Group 4 HR201

Case Study 7: The Unhappy Supervisor

Miss Joan Santos, a computer programmer in Mannadel Corporation for more than six years now, was
discussing her salary situation with Mr. Roderick Santiago, her manager. Miss Joan was unhappy because she did
not receive any salary increase last salary evaluation, while some employees who were recently hired got an increase
from ten to fifteen percent.

Miss Joan's performance has been considered very satisfactory for the last five years and previous to this she
got very substantial increases in salary due to the important programs that she made for the corporation related to
accounting and personnel matters. She made a lot of improvements in the purchasing systems and systematized
inventory records in materials management.

The management had recently started a comprehensive job evaluation program and some positions are
aligned within the salary grade approved by the management committee, where Mr. Roderick Santiago is also a
member. Mr. Santiago explained to Joan that her salary was already way above the salary grade for the position
evaluated and allocated in the salary plan; hence, she will not get any increase at the moment until salary range can
catch up to her level in the salary plan. Mr. Santiago also explained that she is the most senior among the
programmers and that instead of cutting her salary back to the job range, they are considering her for an incentive
bonus, which is not as substantial as that of her co-worker's in the department who are new in the position.

Miss Joan is not satisfied with the program explained by Mr. Santiago. The whole night she planned to file
leave of absence despite the many rush programs assigned to her.

Statement of the Problem:

What should the Management do regarding the distribution of salary in the department to satisfy Miss Joan Santos?

Statement of Objectives:
  To create a salary program that will satisfy Miss Joan Santos.
 To implement a reward system that will compensate Miss Joan Santos for her exceptional efforts in
improving the company’s purchasing system and systematizing the inventory records.
 To prevent Miss Joan Santos from filing a leave of absence.

Areas of Consideration:

Miss Joan Santos didn't receive any salary increase even she is almost 6 years working with the company and
already made a very satisfactory performance. It resulted for her to be unhappy, unsatisfied, and feel unfairness
while her co-workers have already received 10% to 15% though they just started with the company a year ago.

Alternative Courses of Action:

1. Create salary charts with increments that the employees are going to get at specific times.

Advantages:
 Helps eliminate internal conflict and anger between Miss Joan Santos and the management due to
the inconsistent salary ranges.
 Puts employees in control, people like to feel they're in control of their careers and this will
encourage Miss Joan Santos to stay with the company.
 Increase Competition, will give employees a reason to outperform the rest of the department.
Disadvantages:
 Difficulty in coming up with a metric that works.
 Can create greater resentment than a regular salary program can.

2. Offer bonus for efficient workers who provide their time and efforts for the well-being of the
company.

Advantages:
 This will not only show Miss Joan Santos she was appreciated for her hard work, but it will
motivate her to continue to work hard for further rewards.
Disadvantages:
 Costly for the company.
 Fairness and Jealousy Issues, other employees may become jealous of Miss Joan Santos’ salary
which may create conflict.

3. Conduct employee recognition programs to award the best employees to increase morale.

Advantages:
 Will fulfill the intrinsic need of Miss Joan Santos to be appreciated.
 Creates job satisfaction.
 increases employee engagement and raises morale.
Disadvantages:
 Can become very expensive to recognize employees on a consistent basis.
 Can create an environment where favoritism is perceived.
  May create a sense of entitlement.

Recommendations and Conclusion:

Since the problem is Miss Joan Santos’ dissatisfaction with her salary, I recommend ACA 1 to be used to
solve this problem, this will ease her dissatisfaction by giving her salary increments accordingly with her efforts,
therefore preventing the company from suffering losses if she did not perform the tasks assigned to her. It will
encourage her to do her best and this will also be beneficial for the company as well because this salary program will
only be given to her to other excellent employees only at specific times which will not be costly.

In conclusion, salary dissatisfaction may lead to decreased motivation, increased turnover, decreased morale, and
poor-quality work. Salary satisfaction or job satisfaction in general is important not only for the employees
themselves but also for the company because they are intrinsically connected.