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There are three approaches to health economic evaluation for comparing two therapies: cost minimization, incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICER), and incremental net benefit (INB). Of the three, the ICER method has long been the standard in the assessment of the cost-effectiveness analysis of a new treatment. However, due to concerns with interpretability and statistical inference inherent to the ICER statistic and its confidence intervals, authors have suggested the use of incremental net benefit (INB) approach as an alternative. The INB can be expressed either in units of effectiveness or costs. When analyzing data from a clinical trial, expressing incremental net benefit in units of cost allows the investigator to examine all three approaches in a single graph, complete with the corresponding statistical inferences. Furthermore, if costs and effectiveness are not censored, this can be achieved using common statistical procedures. The standard INB analysis assumes that the willingness-to-accept (WTA) compensation for the loss of a unit of health benefit (at some cost saving) is the same as the willingness-to-pay (WTP) for it. Theoretical and empirical evidence suggest, however, that in health care the WTA is about twice the WTP. In this thesis we show that the method of INB analysis can be adapted to capture the WTA vs WTP disparity. Using the Bayesian theory, statistical procedures are provided for the cost-effectiveness analysis in the comparison of two arms of a randomized clinical trial that allows WTA and WTP to have different values. An example that adjusts the disparity between WT A and WTP is provided. / Thesis / Master of Science (MS)

No / This paper aims to evaluate the aims and methods of appraisal, and the difficulties encountered in the appraisal process. The paper uses a review of the literature to evaluate the development of appraisals and argues that the critical area of line management development that was identified as a critical success factor in appraisals has been ignored in the later literature evaluating the effectiveness of performance appraisals. The review identifies the lack of theoretical development in appraisal and argues the psychological approach of analysis and a more critical realisation of appraisal, re‐evaluating the challenge to remove subjectivity and bias in judgement of appraisal. Further evaluation of key interpersonal skills is required for appraisal systems to develop performance. The use and design of performance pay in public and private services linked to appraisal have not always improved organisational performance and can contribute to reduced motivation. Little research has evaluated the current increases in using appraisals and the changes in focus from appraisal to performance management. The paper adds value to the existing body of knowledge and offers insights for practitioners and researchers.

Master of Science / Department of Psychology / Patrick A. Knight / A structural equations model hypothesizing that individuals' core self-evaluations would significantly predict their preferences for various pay plan characteristics (e.g., high risk, variable pay, etc.) was tested. This hypothesis, which specified that individuals with higher levels of core self-evaluations would prefer pay plans that offered greater risk and less certainty regarding the amount of pay received, was supported. Furthermore, it was also hypothesized that congruence between an individual's preferred pay plan characteristics and the actual type of pay plan that he or she receives would result in higher levels of employee job satisfaction and pay satisfaction. This hypothesis was partially supported, as the relationship between congruence and job satisfaction was significant, while the relationship between congruence and pay satisfaction was not significant. Finally, it was hypothesized that the relationship between congruence and satisfaction would be moderated by the value that the individual places on money. This hypothesis was not supported. The results of this research indicate that personality characteristics may have a significant impact on the type of pay plan that an individual will prefer to receive. Furthermore, this research provides additional support for the belief that high levels of fit between the characteristics of individuals and the characteristics of the organizations for which they work will result in higher levels of employee satisfaction. Finally, the degree of importance that an individual places on money does not appear to alter the relationship between fit and satisfaction. These results have strong implications for businesses that wish to improve employee satisfaction and reduce employee turnover, as well as for individuals who are seeking occupations for which they will best be suited.

