Question

Select a case. It can be one of the textbook cases that we have not discussed during the course. It can also come from the outside world, perhaps a case you have been following in the HR business world. Do an extensive web search to ensure your summary includes the most up-to-date information available.

Write a 450-word (+/- 10%) analysis. Your analysis should include:

a summary of the case and the conflicts; and

your strategy for resolving the conflicts.

Answer 1

Employee performance management systems is a vital component of a HR function. Using performance assessment the deserving candidates get more exposure, higher positions and better compensation benefits. For an employee, one of the motivations he might have to work better is when appropriate incentives are provided. It has become a cardinal rule that every organization that is focused on the building a good working culture should provide appropriate incentives for hard working deserving employees. If the position does not offer such incentives, then the HR team should start practicing such initiatives. It can increase the morale, boost motivation, improves the working environment and bring a change in culture which increases opportunities for new prospective employees.

There are two cases given in the shared link which focuses on the disparity in wages. As given in the case, there are two employees who have were working on the same job. But their pay scales are different and this can lead to sharing different incentives for them. In all organizations, the employee`s are hired based on their experience, education and their skillset. In most cases the position which is being offered would have a salary range which can mean the highest would go the best available candidate. The candidates were hired in different pay grades and subsequently the increments and incentives were different. As given in the case, the employee who earned a higher salary did a better research and negotiated a better deal with the company. The other employee who did was not getting the hike he wanted, soon did the same kind of research and obtained a 200% hike. This shows the importance of doing background study on not just the company but also the rewards and compensation packages being offered in the organization.

In most companies, there are lot of employees who may not have done these kind of research and are stuck with a lower pay till they either get promoted or move to a different organization. One way in which companies address such concern is by giving alternate incentives to the deserving candidates and one of the most common one is the long term incentive scheme. The long term incentive scheme would mean all employees who are rated similarly high would get a same fixed incentive for a particular set of grades. This would remove any issues which is related to the salary and wage structure since the incentive would be an additional amount which is independent of the wage structure. For the given case, the same can be done but there should not be a difference in the existing policy with regards to the giving one employee a fair share and other a higher one because of difference in pay grades.

Reference for the case study: hbr.org/2016/03/when-you-find-out-a-coworker-makes-more-money-than-you-do