HRM Supplemental Exercises

Click on the following links. Please note these will open in a new window.

First, read “Why United’s Bonus Lottery Was Doomed From the Start by Chris Cancialosi in Forbes at https://www.forbes.com/sites/chriscancialosi/2018/03/12/why-uniteds-bonus-lottery-was-doomed-from-the-start/#1240bba21692

Second, watch Creating an Effective Employee Bonus Plan on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvVrGOao1ww (5 minutes).

After reading Chapter 12 and the materials above, please address the following questions:

  1. Would you be more motivated by a bonus lottery system or a more traditional bonus structure? Why?
  2. What do you think are United’s objectives in providing bonuses to employees? Do you think a bonus lottery system aligns with those objectives?
  3. The author of the Forbes piece says, “At the end of the day, what gets measured gets managed, and what gets rewarded gets done.” What do you think he means by this, and how does it relate to the article?
  4. Why is it important for bonuses to be tied to individual performance instead of overall organizational performance?
  5. Do you think money is a powerful motivator? Why or why not?