Incentives Paper

1. From first glance at the metric system that Hiram used I thought that things for Rainbarrel were looking really well. Then it made sense to me that what he was seeing were just numbers. Sure they were showing improvement in all categories, but the employees weren't buying into the strategy implementations that were done over the year. From the lobby conversation in the case I could tell that the employees were only concerned with getting things done in order to keep management off of their backs. Hiram should've focused on ways to motivate his employees to get things done. Putting pressure on them to do things is only going to cause resentment and rebellion. If I were an employee and I was told that if I didn't hit the "target", that I was going to be put on a wall of shame, sure I would work harder to get it done, but I don't believe it would be good and healthy for my company. Pressuring people to work faster without thinking things through is not the way to go. Another thing was the reduction in labor costs. An across the board labor cut was absolutely ridiculous. He should've looked at where things were booming for the company and who was doing exceptionally well at their work before firing anybody.

2. First thing that should be done is that Hiram should forget about the whole metric thing and only look at that after he's fixed the pickle he's in now. He should sit down with department heads and focus on solving problems with employees through incentives such as bonuses, or vacation time. Instead of a wall of shame, how about a wall of fame for people who are doing tremendous jobs for Rainbarrel. That itself would motivate people to want to get recognition. Main thing is quit with the pressure and concentrate on making good relations with employees. Let them know that they have much to look forward to for their hard work.

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