Instructions:

Remembering that the best performance appraisal method is to use a "combination approach", recommend a performance appraisal system for Duplox. Please create one system that will apply to all jobs, and back up your recommendation (provide rationale). If and where the method varies among jobs, please describe how and why. Then, recommend the source(s) of appraisals. Your submission should be no more than 1-2 pages, and does not need to include forms (recommendation only).

Duplox Copiers Canada Limited Your Client Your client is Duplox Copiers Canada Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Duplox. Copiers Incorporated, which is a large multinational firm based in the United States. Duplox Copiers Canada Limited (DCCL) is responsible for the sales, installation, and servicing of Duplox-brand copiers, but not their manufacturing, which is carried out in other countries. DCCL has about 1,200 employees, most of them located in branch offices across Canada The head office for Duplox Canada is located in Toronto. Chart 1 shows the organizational structure at head office. The executive committee consists of the CEO and the fwo vice presidents. The company has six departments: Marketing; Finance and Administration; Human Resources; Inventory Management, Technical Services, and Technical Training and Support. Shana Friggstad, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Duplox Copiers Canada Limited, has requested your consulting services, and she is delighted that your team was assigned to her firm. DCCL is experiencing serious performance problems: employee turnover is up and morale is down, customer satisfaction is down and complaints are up; and, most importantly, revenue and profits are both down. President Friggstad knows that the compensation system used by a firm can contribute to all these problems, and since compensation is a major cost item (currently accounting for about 44 percent of the firm's costs) she suspects that the firm's compensation system may be implicated in these problems. But she can't be sure without your help. Because President Friggstad recognizes that compensation is just one of several important structural variables that must all fit together if effective organizational performance is to occur, you are authorized to suggest any changes to the managerial strategy and structure of the organization that are needed to make the new compensation system work. Your only limitation is that she wants no changes made to the company's six-department structure, which she believes is the best way to organize Beyond that, you have free rein to make recommendations about reward structure, job design, and the other structural dimensions. Duplox Operations and Structure DCCL earns revenues in three main ways. First, it earns through the margin on the sale of copiers The U.S. parent company sets the prices that Duplox Canada must pay for the copiers but allows Duplox Canada to charge whatever price the market will bear. Second, DCCL is reimbursed by the parent company for work that is covered by the manufacturer's warranty. This aspect of the business is not very profitable, since the parent company is not very generous in its reimbursement levels. Third, DCCL sells service contracts on the equipment that customers purchase. This is a very significant source of company revenues and is directly dependent on the quality of service provided. A major problem in recent years is that the company's technical service specialists (TSSs) appear to be experiencing a decline in their attitudes toward their work and the company, as indicated by both the firm's annual attitude survey and the increased turnover, and there has been a sharp increase in customer complaints about machine breakdowns and the quality of service received. TSSs install new machines, provide scheduled maintenance at regular intervals, and provide emergency maintenance in case of breakdowns, malfunctions, or copy quality problems. The performance of the technical service specialists is crucial to customer satisfaction with company products. Indeed, the Director of Marketing has been complaining bitterly that 'poor performance of the service personnel is crippling the efforts of my sales force. "The Director of Technical Services bitterly resents this criticism, believing that his department deserves praise, not criticism, for its productivity improvement and cost culting during the past two years - where the same number of machines are now being serviced by 20 percent fewer TSSs Duplox Canada employs about 550 technical service specialists located at about 25 branch offices across Canada. The operations of the company are divided into five geographical regions, each with about five branch offices. The Prairies (covering Aberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba) is one such region, with branch offices in Calgary (where the regional sales and service managers are located), Edmonton, Saskatoon, Regina, and Winnipeg. Charts 2 and 3 show the structure of the Technical Services Department and the structure of the Edmonton Branch, which is a typical branch office. Chart 2 Duplox Copiers Canada Limited Technical Services Department The Edmonton Branch has about 22. TSSs and is responsible for the northern half of Alberta. The branch is co-managed by the Branch Service Manager and the Branch Sales Manager. The Branch Sales Manager supervises approximately eight sales representatives, along with an Office Manager, who supervises two clerical staff. (Overall, Duplox employs about 200 sales reps across Canada.) The Branch Sales Manager reports to the Regional Sales Manager based in Calgary, who reports to the Director of Marketing in Toronto. Charts 4 and 5 illustrate reporting relationships in the Marketing Department. The Branch Service Manager supervises a small parts