Teaching Note: Money for nothing

An experienced senior manager recently assigned to his first executive position in a newly acquired corporate security company must address an emerging personnel problem relating to incentive compensation. Employees retained after the acquisition expressed concern over a legacy bonus process that the new corporate management must rectify to maintain motivation, trust and confidence among employees. A supervisor allocated bonuses in a way that resulted in the workforce expressing frustration at perceived unfairness. The executive team had to immediately address the concerns of the employees and within a matter of days propose a solution to the bonus distribution problem. The case...