Discussion Topic: Chapter 12

Concept and Brief Description: Pay for Group Performance

Gainsharing, by definition, is a group incentive program that measures improvements in productivity and effectiveness and distributes a portion of each gain to employees. The book highlights the Scanlon Plan, which is put into place to compensate employees for labor costs lower in ratio to sales production.

Emotional Hook:

Looking back at past jobs, I can see where working on a team towards a common goal, and being compensated for that effort, would have been very rewarding. The idea that two heads are better than one typically does right true. Having a diverse work team would mean a greater diversity of ideas on cost savings, time savings, and overall efficiency, which could ultimately lead to greater profit sharing.

Key Points:

Gainsharing, including the Scanlon Plan, rewards members of a group for attaining specific goals. Team members are more likely to go above and beyond their day-to-day tasks in order to achieve the goal. Goal is achieved through a group effort rather individual.

Lecture Summary: Chapter 11

Today, we had Jeff, Vice President of People, from Ancestry.com, speak to the class regarding people management. The most informative bit of information I received from his presentation is that salaried employees are not exempt from overtime and employees cannot volunteer to work without pay. I wish I had known this when I was younger. I once “had” to miss Christmas on a houseboat at Lake Powell with my family because my boss told me I had to work on a project. I spent an additional 30 hours on that project and did not get paid because “I was salaried.” This happened time and time again with this particular employer. I was forced to work weekends, holidays, late nights (even though I was a single parent) and did not get compensated. If I seem uncooperative at all, I was made to feel threatened that I would lose my job.

Discussion Topic: Chapter 11

Concept and Brief Description

Employee judgment about pay fairness. The book states that Equity Theory tells organizations that employees care about their pay relative to what others are earning and that these feelings are based on what the employee perceive.

Emotional Hook

I followed my boss to a new startup company. My new coworker had done the same with her boss. We were both directly under the CEO and CFO. We had the same amount of experience. We worked the same hours and initially performed the same tasks. At a certain point, she was content to stick with data entry, but I took the initiative to add new tasks to my job and create more responsibility for myself. After about a year, the workload was no longer fair. I was fully in charge of accounting and supervised 4 employees while she was a data entry associate, but we were still being paid an equal wage. When I inquired or complained, I was viewed as a “troublemaker.” My input was no longer equal to my output. My responsibilities had greatly increased, but my wages stayed the same as a data entry person. And I was inadvertently threatened with a job loss if I complained.

Key Points

In the book, it states that employees typically respond to equity/inequity by: Putting forth less effort (reduce input), find ways to increase outcomes (stealing), or withdraw by leaving the organization.

Facilitative Question
How can jobs be defined in such a way that it is clear to the employee how a raise can be earned? In what ways can a company plan and develop a career path that includes compensation packages so that employees feel motivated to continue striving towards and excellence and working towards greater opportunity?