warehouse at the branch (most parts are kept at the national warehouse in Toronto, to reduce inventory costs), a couple of service clerks, and four field service managers (FSMs), each of whom supervises five or six technical service specialists. Because of an increasing variety and complexity of machines, each FSM and the TSSs under them specialize in a particular category of machine. Each FSM handles the scheduling of service and installation of all machines in their category (for example, the model 1000 series, which includes a variety of smaller copiers). When service calls come in from customers, they are received by a service clerk, who identifies the machine in question and directs the request to the appropriate FSM. Since many customers have two or more different models of equipment, one call may be directed to two or more different FSMs, each of whom would send out a TSS to deal with the model she or he is responsible for, Although this may not sound efficient, it does not happen very often, and the Director of Technical Services strongly believes that by increasing the speed of repairs and reducing fraining costs, the gains from specialization outweigh any inefficiencies from specialization. In fact, the average number of machines serviced by a TSS has increased by about 20 percent since this policy was instituted, and the number of TSSs has been reduced accordingly. Branch hours are from 8:30a.m to 5:00p.m, and all TSSs are expected to adhere to these hours (so Duplox can avoid paying overtime), except in emergency situations. which must be authorized by a field service manager. Since competition has been increasing in this tough market, and since company revenues and profitability levels have been slipping, expense budgets have been tightened in recent years, and the TSSs have been put under tighter control. Minimum monthly, weekly, and daily productivity levels are strictly specified for each TSS, and there are strict quotas on repair expenses and travel expenses. Prior approval from an FSM is required for many actions even if they are within budget limitations. A TSS cannot order parts or tools needed for maintenance; all have to be ordered by the FSM, within strict dollar limits. Since there is often a delay in receiving the parts, in many cases the TSS who starts the job is not the TSS who finishes the job. Because of he large territory covered, the relatively high level of TSS turnover, and the inpredictability of emergency calls, an individual TSS seldom visits the same customer vice in a row. Chart 4 Deplox Copiers Canada Limited Mlarketing Department When TSSs need technical advice from head office, where there are numerous technical support experts who specialize in various types of machines, they are required to call their FSM, who first attempts to solve the problem him-or herself before calling the Technical Support Department. (Chart 6 shows the structure of the Technical Training and Support Department.) One reason for the reluctance of the FSM to allow calls for technical support is that such calls are charged to the machine repair costs, on which field service managers are evaluated TSSs generally have little discretion over maintenance schedules and services; they are to be performed strictly according to schedule. However, in one area TSSs are not required to "go by the book." In theory, all installations of new equipment have to meet company standards in terms of space, ventilation, and wiring. But in practice, TSSs are not allowed to refuse installations that do not meet company specifications, unless they would resuit in safety problems. This is because the Director of Marketing, the Regional Sales Managers, the Branch Sales Managers, and the sales reps are mainly compensated based on volume of new instaliations, along with the volume of service contracts sold. (About 50 percent of the sales reps' direct pay is based on volume of sales, and the remainder is base salary.) Sales reps are reluctant to tell customers that they should make expensive alterations to their facilities in order to install the machine because then they might lose the sale in this heavity competitive business The executive committee has tacitly supported this practice, since they are evaluated by the parent firm on a combination of how many machines they sell and the profitability level of the Canadian operation. Sales managers don't seem to put much weight on the argument by the TSSs that improper installation can cause higher repair and service costs. This frustrates many TSSs, especially since they are frequently criticized by sales staff for performing "shoddy service, which causes more breakdowns and makes us look bad in the eyes of the customer. TSSs are paid a flat monthly salary plus overtime. Their performance is appraised once a year by the FSM, based mainly on how well they have adhered to productivity and expense standards. Merit raises are doled out by each FSM to one or two "deserving" TSSs each year. The Director of Technical Services, the Regional Sales Managers, the Branch Service Managers, and the FSMs are all paid on a salary plus bonus system. The bonus depends on whether TSS productivity met or exceeded standards in the past year, and whether repair and service expenses were below standard. These bonuses, if achieved, can double their earnings. Compensation for the Director of Inventory Management and her two managers is based partly on minimizing inventory carrying charges (Chart 7 shows the structure of the Inventory Management Department). Compensation for the Director of Technical Training and Support is partly based on the level of cost recovery she can obtain from the Technical Services Department and partly on keeping the overall cost of her department down The Manager of Sales Training thinks that part of the sales problem is insufficient sales