Variable Compensation Program – Types, Pros and Cons

Performance Related Pay is a kind of a payment system which relates the wages and salaries with the performance of an employee. It includes incentive payments, merit pay, etc. Performance Related Pay is also known as Variable Compensation. Variable compensation programs are customized in such an order that, as said before, the performance of the employees depicts their incomes. It does not depend on his/her designation in an organization. These programs are designed to motivate individuals and groups that contribute effectively, as they differentiate between performers and non-performers. Many companies believe that a variable compensation program enhances productivity and motivates employees. The American Management Association, based on a study of 83 companies, concluded that grievances had dropped by 83%. absenteeism by 84% and lost – time by 64%, after variable pay programs were introduced in these firms. Variable compensation is also one of the employee involvement programs. Such programs make Continue reading

Sensory Branding

In today’s highly competitive global environment, companies, on a constant basis, have to find new ways to position their brands in consumers’ mind. No amount of advertising and sales promotions can do any good if a brand does not confer a distinctive benefit. Brands need to be geared up to provide a complete package of functional, sensory and emotional experiences. Touching and triggering all the five senses of the consumers–touch, smell, sight, sound, and taste — creates a compelling brand experience. The more multi-sensory appeal that a brand has, the higher is the number of sensory triggers activated and resultantly, higher the bonding between the brand and the consumer. Sensory branding attempts to foster a lasting emotional connect between the brand and the consumer, using a deliberate design and deployment of interaction with the senses. In brand communication, all the five senses need to be evoked to create optimum impact Continue reading

Definitions of Key Terms in Integrated Marketing Communications

Integrated means that combine or coordinate separate elements so as to provide a harmonious, interrelated whole. In other word, when all marketing communication tool work together, it will be more effective than work as a single component. It will create more competitive advantages, boost sales and profit, while saving cost, time and stress if this concept is incorporated in marketing strategy. So, if the marketing communication tools are combined as a group it will produce more powerful outcome in the process of delivering customer superior value. Marketing The root word for marketing is market. Market is defined as a place for consumer and sellers to carry out transaction that required cash as an exchange medium for obtaining a product or service. Marketing can be defined in two perspectives which include old view or new view of marketing. From the new view of marketing, it is all about the creation of Continue reading

Managing the Sales Force Effectively

The face of any organization is the sales force. Companies spend a considerable amount of time and money on managing the sales force rather than on any other promotional activity. However, sales force is expensive and companies are looking forward to managing them in an efficient and effective manner.  The  management of sales force consists of following: Compensating the Sales Force A compensation plan should constantly stimulate the salesman to put in their best efforts, quantitatively and qualitatively, to achieve the desired and planned levels of sales. Compensation must be fair to the management and the salesmen. It should enthuse efficient salesmen and help remove inefficient ones. It should be simple, flexible, easy to administrate, economic and capable of achieving the personal selling objectives of the firm. Periodic review and vision of the compensation plan is essential. Motivating the Sales Force It is the crunch of sales force management. The Continue reading

Wage Determination Process

Wages can be expressed in two ways. When they are expressed in terms  of money paid to the worker they are called nominal wages. But when they are  expressed in terms of their purchasing power with reference to some base year  they are called real wages. These wages are arrived at by making adjustment in  the nominal wages for the rise or fall in the cost of living. How do we measure changes in the cost of living, or changes in the  prices that consumers pay? The measuring rod is the consumer price index  number. This index number is intended to show over a period of time the  average percentage change in the prices paid by the consumers belonging to the  population group proposed to be covered by the index for a fixed list of goods  and services consumed by them. The average percentage change, measured by  the index, is Continue reading

Emerging Trends in Global Organizational Structures

Though global organizational structures tend to depict certain kind of rigidity, structure tends to change and new trends emerge. Mixed Nature of Structures Because of growth dynamics, companies change their organizational structures. Simplified organizational structures get replaced by complex or mixed structures. Until organizational re-structuring is made, new acquisitions might report to headquarters.  Circumstances prevailing in a particular country, product, or function might necessitate separate handling until a re-structuring is effected, apart from the overall structure. The structure of 100% subsidiaries is different from that of JVs. 100% subsidiaries enable a deeper network of communications. Overall structure may be incomplete and less revealing. PepsiCo is organized by product lines, namely soft drinks and snacks. This would seem to imply that each product line is integrated globally. However, each line has its own global division, which separates it from domestic operations. Structures Evolve to Suit Growth and Need A company that Continue reading