Discretionary Bonus Pools and Employees' Influence Activities

Discretionary Bonus Pools and Employees' Influence Activities
Author: Florian Elsinger
Publisher:
Total Pages: 51
Release: 2017
Genre:
ISBN:

This study experimentally investigates how the extent of superior discretion over the allocation of a bonus pool affects the output of a team when employees can engage in unproductive influence activities. Granting superiors high discretion allows them to use non-verifiable information and observations in order to mitigate free-rider incentives in teams. Prior research, however, also suggests that discretion may give rise to unproductive influence activities of employees. The question, therefore, is whether organizations should reduce superiors' discretion extent in order to mitigate influence activities in teams. Conventional economic theory assumes that superiors optimally account for influence activities in bonus decisions if they have incentives to do so. Reducing the discretion extent therefore harms superiors' flexibility and may impair the efficiency of discretionary bonus pools. Relying on behavioral theory, however, I argue that superiors likely overweight their personal information in bonus decisions. This increases incentives for employees to engage in influence activities under high discretion and detracts them from contributing to team output. I thus predict that reducing superiors' discretion extent actually increases team output. Furthermore, I predict and show that the degree of mutual monitoring between peers amplifies the positive effect of reducing superiors' discretion extent. The reason is that influence activities of peers are more salient under a high degree of monitoring and thereby affect behavior and fairness perceptions of employees more strongly. Reducing the discretion extent therefore becomes particularly important with higher degrees of mutual monitoring. This study contributes to the literature on discretionary bonus pools by providing evidence on the failure of superiors to sufficiently account for influence activities in bonus decisions and, thus, on the benefits of limiting superiors' discretion extent.

Organization Theory

Organization Theory
Author: Veekay Narayanan
Publisher: McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Total Pages: 648
Release: 1993
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN:

Perspectives on Positive Political Economy

Perspectives on Positive Political Economy
Author: James E. Alt
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 284
Release: 1990-09-28
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780521398510

This volume serves as an introduction to the field of positive political economy and the economic and political processes with which it is concerned. This new research tradition is distinct from both normative and historical approaches to political economy. Grounded in the rational-actor methodology of microeconomics, positive political economy is the study of rational decisions in a context of political and economic institutions. More analytical than traditional approaches, it is concerned with the derivation of principles and propositions against which real-world experience may be compared. Its focus is on empirical regularities, and its goal is theoretical explanation. The field has focused on three main areas of research: models of collective action, constraints on competitive market processes, and the analysis of transaction costs. Developments in all of these areas are covered in the book. The first part of the volume surveys the field, while the second part displays positive political economy at work, examining a variety of subjects. The final part contains essays by leading political economists on the theoretical foundations of the field.

Ask a Manager

Ask a Manager
Author: Alison Green
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2018-05-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0399181822

From the creator of the popular website Ask a Manager and New York’s work-advice columnist comes a witty, practical guide to 200 difficult professional conversations—featuring all-new advice! There’s a reason Alison Green has been called “the Dear Abby of the work world.” Ten years as a workplace-advice columnist have taught her that people avoid awkward conversations in the office because they simply don’t know what to say. Thankfully, Green does—and in this incredibly helpful book, she tackles the tough discussions you may need to have during your career. You’ll learn what to say when • coworkers push their work on you—then take credit for it • you accidentally trash-talk someone in an email then hit “reply all” • you’re being micromanaged—or not being managed at all • you catch a colleague in a lie • your boss seems unhappy with your work • your cubemate’s loud speakerphone is making you homicidal • you got drunk at the holiday party Praise for Ask a Manager “A must-read for anyone who works . . . [Alison Green’s] advice boils down to the idea that you should be professional (even when others are not) and that communicating in a straightforward manner with candor and kindness will get you far, no matter where you work.”—Booklist (starred review) “The author’s friendly, warm, no-nonsense writing is a pleasure to read, and her advice can be widely applied to relationships in all areas of readers’ lives. Ideal for anyone new to the job market or new to management, or anyone hoping to improve their work experience.”—Library Journal (starred review) “I am a huge fan of Alison Green’s Ask a Manager column. This book is even better. It teaches us how to deal with many of the most vexing big and little problems in our workplaces—and to do so with grace, confidence, and a sense of humor.”—Robert Sutton, Stanford professor and author of The No Asshole Rule and The Asshole Survival Guide “Ask a Manager is the ultimate playbook for navigating the traditional workforce in a diplomatic but firm way.”—Erin Lowry, author of Broke Millennial: Stop Scraping By and Get Your Financial Life Together

Designing an Effective Pay for Performance Compensation System

Designing an Effective Pay for Performance Compensation System
Author: Cynthia H. Ferentinos
Publisher:
Total Pages: 51
Release: 2006-07
Genre:
ISBN: 9781422305881

Federal Government agencies are moving to better align pay with performance & create organizational cultures that emphasize performance rather than tenure. However, agencies must invest time, money, & effort in the design of their pay for performance compensation systems in order to succeed. To help agencies understand the critical prerequisites to success & key decision points, a review was conducted of professional & academic writings on the topic of pay for performance. This user-friendly guide summarizes the research findings. Contents: a summary of pay for performance; benefits & risks associated with pay for performance; pay for performance decision points; conclusions & recommendations; & bibliography. Illustrations.

