A Zero Wage Increase Again Case Study

Phuong Nguyen

09.19.2016

“A Zero Wage Increase Again” Case Study”

        Store owner o f a large hardware, furniture, and building have been facing a dilemma regarding how to manage the upcoming wage review process. After two years of frozen wages, employee are getting impatient because there was no money left in the budget for wage increases. As the store owner, Mark Coglin, walks around the store he makes notice about his employee. There are some employees that would call out regularly, ignoring customer, talking among themselves while there are employees that enjoy what they are doing and would go above and beyond at their work. Mark was actually on his way to meet Aaron to discuss about if there could be a potential money left over from the budget to have a rise this year. Sadly, Aaron broke the news to Mark there will not be any remaining from the budget. Not surprise, Mark was thinking that this will be 3 consecutive years with no raises, employee will not be happy. However, Aaron presented to Mark that there is way to have some budget for the rises, but Mark was thinking was this legal. Aaron presented to Mark that if they were to reduce on marketing and few areas where money don’t necessary need to be made then there could be 2.5 to 3.0 per cent increase, that’s even more than the inflation rate but Mark have to think this through because it was not the way he wanted to know if there will be a raises this year. Taken the information he has on the way to his office he was thinking well if there no raises this year many employees will be dishearten. On his way, he saw an employee who been working with the company for 8 years and was doing a fabulous job and another who was just working for 2 months but are able to apprehend tasks very fast. In his office, Mark was thinking that it wasn’t a bad idea to give a raises but what if cutting off the employee that are not doing their job to give raises to employee who are doing their job. Hesitating, Mark believe that by doing this then some employee would be unhappy.

        The outcome that Mark seems to really wants is to get a raises for his all his employee, however there seem to not have much budget left in the plan to do so unless Mark cut down on some expenses in different area or give some raises to employee who are doing well in their work tasks.

I think in Mark’s mind he should keep procedural justice and distributive justice when making his decision. With procedural justice in mind, he knows that if he were to cut money from other areas and put into wages it wasn’t the right way to increase the employee’s wage. It will solve the problem at the moment but it will later on be a problem that needs to be fix because what if the money that were suppose to be put in marketing were cut down, which mean advertising will be less that could lead to company not be known. One problem is solved; another one will appear. As for distributive justice, Mark should have taken into the consideration that some employees are not doing their job while some are exceeding their work. For those who are not doing their jobs should be taken into consideration of no raises unless proven to the company or talk to them and explain that certain things need to be change. It will be fair to those who are doing their work without needing to be ask while none do nothing.