\"Superior Software Services\" As she hangs up the telephone, Joan Jackson realizes that she needs to consider changing her company's time off policies. She just received a call from an employee reporting off work because he is sick. This is the second employee on the same project team to call off this week, and the unscheduled absence will likely cause a delay in meeting the project deadline. Joan, the operations director of \"Superior" Software Services, is proud that her company has earned a reputation for providing highquality software solutions. Superior recruits and retains top soware engineers and also an impressive administrative staff. However, even with a talented staff, Joan is concerned about the company's ongoing ability to meet project deadlines. Over the past few months, unscheduled absences have caused Superior to delay the delivery of software products to a few clients. Wl'ten a staff member calls in to take a sick day without prior notice, shifting employees to cover the work in order to meet a deadline is difficult. Joan believes Superior's time off policies may be causing some of the problems. Superior offers employees It vacation days and 5 sick days each year. The company has a policy that employees may use sick days only for illness or emergencies. Employees may not schedule sick days in advance. Vacation days are scheduled at the beginning of the year. Employees receive approval of their requested vacation days on a seniority basis, so most employees designate the days they will take their vacation within the rst few weeks of a new year, so they are able to effectively plan vacation travel. Joan believes Supenor's current time off policy creates an incentive for emplctyees to call off at the last minute. She has learned from Supervisors that many employees use their sick days to take care of personal business such as attending parent-----teacher conferences or mulling personal errands. These are often events that could be preseheduled time off, but employees do not feel they have a time off option to address such needs. Sick days can't be preseheduled, and vacation days are often already committed at the beginning of the year. Joan believes that changing the time off policies could reduce the number of unscheduled absences, but she is not sure if her idea will address her concerns. She is considering replacing the current vacation:i sick day allowance with a paid time off (PTO) bank. Employees would receive 12 PTO days each year. They would be permitted to schedule preferred days off at the beginning of the year so that they can make vacation travel plans, and the remaining days could be saved for days when the employee is ill or could be scheduled ahead of time to take care of personal business. Joan believes this change will encourage employees to schedule their time off in advance when possible. With advance notice of absences, supervisors will be better able to plan projects and meet deadlines. Five months later, Superior Software Services compensation has also been challenged, due to media coverage of executive compensation in the past few weeks with articles in national publications and a featured story on a television special, in addition to stories on local news stations. This extensive coverage has highlighted public concerns about the high level of pay that top executives receive. The media coverage has been extensive in the area, and many company employees who viewed the story were surprised to learn that the CEO of Superior Software Services is among the highest paid in the United States. The news was especially difcult to hear as the company recently announced that employees would not receive an annual pay increase due to some nancial challenges the company is facing. His annual salary was $975,000. Add in a bonus, stock awards, retirement benets, and other benets, and his total compensation is close to $10 million a year. The average landscaping technician is paid $28,000 annually. The disparity is clear, and the HR department must now plan a response to address the employees\" concerns. Questions: . Critically examine and discuss the main issues and challenges related to compensation that can prevent the company from achieving its strategic goals. . Based on the case, draw a strategic intervention to improve the current management of benefits in the company and recommend a solution (a benefits program) to Joan. Explain clearly the advantages and the potential disadvantages of the benefits program that you recommend. Present clearly your arguments How can the organization explain the pay disparity to the employees to ease their concerns about the fairness of the CEO's pay