Case: The Performance Paradox at Milford Green Grocers

Case: The Performance Paradox at Milford Green Grocers It is 3:10 p.m. on a Wednesday when Taylor, the assistant store manager at Milford Green Grocers, opens the weekly dashboard email from corporate. The subject line reads: Store Scorecard, Week 5: Customer Experience and Labor. Taylor already knows the story before opening it. The store has made progress on speed and error reduction. The new performance tracking system is working. Pick accuracy in grocery is up. Shrink is down. The front end has fewer cash handling errors. But the customer experience score has barely moved. Complaints are still coming in at the same times, and something else is starting to worry Taylor more. Turnover. The store is losing some of its strongest people. Taylor scrolls down to a separate email thread titled Resignations and Availability Changes. Three names appear. Danielle, a long time employee who knows the store better than anyone, submitted notice two days ago. Alyssa, a part time student worker, removed nearly all weekend availability beginning next month. Chris, a newer full time employee who has been improving quickly, asked to transfer to another department because, in his words, I cannot do the front end anymore. Taylor leans back and thinks: We finally got performance tighter. Why are we losing people now? Scene 1: Danielles Exit Interview Danielle is one of those employees who rarely makes mistakes. She can run a register, train a new hire, calm down an angry customer, and jump into another department without being asked. When the store is under pressure, Danielle is often the person who keeps things from falling apart. In many ways, she has been a model employee. Taylor meets Danielle in the small office near the break room. Danielles notice letter sits on the desk, folded neatly. Taylor starts carefully. Danielle, you have been one of the most reliable people in this store. I have to ask, what is driving this? Danielle does not hesitate. I am tired, she says. Not tired from the work. Tired from how it feels to work here now. Taylor listens. Danielle continues. It used to feel like we were a team. People jumped in. Managers trusted us to handle things. Now it feels like everything is measured, everything is checked, and nothing is enough. Taylor responds, We are under pressure. Corporate is watching. We need consistency. Danielle nods. I get it. But the way we are doing it makes me feel like I am a number. I do not feel respected. I used to take pride in this place. Taylor asks, Is it about pay? Danielle gives a small laugh. Pay is not the issue. It is the way decisions get made. It is the way we get talked to when things go wrong. It is the feeling that no one notices what we carry until we stop carrying it. Danielle pauses, then adds something that stays with Taylor. I am leaving because I do not see myself here long term anymore. Scene 2: Alyssas Boundaries That same afternoon, Taylor sees Alyssa by the lockers. Alyssa is a part time employee and a student. She is efficient, polite, and fast on the register. Customers often compliment her. In performance terms, Alyssa is strong. Taylor has also noticed something else lately. Alyssa has become noticeably quiet. She does the task, closes her lane, and leaves. No extra conversation, no volunteering to cover, no staying to help. Taylor approaches gently. Alyssa, I saw your availability changes. Is everything okay? Alyssa nods. Yes. I am just not doing weekends anymore. Taylor frowns. Weekends are our hardest times. Alyssa looks tired but controlled. That is exactly why. I have class presentations, work for another employer, and I commute. I used to cover because I felt like it mattered and that it would be appreciated. Now it just feels expected. Taylor says, We have a staffing problem. Everyone has to contribute. Alyssa replies, Contributing is not the same as sacrificing. I do not mind working hard. I mind being treated like my time does not matter. Before walking away, Alyssa adds, I like the store. I just do not feel attached to it. Scene 3: Chris Is Doing Fine but Drifting Chris is newer and has improved significantly. At first, Chris needed constant direction. Now Chris is capable and rarely makes errors. In the performance system, Chriss numbers look good. But in the past month, Chris has had three late arrivals, used more sick time than usual, and has stopped speaking up in team huddles. Taylor calls Chris in. Taylor opens with the obvious. Chris, you are performing well. What is going on? Chris hesitates. I do not want to sound ungrateful. Taylor waits. Chris continues. I can do the work. The issue is how it feels. I never know what is considered good enough because the targets keep shifting. I get corrected more than I get coached. I do not feel like I am developing. I feel like I am surviving. Taylor says, We are tracking performance so we can improve. Chris nods. But it feels like the system only sees mistakes, not progress. It makes me anxious. I dread coming in. Taylor asks, What do you want to do? Chris answers quietly. I put in a transfer request. I want to move to produce. It is still busy, but it feels calmer. It feels more human. Scene 4: The Numbers Look Better, but the Store Feels Worse Later that day, Taylor meets with Jordan, the store manager. Jordan has also been reading the dashboard. Jordan points to the report. Look. Errors are down. Productivity is up. Labor variance is under control. On paper, we are improving. Taylor replies, But we are losing strong people. Jordan sighs. I know. But corporate is not going to accept a story about feelings. Taylor leans forward. It is not just feelings. When people like Danielle leave, we lose stability. Training costs go up. Customer experience suffers. We are holding the numbers while the store is slowly hollowing out. Jordan looks unconvinced. We cannot manage what we cannot measure. Corporate wants performance. Taylor responds, Then we need to define performance more carefully. Jordan pauses. What do you mean? Taylor does not have a clean answer yet. But Taylor knows something is off. The store is chasing measurable output while losing the very people who make the store work. Taylor is now preparing recommendations for how Milford Green Grocers should define performance, manage it, and retain strong employees without burning them out or driving them away. Your Task This case is intentionally designed to create multiple interpretations. Use the concepts from this weeks reading to support your reasoning. Focus on explaining why outcomes are occurring, not just what managers should do. Core Questions (Answer all three) What does high performance look like in this case, and how might the stores current performance management system be shaping behavior in unintended ways? In your response, distinguish between different forms of performance and explain what the store may be rewarding versus what it may be discouraging. Compare Danielle, Alyssa, and Chris in terms of job satisfaction and organizational commitment. What signals do you see that help explain why one person is leaving, one is pulling back, and one is transferring? If you were Taylor, what would you recommend Jordan do next week to improve performance outcomes without accelerating burnout and turnover? Provide two specific actions and explain the logic behind each using course concepts.

