INDIVIDUAL COMPENSATION INCREASES

Lan, Hung, Nam, Linh, Hoang, Hieu, Sang, Toan, Mai and Dong are university graduates and have
been hired by several departments of the company nearly two years ago when the "Junior Managers
Recruitment Program" has been launched. They all have similar university degrees even if those
degrees are from different fields (engineering, business…). They all have been considered as high
potentials for the company when they were hired.
Recruited as junior managers, they have received a global compensation of 120.000.000 VND
during the first year. At the end of this first year, they got the same compensation increase:
5 millions VND. Ten months later, it is now the time to decide upon individual compensation
increases since the company's policy is to differentiate compensation levels after one year in
the company.
Your job is to take into account information provided in order to decide
upon each individual compensation increase (either as pay raise and/or as bonus). We suggest that you
proceed as following :
1. Each group member makes his(her) own compensation decisions;
2. The group then meets and obtains consensus about compensation decisions to be presented
in plenary session
Notes

 This case study happens in Vietnam today.

 These junior managers know each other since they have spent one month together in the
induction seminar when they were hired and it is possible that they talk about their
compensation levels
 Your goal is to make fair and consistent decisions.
 Every group member may have to justify the compensation decisions.
 The company wants to maintain the compensation costs at a reasonable level : total
increase budget should not exceed 5%.
LAN
Lan is working in the Marketing department as assistant product manager. Some
superiors are upset by her style somewhat too pretentious but most of them are considering
her as a young, open, sympathetic lady who has constructive ideas and an overwhelming
energy. However despite she is very enthusiastic, Lan tends to not to care too much
about quantitative results of market studies that are available and her judgments are, as a
consequence, questionable. If she improves about this last issue, she may be considered as a
high potential.
HUNG
Hung also is assistant product manager. He is modest, sympathetic, gently persuasive, and he
has pushed each project with a very meticulous precision in evaluating at every step all
available facts. He is a fully trustable and very reliable person. He is an excellent "helper".
However, one can wonder whether he is constructive enough to reach higher levels in a very
dynamic company.
NAM
Nam is a very open person and comes from Da Nang. He is the head of an industrial unit
in one of the most dangerous and unhealthy departments of a plant seen as a difficult one.

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People working in this unit are tough but nice : they accept difficult working conditions only
because they get high salaries. When he compares his job with the two other colleagues who
were assigned to industrial positions too, he is convinced that he has got the most difficult one
and he hopes that top management will recognize it. His results are very good. The company
wants to maintain him in the present position for another two or three years.
LINH
Linh has a education as engineer specialized in instrumentation and control systems. This
specialist has improved in her job and the contribution she was able to bring has been
remarkable for such a young person. She is a very enthusiastic engineer but, unfortunately,
she does not care too much about her team. Her superiors and subordinates are a bit irritated
by her lack of relational skills. One can wonder whether she is able to manage her own
people.
HOANG
Hoang is an engineer too. At a technical level, he is solid without being excellent. He has been
working for four months as an assistant production manager in a plant. Being the very first
university graduate in this type of job, he creates some animosity among his colleagues who
view him as a "fresh graduate" without experience but who will be promoted faster. For
similar reasons, Hoang has some problems with the workers who make life difficult. Despite
these difficulties, Hoang does not give up and, with his courage and competencies, he
progressively gains consideration within the plant.
HIEU
Hieu, an engineer too, is working in a technical studies department. His colleagues have a
similar education and have welcomed him when he joined the department. Hieu is a very
good technician and his contribution is higher than the average one. He does not want, for
now, to be promoted to higher hierarchical responsibilities.
SANG
Sang has a position of regional sales representative in the sales and marketing department.
In his job, he has to manage a team of twelve salespeople. It was very difficult for him to be
accepted by his subordinates who are older and more experienced than himself. His results,
who are evaluated by the sales manager, are satisfying but lower than those obtained by his
colleagues who do not have college education. His subordinates have started to realize that
his theoretical university education is able compensate his lack of experience and may, in
some cases, facilitate resolution of difficulties with some very key customers.
TOAN
Toan is, like Nam, in a production unit. His results are good and he seems to have a high
potential. He sees himself as very ambitious and does not want to stay very long in his present
position. He has informed his superior that he wanted to quickly change position and that a
competitor has already made a job offer that seems better than his present job.
MAI
Mai has received from the company a training in systems and networks. The quality of her
work is average for such a computer specialist position and her performance level is only 80%
of her colleagues' level. She is the slowest one in her department because of the perfection
she brings in everything she does. However, the lack of computer specialists in the job market

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(because of the VND and year 2015 problems) should lead to decide an higher pay increase
than she actually deserves.
DONG
Dong is working in the administrative department and is preparing accounting exams. The
company is helping him in giving more free time. At the end of the first year, he has easily
got the two first credits but his educational results are less good now since he has failed the
third credit. His performance level at work is just above average. After a discussion with his
superior, it seems that Dong has been deeply disturbed by his father's death three months ago
and he is now in charge of his mother and a young sister. He has some financial difficulties.

Individual Decision Group Decision

Pay Raise Bonus Pay Raise Bonus
LAN
HUNG
NAM
LINH
HOANG
HIEU
SANG
TOAN
MAI
DONG