According to the analysis performed, Lincoln Electric is the world-leading manufacturer of electrical products, arc welding system, and oxy-fuel cutting system. In addition to that, they are the leading innovator regarding business practice. To being with, the company has established a no-layoff policy since 1946 with a demanding productivity standard. Most significantly, the company has mandatory overtime. Note to forget; they lack a union because of its established management culture that guarantees its employees job security through retirement. Their employees do not have to worry about losing their jobs because, in the past four decades, no employees have been laid off. In addition to that, it employees are entitled to massive bonuses, which have been motiving for their performance over the years. Moreover, the company has a labour management culture that strives hard to protect the interest of their employees. The company has taken a keen interest in protecting the interest of their employees, which is also a strategy to protect their interest. Lincoln Electric values its employees as much as the value of its profit. Motivation to Lincoln Employees The “no lay off” policy Huge bonuses Piecework payment strategy Paid vacation Value of employee dignity Effective labour management culture Flexible working conditions Payment based on working days If an employee does not have to stress about whether they will continue to have a job or not, they can focus on doing the job properly. You’ll want to require that employees request PTO with at least two days prior notice unless the employee is truly sick. I think that employees are willing to trade discretionary benefits for a no-layoff policy simply because they have job security. The employees are willing to trade these benefits because they would have a job in the long term than rather being laid off. Despite the organization surviving over the past decade without paying for their employee’s sick days, the organization should include such instance to ensure that the health of their workers is catered for to guarantee them to work consistently. Indeed, I would like to work in the environment like Lincoln. The advantage of working in an environment like Lincoln is that I will be guaranteed job security. However, there is a disadvantage of working in such environment because they lack paid sick days. Lincoln Electric seeks to balance the treatment of everyone affected by the business, including customers, workers, investors and the public. Not to mention excellent wages and extra benefits for employees and excellent job security. For customers, Lincoln Electric does a great job of making the product an integral part of the user's work. Lincoln Electric uses its equipment for a variety of purposes that are easy to use but effective, increasing the likelihood of returning to repeat customers by building loyalty among people who use the product. In addition, Lincoln Electric has grown at an average annual rate of about 10% in 2010 and shares wealth with shareholders through dividends. Analysts are still optimistic about Lincoln Electric's prospects, with annual revenue growth expected at 6%. Lincoln Electric's commitment to its workers has paid dividends not just for them but for investors, customers, and the communities in which the company works. The company shows how cost savings can be sighted and productive in the long run. Lincoln Electric Benefits. (n.d.) Retrieved from https://jobs.lincolnelectric.com/content/benefits/ (Links to an external site.) Lincoln Electric Reviews. (February 17, 2019). Retrieved from https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Lincoln-Electric-Reviews-E3658.htm 1. Do you think changing Superior’s time off policies will decrease unscheduled time off? I believe that if a change in Superiors time off policies was made, there will be a significate decrees in time off. Utilizing the 12 days of PTO, employees could plan ahead of time for key events in the upcoming year. This allows for management to proper plan for employee absence and devolve an alternative work schedule. This will ensure production is meet in the long run for Superior and minimize unscheduled time off. Employees would also feel a sense of more freedom when it comes to planning ahead for personal or vacation matters. 2. Beyond reducing occurrences of unscheduled time-off, are there any other benefits to offering PTO? A notable advantage of offering PTO at Superior Software Services is that employees will be allowed to use PTO as they wish with no oversight. Joan Jackson and the other company managers will not have to police their subordinates on how to use PTO, their benefit. In addition, PTO will give management some leeway over unscheduled absences, which is a serious problem that is likely to cause delays in meeting projects’ deadlines. Employees will be able schedule time-off in advance which is something that will help with duty coverage. 3. Are there any disadvantages to changing to PTO? As much as PTO has some advantages, it does have some shortcomings. For example, employees of Superior Software Services may perceive all the PTO as a benefit and vacation time to the extent that they use all of it. Such a situation may cause to attend work even when they are sick or facing emergencies. There is also the likelihood that the management may give award workers fewer overall days than was the case when the PTO policy was not in place. New employees in the company are likely to accumulate PTO at a slower pace when compared to longer term employees. All in all, the advantages of PTO policy greatly outnumber its shortcomings. 4. If Superior makes a change to their PTO, what other business areas or processes might be directly impacted? They would explain new policy. Change back from PTO to separate plans for vacations and sick days. Their reason is that employees were so motivated to avoid sick and personal absence, because they could add to their vacations accrual, that the Company saw a significant increase in its accrual overhang. While vacations are a legal carry forward entitlement, sick days were use it or lose it and there was no carry forward entitlement. References Martocchio, J. J. (2013). Strategic compensation: A Human Resource Management Approach (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act only provides unpaid leave, and even then, it only covers an estimated 57% of American employees. Approximately 66 million workers do not qualify. The 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was intended to partially alleviate this problem, but it only applies to companies with more than fifty workers and only allows twelve weeks of unpaid time off. Companies are welcome to offer longer periods of time or paid time off as a benefit, but the companies must absorb the cost of the program. Some companies choose to do so, but not many. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) only 12% of American workers have access to paid parental leave. In the low-wage sector, where paid leave would help the most, only 5% of women have access to paid maternity leave. Pros: Employee Morale Improved Individual Productivity Narrowing Wage/Promotion Gaps Cons: Expectations Cost Leaving the Workforce Except for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), many of the remaining legally required benefits were conceived decades ago. Additionally, the ACA only applies to medical coverage and not to other popular plans such as dental and/or vision insurance. What changes in the business environment and society might affect the relevance or perhaps the viability of any of these and other benefit programs? Discuss your ideas and provide supporting examples. People’s needs have somewhat remained the same throughout the decades, but their demands and wants have definitely changed. Throughout the years we can agree that one need has always remained the same; that is the need to affordable healthcare. Vision care then became popular as well as dental. Throughout the years, employers began offering healthcare. By the mid 1960’s Americans started to believe in the system in which people with good jobs get health care through work and others look to government for help. As of today, this appears to continue being the norm. It is common for people to look for jobs based on the benefits the job offers. These benefits include access to affordable healthcare. Employers who offer affordable health insurance have competitive advantage and often attract and keep good employees. For some employers it is not convenient to offer health insurance to their employees as these costs are high and can have financial burden on the business. Others do not have the resources to coordinate benefits, such as an HR department or a benefits expert. There are definitely pros and cons for employers who offer health insurance. On the other hand, most employees do prefer enrolling in a medical plan. With this being said the importance of healthcare will remain strong. There are many co-workers who have decided to only get medical insurance only. Even dental and vision insurance is pretty affordable they prefer to survive without it. The federal FMLA applies to employers with 50 or more employees. However, some states have their own family and medical leave laws, some of which cover smaller employers. For example, beginning in 2021, some of state in USA will grant virtually all employees jobprotected leave for certain family and medical purposes. Separately, many states and local jurisdictions have enacted laws that require employers to provide paid sick leave and/or other types of leave to employees. While the FMLA only applies to certain employers, it only impacts certain employees, as well. To be eligible to take advantage of the FMLA unpaid leave program, you must work for an employer that is required to comply with the regulation. You must also work within 75 miles of a company location where there are at least 50 employees. This means that even if you work remotely for a large corporation, you may not be eligible. Additionally, you must have worked for the employer for at least 12 months and at least 1,250 hours in the last year. If you just started working for a company, you may not be eligible for FMLA leave. This means that you'll have to work out arrangements directly with your employer and are not covered by FMLA protections.