training for new sales reps. Compensation for the Manager of Sales Training is based partly on the extent of recovery of training costs because Branch Sales Managers are required to charge sales training costs against their sales revenues and "transfer" these amounts to the sales training function. The higher the transfers, the higher the bonus for the Manager of Sales Training, but the lower the bonus for the Branch Sales Manager. Although employee benefits used to be good at Duplox, they have been whittled away in recent years in an attempt to cut costs as competition continues to intensify. (DCCL has a fixed benefits plan.) Right now, benefits are running at about 15 percent of total compensation, compared with the industry average of about 20 percent. Because turnover of TSSs has become a problem, total cash (direct) compensation for them remains above the industry averages. However, total cash compensation for the sales reps has dropped as sales (and therefore sales commissions) have dropped, and fumover among sales reps is becoming a serious problem. Performance Results Last year (2017), total revenues were $175,000,000, based on $90,000,000 of copier sales, $82,000,000 of service contracts, and $3,000,000 of warranty revenue. This produced a razor-thin profit of $4,000,000. The decline in profitability from the previous year would have been worse were it not for the cuts in compensation costs resulting from a reduced number of TSSs due to fewer sales and higher TSS productivity. The table below shows Duplox Canada's revenues, expenses, and profits for the past two years. The following is a listing of some of the job descriptions currently used at Duplox Canada. While this list includes some of the most important jobs at Duplox, this list does not comprise all the different job descriptions used at Duplox. When designing and applying your job evaluation and pay-for-knowledge systems, this is the set of jobs you will apply them to Accountant (Finance and Administration Department) Advertising and Product Promotion Specialist (Marketing Department) Branch Inventory Clerk (Inventory Management Department) Branch Sales Manager (Marketing Department) Branch Service Manager (Technical Services Department) Caretaker (Finance and Administration Department) Compensation Clerk (Human Resources Department) Compensation Manager (Human Resources Department) Compensation Officer (Human Resources Department) Director of Human Resources (Human Resources Department) Director of Marketing (Marketing Department) Director of Technical Services (Technical Services Department) Director of Technical Training and Support (Technical Training and Support Department) Field Service Manager (Technical Services Department) Inventory Clerk (Inventory Management Department) Manager of Branch Inventories (Inventory Management Department) Regional Sales. Manager (Marketing Department) Sales Representative (Marketing Department) Sales Training Specialist (Marketing Department) Secretary (all departments) Technical Service Specialist I - Model 1000 Series (Technical Services Department) Technical Service Specialist 1 - Model 2000 Series (Technical Services Department) Technical Service Specialist I-Model 3000 Series (Technical Services Department) Technical Service Specialist 1 - Model 4000 Series (Technical Services Department) Technical Service Specialist II - Model 1000 Series (Technical Services Department) Technical Service Specialist II - Model 2000 Series (Technical Services Department) Technical Service Specialist II - Model 3000 Series (Technical Services Department) Technical Service Specialist II - Model 4000 Series (Technical Services Department) Technical Service Specialist III-Model 1000 Series (Technical Services Deparument) Technical Service Specialist III-Model 2000 Series (Technical Services Department) Technical Service Specialist III - Model 3000 Series (Technical Services Department) Technical Service Specialist III-Model 4000 Series (Technical Services Department) Training/Support Specialist (Technical Training and Support Department) Job Title: ACCOUNTANT Department: Finance and Administration Duties. Reporting to the Accounting Services Manager, accountants are required to perform administrative and support functions relating to operating accounts and capital equipment accounts. Accountants assist in the preparation of monthly financial reporting, assist with year-end financial reporting and the year-end working paper file preparation, assist with review and implementation of financial and management accounting systems, and perform other accounting duties or projects that may be identified. Desirable Qualifications. A commerce or business administration university degree, accompanied by a professional accounting designation; the ability to deal with moderately complex accounting issues; the ability to work with computer systems and electronic spreadsheets; the ability to relate well to other individuals; and good organizational, analytical, and communication skills. Job Title: ADVERTISING AND PRODUCT PROMOTION SPECIALIST Department: Marketing Duties. Under the supervision of the Director of Marketing. develops and recormmends advertising and promotion policies that will assist the sales force in achieving profitable sales of equipment and services. Liaises with advertising and product promotion staff from the parent company to ensure that sales campaigns and promotions are consistent with the desired company image and branding Desirable Quatifications, A university degree in commerce or business administration. specializing in advertising. At least two years of experience as a sales representative for company products and services. Excellent verbal and written skils and demonstrated creativity in sales approaches Job Title: BRANCH INVENTORY CLERK Department: Inventory Managomont