Sustainable Human Resource Management

Sustainable Human Resource Management
Author: Sita Vanka
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 314
Release: 2020-08-13
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9811556563

This book provides a multi-stakeholder perspective on sustainable HRM for the policymakers, managers and academics, addressing issues, approaches, research studies/frameworks and emerging patterns relating to the subject. It discusses various aspects of sustainability, such as making HR more responsible for ensuring sustainability focusing on the triple bottom line, characteristics of sustainable HRM, psychological contracts, emotional intelligence, and psychological capital. The book also explores organizational citizenship behavior, employment relations, employee engagement, sustainable leadership, disruptive HR practices, sustaining employee motivation, educational sustainability, sustainable career management, sustainable environment, employer and employee branding, sustainable organizations, organization culture, training for sustainability, sustainable employee performance, business sustainability and sustainable employability. It provides an update on the concept, processes, issues and emerging paradigms from multidimensional and cross-country perspectives to showcase sustainable HR practices, and appeals to the academics, practitioners and policymakers in the area of HRM.

Handbook of Human Resources Management

Handbook of Human Resources Management
Author: Matthias Zeuch
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2016-05-09
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9783662441510

Human Resources topics are gaining more and more strategic importance in modern business management. Only those companies that find the right answers to the following questions have a sustainable basis for their future success: - How can we attract and select the right talent for our teams? - How can we develop the skills and behaviors which are key for our business? - How can we engage and retain the talent we need for our future? While most other management disciplines have their standards and procedures, Human Resources still lacks a broadly accepted basis for its work. - operational perspective Both the structured collection of reflected real-life experience and the multi-perspective view support readers in making informed and well-balanced decisions. With this handbook, Springer provides a landmark reference work on today’s HR management, based on the combined experience of more than 50 globally selected HR leaders and HR experts. Rather than theoretical discussions about definitions, the handbook focuses on sharing practical experience and lessons learned from the most relevant business perspectives: - cultural / emotional perspective - economic perspective - risk perspective

The Complete Guide to Sales Force Incentive Compensation

The Complete Guide to Sales Force Incentive Compensation
Author: Andris Zoltners
Publisher: AMACOM
Total Pages: 511
Release: 2006-08-07
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0814429726

A well-designed and implemented incentive program is an essential tool for building a motivated, highly effective sales force that delivers the results you need. Incentive programs are seductively powerful but complicated instruments. Without careful planning and implementation, they can be too stingy to motivate, too complex to understand, too quick to reward mediocre results, and too difficult to implement. The Complete Guide to Sales Force Incentive Compensation is a practical, accessible, detailed roadmap to building a compensation system that gets it right by creating motivating incentives that produce positive outcomes. Packed with hundreds of real-life examples of what works and what doesn't, this important guide helps you: Understand the value of building an incentive plan that is aligned with your company's goals and culture. Avoid the common trap of overusing incentives to solve too many sales management problems. Measure the effectiveness of your current incentive program, employing easy-to-use tools and metrics for pinpointing its weak spots. Design a compensation plan that attracts and retains successful salespeople, including guidelines for determining the correct pay level, the best salary incentive mix, the proper performance measures, and the right performance payout relationship. Select an incentive compensation plan that works for your organization -- then test the plan before it is launched. Set territory-level goals that are fair and realistic, and avoid overpaying the sales force or demoralizing salespeople by having difficult goals or not fairly assigned. Create and manage sales contests, SPIFFs (Special Performance Incentive for Field Force), and recognition programs that consistently deliver the intended results. Manage a successful transition to a new compensation plan and build efficient administration systems to support your plan. Filled with ready-to-use formulas and assessment tools and a wealth of insights from frontline sales managers and executives, The Complete Guide to Sales Force Incentive Compensation is your hands-on, easy-to-read playbook for crucially important decisions.

Measuring and Managing Performance in Organizations

Measuring and Managing Performance in Organizations
Author: Robert Austin
Publisher: Addison-Wesley
Total Pages: 286
Release: 2013-07-15
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 0133488403

This is the digital version of the printed book (Copyright © 1996). Based on an award-winning doctoral thesis at Carnegie Mellon University, Measuring and Managing Performance in Organizations presents a captivating analysis of the perils of performance measurement systems. In the book’s foreword, Peopleware authors Tom DeMarco and Timothy Lister rave, “We believe this is a book that needs to be on the desk of just about anyone who manages anything.” Because people often react with unanticipated sophistication when they are being measured, measurement-based management systems can become dysfunctional, interfering with achievement of intended results. Fortunately, as the author shows, measurement dysfunction follows a pattern that can be identified and avoided. The author’s findings are bolstered by interviews with eight recognized experts in the use of measurement to manage computer software development: David N. Card, of Software Productivity Solutions; Tom DeMarco, of the Atlantic Systems Guild; Capers Jones, of Software Productivity Research; John Musa, of AT&T Bell Laboratories; Daniel J. Paulish, of Siemens Corporate Research; Lawrence H. Putnam, of Quantitative Software Management; E. O. Tilford, Sr., of Fissure; plus the anonymous Expert X. A practical model for analyzing measurement projects solidifies the text–don’t start without it!

The Handbook of Organizational Economics

The Handbook of Organizational Economics
Author: Robert S. Gibbons
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 1248
Release: 2013
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0691132798

(E-book available via MyiLibrary) In even the most market-oriented economies, most economic transactions occur not in markets but inside managed organizations, particularly business firms. Organizational economics seeks to understand the nature and workings of such organizations and their impact on economic performance. The Handbook of Organizational Economics surveys the major theories, evidence, and methods used in the field. It displays the breadth of topics in organizational economics, including the roles of individuals and groups in organizations, organizational structures and processes, the boundaries of the firm, contracts between and within firms, and more.