISION BLIZZARD As Bobby Kotick described, a lot of the job satisfaction felt by Activision Blizzard Page 115 employees comes from the mission of their company. One employee summarized that mission this way: "work on cool stuff that other people care about." That sort of mission would extend to a number of different jobs at a number of different companies. Employees who help make cars, phones, software, toys, or furniture might derive satisfaction from such sentiments. So might employees who help provide services, whether groceries, dining. financial planning, hospitality, or delivery. It does seem, however, that some satisfaction dynamics might be different in a gaming company than in other kinds of companies. Put differently, some aspects of job satisfaction might depend on the industry in a way that transcends particular job characteristics. It turns out that some studies have been done on job satisfaction among gaming employees, specifically. One study, published in Information, Communication, & Society, used an interview methodology to understand the dynamics of video game developers. Said one developer, "Paid overtime is virtually unheard of . . . So why am I still here? It's because I can't imagine a career doing anything else. I work with smart people. We tackle interesting problems. I'm paid enough to support a family. And I could work almost anywhere in the world. Is it hard? Sure. Is there a crunch? Sometimes . . . Is it worth it? Definitely." Of course, that quote also points to a dark underbelly that is sometimes discussed in the context of video game developers: the long hours. Another study, published in Organization, coded the content of blogs written by spouses of game developers. One quote was directed at the CEO of one of Activision Blizzard's major competitors: "You do realize what you are doing right? And you do realize that they ARE people, with physical limits, emotional lives and families right? Voices and talents and senses of humor and all that? That when you keep our husbands and wives and children in the office for 90 hours a week, sending them home exhausted and numb and frustrated with their lives, it's not just them you're hurting, but everyone who loves them?"* Such long hours point to an interesting side effect of having a job that's meaningful, interesting, and engrossing-you want to keep doing it. Maybe longer than you should, and maybe longer than family members want you to.

Questions.

1. Consider the components of value-percept theory and job characteristics theory. How can the high satisfaction of Activision Blizzard employees be explained by those theories?

2. How might a job that involves a person in creating/producing this company's "product" contribute to job satisfaction?

3. What role do hours worked play in job satisfaction? Does the company have an obligation to help employees manage their hours, even when they are 'in the zone' in their coding or even when product launch deadlines are looming?