CASE STUDY NO 01:

Questions: 1. Consider the variable pay programs discussed in this chapter. Of which type of program is Applebee’s program an example? Explain.

Answer:
The variable pay program which Applebee’s International restaurant has adopted is Gain Sharing Plan. It is basically a technique that compensates workers based on improvements in the company's productivity. Gain sharing has a simple, but essential purpose to involve staff in helping to improve our business.
Referring to the case study , Face(senior manager of Applebee’s International restaurant)decided to adopt the gain sharing policy in order to minimize travel cost by attracting own employees towards travel benefits. He offered free domestic tickets to those employees who will use travel for 6 or more times in a year. Thus this strategy gave excellent results to the company and they were able to overcome travel expenses.

2. If you were asked to revise the Applebee’s program to include more individual incentives, how might you do that?

Answer:

Employee motivation is a vital process to increase a company’s profitability. I believe that there are many ways to motivate your employer. You can use financial or intrinsic rewards to motivate the employees. In some extend financial rewards fall back, and intrinsic rewards get the employees motivation. In this case, motivating the employees to use a proper system and fly more than six times a year is a great deal of management. For this purpose you have to develop incentive system that will motivate the employees individually to fly according to the system. For individual incentive, if employees fly more than five times a year they will get discount in their next flight tickets. And the discounted price will beaded in their salary. By this approach the employees will be motivated more to get the financial reward and use the system voluntarily. Employees will get ticket of business class rather than economy class. Vacations can also be an individual incentive, used as a long term bonus or even as a sales achievement goal.

3. How would you react to such a program? Explain your reactions. Answer:

The individual incentive system is mainly a financial reward. So there can be a confusion regarding such system. But if we communicate the program in detail with the individuals it would be effective beyond the concept. We would send mail to every single individual of the organization through the intranet and the internet regarding the incentive payment system in detail so that they can get it at anywhere in anytime. There would an opportunity to consult with their respective supervisors about the system's conditions and benefits. As an owner: Be Open and Up Front with Your Employees Introduce Cost Saving Measures Gradually Get Employees Involved in the Process Ask Employees for Feedback Some individuals fast track changes; others need to handle each step deliberately. As employees become aware that there is a change brewing, communicate to them as soon as possible. Make a list of all your employees and assess who is potentially impacted and how they may react to the change. Find your champion, as well as your greatest resister. Both of them will be your partners in creating change. Though for different reasons, your champions will help promote the change. Your resister will help you with the design of the change and communication.-Try to include your staff members in the process...gather their concerns as soon as possible. They may also have important points to add to the change process.

4. Why do you think more companies do not use these sorts of incentives?

Answer:

I think that different companies have different chain regarding their business strategy and decision making process about their incentives. In this Case Applebee's is a international and a huge chain restaurant which has a large number of branches. Though it is a food business so proper monitoring is mandatory. That is why the travelling is so frequent as well as the cost is remarkable. So it is the nature of business that indicates the monitoring purpose and the incentives paying system. Other companies might have different business strategies, different business purpose. Therefore most of the companies don’t follow this incentive system for travelling to motivate the employees.

CASE STUDY NO 02:
Questions:
1. If praising employees for doing a good job seems to be fairly easy and obvious motivational tool, why do you think managers and companies don’t often do that?
Answer:
Managers are afraid that praising someone is a sign of weakness and shows the employee that they have feelings. Also, many managers have a belief that positive statements to employees will let their guard down. It's hard to praise people from a management stand point. If you only praise one person, other people think they're not getting treated fairly if they do the same task and don't get praise. There's just no time for it. Something so seemingly easy can become political and distracting.

It is something that often gets overlooked as well. With all the things going on in the business world, you need to make sure you're running things right so the company is profitable and running well. Praise is easily put on a back burner, as keeping these people's jobs is your true priority. Often, it is management's feeling of obligation to the employee of things like job security and benefits that gets in the way of verbal or direct praise. While the intention is there, many employees will never hear it communicated.

It's best to assume that no news is good news. If you were doing something wrong, you'd probably hear about it. If you go above and beyond, people do notice. Even if it isn't said aloud, the people whose opinion matters are out there silently observing.

2. As a manger, what steps would you take to motivate your employees after observing them perform well?

Answer:

If the employees are performing well I will definitely motivate them intrinsically as well as extrinsically. When there is a boom in their performance I would appreciate them or praise them in front of all employees and management authorities. I will also provide them incentives such as bonuses, free travel opportunity, vacations and commission etc.

3. A re there any downsides to giving employees too much verbal praise? What might these downsides be and how could you alleviate them as a manager.

Answer:
Yes. If it is not genuine, do not bother. If it is excessive, it will not be taken seriously. Public and private praise are both effective and should be used together. Even if the associate is a little embarrassed about the proclamation of greatness, he/she still feels special.

4. As a manager, how would you ensure that recognition given to employees is distributed fairly and justly?

Answer:
As a manager, I would adopt the organizational justice in order to treat all employees equally. Organizational justice can be divided into three types 1. Distributive Justice 2. Procedural Justice 3. Interactional Justice

Based on all above three types, I as a manager, look after the rights of each and every employee. I will look for the balance between the company and my staff. I will always be their advocate and listen to them. The most important thing which I consider is respect. I will always thank them for coming to me. The success of any business matters a great deal on the people. Therefore, I will try my level best to treat justly.