An employee submits a request for her light to be repaired, and her request spends two years in committee process. Meanwhile, her light still doesn't work. According to Peter Blau's research, what is this employee likely to do?
A) leave the organization
B) continue to wait
C) ask a friendly colleague to help her fix the light
D) submit a protest about the process and eventually reform the system

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

According to Peter Blau's research on social exchange theory, individuals in organizations seek to maximize their rewards and minimize their costs. In a situation where formal requests are inefficient or ineffective (like the lengthy committee process described), employees are likely to seek alternative, informal solutions to their problems, such as asking a friendly colleague for help. This approach allows the employee to circumvent the formal, but ineffective, process and achieve a quicker resolution to her problem.

An Employee Submits a Request for Her Light to Be