LumaLit Ltd (LL) manufactures adjustable desk lamps for online retailers. LL has grown quickly, but customer complaints about late deliveries and minor defects have increased. Most production employees repeat one narrow assembly task for an hourly wage. Supervisors closely monitor the line and record output every hour. Employees say the work is boring and that managers only notice mistakes, not good performance. Absenteeism has increased.

The operations director wants to introduce a piece-rate payment system and stricter standard methods based on time-and-motion studies. She believes employees will work faster if they can earn more money for each lamp assembled. The HR manager argues that LL should instead redesign jobs by rotating employees between tasks, allowing teams to solve quality problems and introducing monthly recognition for employees who suggest improvements. LL cannot afford to introduce both proposals immediately.

HarbourStay (HS) operates three small hotels in a coastal city. HS has a reputation for friendly service, but recent online reviews mention slow check-in and tired-looking staff. Housekeeping and reception employees receive basic wages slightly above the legal minimum. They also receive free meals during shifts. Managers rarely consult employees about rota changes, and many employees say they do not understand how their work contributes to HS's goal of becoming the most sustainable hotel group in the city.

The managing director is considering adding the following two changes to the existing reward package. First, all employees would receive a small performance-related bonus if guest satisfaction scores improve each month. Second, HS would introduce non-financial rewards: employees would be placed in small sustainability teams, trained to reduce waste and empowered to make low-cost improvements to guest services. Some supervisors are concerned that teamwork and empowerment will reduce control and create conflict between departments.

CycleSewn Ltd (CSL) manufactures recycled-fabric backpacks for school and university students. CSL currently uses small production teams. Each team completes several stages of production and is paid a time-rate wage. Team leaders can adjust the order of tasks and suggest design improvements. CSL’s managing director is concerned that productivity is lower than competitors and that unit labour costs are rising. Some employees say that they enjoy the variety of work, but others believe that the current system rewards slow workers as much as fast workers.

CSL is considering two options:

• Option 1: Introduce Taylor’s scientific management. Jobs would be divided into narrow, standardized tasks, employees would be closely supervised and paid a piece rate for each backpack section completed.
• Option 2: Keep the time-rate wage but introduce job enrichment, employee recognition awards and more opportunities for teams to solve quality problems.

Table 1 shows selected data for CSL.

PetWell Clinics (PWC) operates six veterinary clinics in a large city. Veterinary nurses at PWC help with animal care, customer communication and cleaning treatment rooms. Demand for appointments has increased, but managers are concerned about demotivation among nurses. Recent employee comments include: “The work is meaningful, but we are exhausted”, “New nurses do not get enough support” and “Managers only notice us when something goes wrong”.

PWC is considering two approaches:

• Approach A: Increase financial rewards by raising hourly wages and adding fringe payments such as subsidized transport and private health insurance.
• Approach B: Increase non-financial rewards by improving induction training, introducing on-the-job mentoring, using job rotation between clinic duties and giving monthly recognition for excellent animal care.

Table 2 shows selected data for PWC and the local veterinary services industry.

CodeBridge (CB) develops software that helps charities manage donations. CB's programmers and customer-support employees are proud of the social purpose of the business, but motivation has recently fallen. Programmers complain that they now spend most of their time fixing similar errors rather than developing new features. Customer-support employees say they receive little training before dealing with charity clients. Managers have also introduced strict individual targets for the number of support tickets closed each day.

CB's HR director proposes a new motivation programme. It would include off-the-job training for customer-support employees, on-the-job coaching from experienced programmers, job enrichment for programmers through responsibility for small innovation projects, and job enlargement for support employees by asking them to help write user guides. The finance director is worried about the cost of training and the loss of working time. He believes CB should instead increase individual performance-related pay for employees who meet daily targets.

Lumen Analytics (LA) provides data-analysis services for retail businesses. Its consultants work in project teams and are expected to find creative solutions for clients. LA recently introduced individual performance-related pay (PRP) based on the number of billable client hours recorded each month. Managers also use a single annual summative appraisal to decide promotions.

During the last year, several experienced consultants left LA. Exit interviews suggest concerns about unfair targets, lack of feedback and limited promotion opportunities. LA’s HR director is considering a new motivation and retention programme:

• replace the single annual summative appraisal with formative appraisal and 360-degree feedback;
• revise PRP so that rewards are based on both team client satisfaction and individual contribution;
• fill future senior consultant vacancies mainly through internal recruitment rather than external recruitment.