My Responses (reword as a college student/ No plagiarism or AI Detetection)

1. High Performance and Unintended Effects of the System

In this case, high performance should include more than just speed and accuracy. The stores current system focuses almost entirely on task performance, such as reducing errors, improving pick accuracy, and controlling labor costs. These outcomes are improving, which shows the system is effective at increasing measurable output.

However, performance also includes contextual performance (helping coworkers, covering shifts, calming customers), adaptive performance (handling pressure and changing situations), and sustainable performance (maintaining performance over time without burnout). These forms of performance are not being measured or rewarded.

Because the system emphasizes tracking and correction, it unintentionally shapes behavior by:

• Rewarding compliance and error avoidance
• Discouraging initiative, flexibility, and extra-role behavior
• Increasing stress and reducing feelings of autonomy and trust

As a result, employees stop going above and beyond, even though those behaviors are critical to customer experience and long-term store success.

2. Danielle, Alyssa, and Chris: Job Satisfaction and Commitment

The three employees show different responses based on their level of job satisfaction and organizational commitment.

Danielle has high job satisfaction historically and strong affective commitment. She identifies with the store and takes pride in her work. However, she experiences a psychological contract breach when her extra effort and experience are no longer recognized. Feeling disrespected and unseen, she chooses to leave entirely.

Alyssa shows moderate commitment and responds by pulling back rather than quitting. She maintains strong task performance but reduces availability. This reflects citizenship withdrawal caused by an effortreward imbalance, where extra work becomes expected rather than appreciated.

Chris is newer and still developing commitment. While his performance is improving, unclear expectations and constant correction create anxiety and reduce job satisfaction. Because he still wants to stay with the organization, he chooses to transfer rather than exit, signaling disengagement from the role rather than the company.

3. Recommendations for Taylor

Action 1: Shift feedback from monitoring to coaching

Taylor should encourage managers to balance corrections with recognition of progress, problem-solving, and helping behaviors. This would improve psychological safety, reinforce contextual performance, and support intrinsic motivation without changing formal metrics.

Action 2: Reduce overload on high contributors and make extra effort voluntary

Taylor should stop relying on the same reliable employees for coverage and flexibility. Acknowledging discretionary effort and protecting employee boundaries improves equity perceptions and supports sustainable performance, reducing burnout and turnover.

Conclusion:

The stores narrow definition of performance improves short-term results but weakens job satisfaction and commitment. Small changes in how performance is discussed and managed can improve outcomes while retaining strong employees.