Reward

A reward is something of value (payment) given in return for an act or service. Below are the rewards that Waitrose offer its employees.
· Annual bonus. Every year, a proportion of the business’s profits is distributed to Partners as a percentage of their previous year’s earnings. In my first year the bonus was 20% and having only worked there for 2 months I earned nearly £200 pounds as I had done a lot of overtime and had earned nearly £1000 in that time. Imagine what my bonuses would have been if I had continued at that rate for the whole year, or if I was a full time member of staff! Last year however, the bonus was only 12%, meaning I earned considerably less in bonuses.
· Discounts. After three months’ service, all Partners are entitled to a 12% discount on most purchases from John Lewis and Waitrose. In John Lewis this discount rises to 25% after one years’ service.
· Paid holiday. Employees get 22 days of paid holiday a year, rising to 25 days after 3 years of service. There are further long-service increases for most Partners after ten or fifteen years. Management Partners, including graduate trainees, receive five weeks’ holiday from the outset.
· Pension scheme.
· Life assurance.
· Subsidised dining room in most branches.
· Health services.
· Special help in time of need. In urgent cases, partners are offered a grant or a loan.
· Extended leave. Partners who work for 25 years can enjoy a paid sabbatical of up to 6 months.
· Education subsidies. Generous financial support is given to Partners who wish to acquire a new leisure skill or continue their education, e.g. through the Open University or evening classes.
· Health services.
· Ticket subsidies. Ticket subsidies of 50% of the cost of a visit to the theatre, opera or concert hall are available up to a maximum of £60 per year. Partners may also take advantage of corporate membership to bodies such as English Heritage, the Science Museum and the Royal Society of Arts. When I went to Reading Festival 2008, I was able to hand in proof that I went, and I received £60 in cash back.
· Societies.
· Sports Clubs.
· Voluntary benefits and discounted deals. There is a range of benefits available to Partners such as discounted private healthcare and a car purchase scheme, along with a number of one-off deals with hotels, amusement parks etc.
· Holiday and Leisure facilities. The business owns a number of residential clubs which offer subsidised holiday accommodation for Partners with at least three years’ service. These include:
- Ambleside Park in the Lake District.
- Brownsea Castle in Poole Harbour, Dorset.
- The Bala Lake Hotel and Activity Base, Snowdonia National park.

Something which is not mentioned above, is that Waitrose are the proud sponsors of Reading Football Club, partners are able to receive free or discounted tickets to go and see them. Another thing that is not mentioned, is that Waitrose employees that work very hard, often receive boxes of chocolate or wine (or sometimes even beer) to take home with them. This happened to me quite a few times, and when I left Waitrose they gave me a huge box of chocolates as a parting gift (reward) to thank me for my work. Another way Waitrose managers reward their staff which is not mentioned above, is by consistently giving them praise and encouragement. This is very rewarding for any individual and it gives them extra motivation. Another fact which is not mentioned is that partners get paid according to how well they perform (performance related pay), and they receive Annual Reviewals of Pay (ARP’s) to see exactly how well they are performing, and what they can do to improve in order to get their pay grading up. Therefore you are being rewarded for how hard you work. If you work hard, you are going to be rewarded more, whereas if you do not work as hard, you will be rewarded less, as in less pay. The rewards and benefits that Waitrose offer benefit all of its partners and does not discriminate, for example against older workers. Fairness is ensured, by making sure that all benefits and rewards can be used by any employee.
http://www.jlpjobs.com/experiencedHire/experiencedHire/benefits.htm

I do feel that chief executives should still receive large bonuses even if their organisation has underperformed, because not all blame can be attached to the chief executives. They may have worked as hard as anyone and still the company did not do well. This could be for a number of reasons, for example the competition improving. In any case the chief executive has already worked hard in order to get there so he should now reap his rewards. Some people may argue that if organisations underperform, chief executives should not receive large bonuses. They do indeed have a point, as it would mean that the following year they will be more motivated to do everything they can to ensure that the organisation does not underperform again. This however would be unfair if they had in fact tried everything they could to ensure the company performed to its maximum ability. In any case, if a company underperforms, a chief executives profit will take a hit anyway, so he would want to ensure that this does not happen again in future. Another thing is that most chief executives care about the companies they work for and not just the money. This is why I believe that chief executives should still continue to receive large bonuses regardless of whether or not the company underperforms.

Ways in which a teacher could be rewarded financially, are by giving them yearly increases in salary if their school performs well. They could be offered trips to take with their family, where all expenses are paid for. They could also be offered discounts on things like gym memberships and health services. Vouchers could also be given to them in order to buy accessories such as books and pens.

Non-financial ways in which a teacher could be rewarded, are promotions, extra time off and also praise. This could be something like being voted teacher of the month. Rewards teachers themselves may feel is if the students thank them sincerely, as teachers will feel like they have really done something to help someone else.
http://usliberals.about.com/od/education/a/ObamaEdPlan_4.htm

http://www.oecd.org/document/20/0,3343,en_2649_39263231_44111636_1_1_1_37455,00.html
http://www.oecd.org/document/3/0,3343,en_2649_34487_44198083_1_1_1_1,00.html