Duties. Under the direction of the Manager of Branch Inventories and the supervision of the Branch Service Manager, manages the parts inventory at the branch. Responsible for the security, proper storage, and proper disbursement of parts and for managing inventory levels to avoid shortages of parts authorized at the branch level or excess supply. Verifies and advises service specialists on appropriate part selection. Assists in acquiring appropriate parts from national warehouse. Desirable Qualifications. Completion of Grade 12, plus a one-year program in materials management at an appropriate technical institute. Good mathematical skills and good communications ability, both verbal and written. Ability to comprehend technical documentation and parts manuals. Abilty to work independently with ittle supervision. Job Title: BRANCH SALES MANAGER Department: Marketing Duties. Under the generat direction of the Regional Sales Manager, manages the marketing and sales of equipment and technical services that meet customer neods and will make a positive contribution to Duplox's financial performance in his or her branch. Ensures that contracted products will meet custorner needs. May get imvolved in client negotiations over pricing issues. Prepares branch budgets and sales forecasts. Ensures that budgeted sales levels are accomplished. Evaluates current policies, procedures. and practices for achieving regional objectives and implements improved policies. procedures, and practices. Responsible for selection, evaluation, coaching. promotion, transfer, or discharge of branch sales representatives. Supervises branch office manager and office clerks and, in conjunction with the Branch Service Manager. oversees the administration of the branch. Desirable Qualifications. This position requires a university commerce or business administration degree, with specialization in marketing. At least two years of experience in marketing/sales of company products and services. Demonstrated ability to coordinate, develop, and supervise staff, deal with interpersonal conflict; and meet departmental deadlines and performance objectives are essential. Excellent verbal and written communications skilis Job Title: BRANCH SERVICE MANAGER Department: Tochnical Servicos Duties. Under the general supervision of the Regional Service Manager, manages the installation and servicing of company products at that branch. Supervises field service managers and ensures that budgeted service revenue and cost targets are achieved for the branch. Evaluates current policies, procedures, and practices for achieving regional objectives and implements improved policies, procedures, and practices. Responsible for selection, training, evaluation, coaching, promotion, transfer, or discharge of field service managers, technical service specialists, and service cierks. Supervises service clerks and, in conjunction with the Manager of Branch Inventories, the Branch Inventory Clerk. In conjunction with the Branch Sales Manager, oversees the administration of the branch. Desirable Qualifications. Applicant should have a two-year applied electronics. designation from an accredited technical institute, and at least three years of experience as a Field Service Manager, preferably in the servicing of all models of company products: Demonstrated ability to coordinate, develop, and supervise staft, deal with interpersonal conflict, and meet departmental deadines and performance objectives are essential. Excellent verbal and written communications skills. Job Title: CARETAKER Department: Finance and Administration (Facilities Management Section) Duties. This person performs cleaning tasks both manually and using industrial-type scrubbing machines, under the general supervision of Facilities Managers. Duties include cleaning floors of halls, offices, and lavatories using dry mop, wet mop, and broom. Operating industrial cleaning equipment in stripping, scrubbing, waxing, and polishing floors. Performing such minor repairs as replacing light bulbs, tightening or replacing screws in furniture, and maintaining cleaning equipment. Emptying and cleaning wastepaper baskets. Washing hand basins, toilet bowls, soap dishes, and other washroom equipment and replenishing supplies of soap, towels, and toilet tissue. Opening and locking buildings at specified times. Moving furniture. Periodically washing walls, ceilings, windows, and doors. Reporting unustal circumstances, such as vandalism, thef, and unauthorized persons. Providing all caretaking services as outlined in the Carelaker Handbook. Promoting good working relations with stafl and customers: Performing related duties as assigned. Desirable Qualifications. Elementary school education sufficient to provide skill in reading instructions. Good physical condition. Preferably experience in using hand-and power-operated cleaning equipment and cleaning materials. Job Title: COMPENSATION CLERK Department: Human Resources Duties. Under the direction of the Compensation Officer, this person performs a variety of moderately complex clerical tasks associated with the compensation function. Although the Compensation Clerk's work is supervised by the Compensation Manager, the clerk is responsible for carrying out a series of clerical assignments without detailed instruction or review. This employee maintains cooperative and helpful relations in his or her contacts with other staff, Duties include: Setting up files for new employees. Coding and processing Payroll Authorization Forms ensuring that appropriate deductions for benefits, tax, dues, and other factors are made. Overseeing preparation of paycheques or direct deposit of compensation. Creating records of employment for employees who are terminating. Making monthly remittance to the Receiver General, insurance programs, and other bodies. Answering