Table 3 shows selected HR and performance data for LA.

MealMates Kitchen (MMK) – a social enterprise reducing food waste and youth unemployment

Read the resources and answer the questions that follow.

Resource 1 — Background

MealMates Kitchen (MMK) collects unsold food from supermarkets and uses it to prepare low-cost meals for elderly residents. MMK also employs young people who have been unemployed for more than one year, training them as kitchen assistants. Any surplus is reinvested into free cooking classes in disadvantaged neighbourhoods.

MMK has grown quickly after a local government contract doubled the number of meals it must provide. To meet the contract, the operations manager introduced standardized recipes, strict preparation times and close supervision. Some kitchen assistants say the work is becoming repetitive and that managers care more about the number of meals than the social mission.

Resource 2 — Table 1: Selected workforce and operational data for MMK

Resource 3 — Extracts from an anonymous employee survey

• “I joined because I wanted to make a difference, but now I feel like I am just rushing trays of food.”
• “New assistants are given one day of induction and then expected to keep up.”
• “Supervisors correct mistakes, but we rarely get feedback on how to improve.”

Resource 4 — Social-media and funding information

MMK has 86 000 followers on social media. A recent post about its youth employment programme was shared 18 400 times. A foundation has offered MMK a two-year grant to fund either a training coordinator or a wage increase for all kitchen assistants, but not both.

RepairLoop Devices (RLD) – a social enterprise refurbishing technology for low-income students

Read the resources and answer the questions that follow.

Resource 1 — Background

RepairLoop Devices (RLD) refurbishes donated laptops and tablets, then sells them at very low prices to schools and families. RLD employs 32 paid technicians and works with 46 trained volunteers. It also provides paid work placements for refugees with technical qualifications that are not yet recognized locally.

RLD plans to open a second refurbishment hub in another city. The founder, Imani, must appoint six team leaders quickly. Some trustees want internal recruitment to motivate existing technicians and volunteers. Others want external recruitment because RLD lacks managers with experience of scaling operations.

Resource 2 — Table 1: Selected HR indicators at RLD

Resource 3 — Extract from a staff meeting

A technician said: “Volunteers sometimes receive public praise and training opportunities, but paid technicians are expected to repair more devices with less recognition. We support the mission, but the reward system does not feel fair.”

Resource 4 — Appraisal and social-media information

RLD currently uses an annual summative appraisal completed by one supervisor. Imani is considering 360-degree feedback for team leaders and self-appraisal for work-placement employees. RLD has 142 000 followers on social media, and a video showing a refurbished laptop being delivered to a student received 1.2 million views.

SafeRide Mobility (SRM) – a social enterprise providing adapted bicycles and wheelchairs

Read the resources and answer the questions that follow.

Resource 1 — Background

SafeRide Mobility (SRM) designs, repairs and leases adapted bicycles and wheelchairs for people with disabilities. SRM's social objective is to improve independent mobility while providing meaningful employment for neurodiverse adults. Most employees work in small workshop teams that assemble customized products.

Demand has increased after a hospital network asked SRM to supply standardized wheelchair repair kits. The contract could provide stable revenue, but it would require SRM to produce more routine kits alongside its customized work. The operations manager has suggested using Taylor's scientific management and a piece-rate wage for repair-kit assembly. The HR manager argues that SRM should instead increase job enrichment, teamwork and training.

Resource 2 — Table 1: Selected workforce and performance information

Resource 3 — Employee comments

• “I like setting challenging goals and seeing a customer's mobility improve.”
• “Repeating the same repair-kit task all day makes me anxious and bored.”
• “I would accept routine work if there were clear training, feedback and a path to become a senior technician.”

Resource 4 — Financial, training and public-support information

The hospital contract would fund 18 months of work. SRM can afford only one major HR initiative in the first year: a piece-rate bonus for repair-kit output, an off-the-job training programme for senior technicians, or a job-rotation and enrichment scheme across customized work and repair-kit assembly. SRM has 54 000 followers on social media; a customer quotation posted online said, “SRM gave me freedom to travel to work independently for the first time.”