Question 1: Write (300-400 words) Do results from the survey illustrate typical complaints about teams and specifically about team incentive rewards? Explain.

TEAM-BASED INCENTIVES: NOT Conner organized his 20 sales reps into 4 teams YOUR USUAL OFFICE of 5 reps. Sales teams would pool their commis- Done-Deal Paper Inc. operates throughout Western the sale. After the first year of this team-based sions regardless of who initiated and worked on Canada with offices in Calgary, Saskatoon, and incentive program, sales commissions across the Vancouver. Providing paper and paper needs to four groups varied dramatically. For instance, most of Western Canada, Done-Deal is one of the the highest paid employees in a team made, on top two competitors in the area. In January 2014, Conner Carell, office manager members. average, $50,000 more than the lowest paid team of one of the branch offices for Done-Deal, somehow convinced company President and sales reps a survey requesting feedback on the During August 2014, Conner sent to all 20 CEO Bailey Zucker that they needed to change satisfaction with teams and, specifically, the team- the way their sales representatives were incen- based incentive rewards program. Although the tivized. He argued, "putting our sales reps into teams will not only increase cooperation, but survey results were generally positive, not every- it will increase sales right now there are too one was happy in the office. Problems could be grouped into the following categories: many sales being lost that could have been won through a team effort." Most of the time, sales 1. Some sales representatives believed that vari- made to clients required multiple interactions by ous team members did not "buy into the multiple reps anyway. Bailey agreed with Conner team concept and were simply "free riding"- and pointed out that teamwork can also improve benefitting from the efforts of higher-perform- morale and synergy. Based on these assessments, ing reps. . 2. There was a general feeling that some teams were assigned difficult regions that prevented them from achieving higher sales. 3. Teams did not always display the motiva- tion and synergy expected because "bicker- ing was prevalent between stars and their lesser-performing peers. Average performers complained that star reps made them look bad. 4. At least a third of the sales staff felt the incen- tive rewards program was unfair and asked for a return to individual sales incentives