enquiries of the Employment Insurance Commission concerning terminated employees or those on extended leave, Answering questions from employees about their paycheques and referring questions to other departments when appropriate Desirable Qualifications. Completion of Grade 12, preforably including or supplemented by courses in bookkeeping and introductory computing, including spreadsheots. Ability to enter data into computer systoms accurately. Several years of clerical experience, preferably some of which is in a compensation role. Job Title: COMPENSATION MANAGER Department: Human Resourees Duties. Under the direction of the Director of Human Resources, this position is responsible for managing the operation of the compensation system, including staffing. performance review, training and development of staff, and the hardware and soffware of computer-based compensation administration system, as well as preparing and revising job descriptions and performing job evaluations. Will be responsible for implementing new compensation policies and monitoring their effectiveness on an ongoing basis, making necessary adjustments, and making recommendations for change. Will assist the Director of Human Resources in evaluating the effectiveness of existing compensation policies and formulating recommendations for change to compensation policies. Desirable Qualifications, A university degree in commerce or business administration with compensation and human resources course work, along with a CHRP (Certified Human Resources Professional) designation. A minimum of five years of experience in compensation administration. Experience that will demonstrate the following: ability to relate well to other individuals; ability to perform effective supervision; and excellent organization, analytical, and communication skills. Experience in the computer software industry would be an asset. Job Title: COMPENSATION OFFICER Department: Human Resources Duties. Under the direction of the Compensation Manager, this posibon will be responsible for managing the day-to-day activities relating to the operation of the compensation system and for providing accounting support relating to the processing of base pay, performance pay, and benefits for employees. Will supervise several Compensation Clerks. Will stand in for the Compensation Manager when manager is absent. Desirable Qualifications A univorsity degree in commerce or business administration with course work in compensation systems and human resources, a CHRP (Certified Human Resources Professional) designation, and experience that will demonstrate the following: abiity to deal with moderately complex accounting issues; ability to work with large computer systems in a complex environment, ability to work with electronic spreadsheets; ability to relate well to other individuals and perform effective supervision; and good organization, analytical, and communication skills. Job Title: DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES Department: Human Resources Duties. Under the general direction of the Vice President of Marketing and Administration, ensures the acquisition, training, retention, and motivation of personnel needed by Duplox to achieve its corporate goals Evaluates human resources management strategy and organizational design and recommends new human resource policies to the executive committee when appropriate. Prepares departmental budget. Responsible for the selection, evaluation, and coaching of subordinate Human Resources managers. Evaluates current policies, procedures, and practices for achieving departmental objectives and implements improved policies, procedures, and practices. Ensures that company compensation expenditures are deployed effectively. Recommends the most effective compensation and reward strategy and oversees the impiementation of approved policies arid stratogies. Asisists other departments in dealing effectively with human ressources issues and problerns. Provides support to top management in identifying strategic issues and trends affocting the company. Desirable Qualifications. This position requires a unversity commerce or business administration degree with specialization in human resources, as well as additional course work at the post-graduate level, such as a Master of Business Adrministration with a specialization in human resources, and a CHRP (Certified Human Resources Professional) designation. At least 10 years of experience in human resource positions; of which at least 5 years in the business equipment industry, and at least 5 years in a management capacity. Demonstrated ability to coordinate, develop, and supervise staff, deal with individual and group confict, and meet departmental performance objectives are essential. Excellent verbal and written communications skills Strong abilities to identify organizational problems and deal with them. Ability to cooperate effectively with and assist managers at a similar organizational level. Job Title: DIRECTOR OF MARKETING Department: Marketing Duties. Under the general direction of the Vice President of Marketing and Administration, manages the marketing and sales of equipment and technical services that meet customer needs and will make a positive contribution to Duplox's financial performance, In conjunction with senior management, establishes the appropriate price guidelines for company products and services Evaluates current marketing strategy and recommends new strategy to the executive committee when appropriate. Prepares sales forecasts for each fiscal year. Prepares departmental budget. Evaluates current policies, procedures, and practices for achieving departmental objectives and implements improved policies, procedures, and practices, In conjunction with the Human Resources Department, responsible for selection, evaluation, and coaching of