The focus of this study is the assessment of the performance of the Nigerian retail banks on pay satisfaction through an examination of the sector's pay satisfaction levels. This has formed the basis of the literature review which focuses on pay, pay satisfaction determinants and gender inequality in the distribution of organisational wealth. Literature such as Adam's equity theory, Maslow's needs theory and Vroom's expectancy theory was reviewed. The work adjustment, organisational justice and Herzberg's dual-factor theories were also reviewed in order to form an opinion on what could determine pay satisfaction amongst the Nigerian retail banking sector's employees. The literature review findings conclude that pay satisfaction determinants could be based on the outcome of individual comparisons or referent others, and comparison between what they each earn and what they believe they each are worth to their respective organisations. The aims of this research are (a) to describe and analyse pay satisfaction levels amongst retail bank employees in Nigeria, (b) to identify whether or not pay satisfaction levels of this sector's employees are gendered, and (c) to establish whether or not male workers are more satisfied with their pay than female employees. The objectives are (a) to empirically explore their pay level satisfaction, (b) to test for similarities and differences in their pay satisfaction levels, and (c) to compare the pay satisfaction levels for any significant differences. The research was conducted using both primary and secondary methods with the aid of 600 self-delivered questionnaires within ten selected retail banking organisations based in Lagos and Abuja. The outcomes suggest low satisfaction levels with pay amongst the sector's employees, as just 60% of the 303 usable questionnaires from the 326 who responded indicated satisfaction with their pay. This indicates that male workers were more satisfied with their pay than their female counterparts. However, no significant variations in their satisfaction levels were noted. Finally, this study recommends that Nigerian retail banks implement equitable pay structures that recognise individual efforts whatever their gender. These banks should also establish equity and justice in the distribution of other wealth, and in their policy, process and administrative procedures rather than these being based on personality or culture.

A força de vendas ocupa papel importante no desempenho das organizações, e em especial naquelas do mercado industrial. As decisões que envolvem a gestão da força de vendas, principalmente as referentes à remuneração, revestem-se de importância, dado seu potencial impacto no desempenho desses profissionais. Esta dissertação, embasada na teoria da contingência, pressupõe que não há um sistema de remuneração ?ótimo ou ideal? e, sim, aquele que melhor se ajusta ao contexto e objetivos organizacionais. Deste modo, a efetividade da estratégia de remuneração depende da existência de ajuste a certos fatores contingenciais aos quais a organização está sujeita com potencial de afetar o sistema. O construto de estratégia de remuneração foi operacionalizado através do repertório de escolhas a disposição dos gestores que têm impacto no desempenho da organização e no uso efetivo de seus recursos humanos. Especificamente quanto à estratégia de remuneração de vendas, a composição da remuneração é uma das escolhas relevantes, por se tratar de escolha na qual reside grande variabilidade entre as empresas, eventualmente de mesmo setor, o que sugere ser fortemente influenciada por fatores contingenciais. Esta dissertação objetiva então, expandir o conhecimento acerca do sistema de remuneração da força de vendas, suas especificidades, escolhas estratégicas envolvidas e fatores contingenciais. Para responder ao problema de pesquisa, optou-se pela realização de estudo exploratório e pelo método qualitativo, mais especificamente pelo estudo de caso, para ampliar o conhecimento sobre o fenômeno estudado, com uso de entrevistas em profundidade semi-estruturadas para levantamento das informações. Sumariamente, as contingências culturais e relacionadas ao macro-ambiente e ao ambiente de negócios se mostraram relevantes nas escolhas corporativas de remuneração nos casos estudados, corroborando os pressupostos teóricos da teoria da contingência e da nova economia institucional. De outro lado, as contingências que afetam as decisões relativas à composição de remuneração são de todos os planos ? do macro-ambiente, do ambiente de negócios, do processo de vendas, papel e, provavelmente, do indivíduo. Alguns fatores se destacaram nas organizações pesquisadas: o grau de incerteza do mercado e do ambiente; a competitividade e estabilidade do mercado; à estratégia competitiva; o ciclo de vida da organização e a cultura organizacional; características do ciclo de vendas, autonomia e supervisão recebida. Pode-se concluir que as decisões relativas à composição devem partir de análise cuidadosa dos ambientes externo e interno, procurando-se observar o seu impacto na reconfiguração do papel da força de vendas. Os resultados apontam para possíveis pontos de atenção na tomada de decisão acerca de sistemas de remuneração de profissionais de vendas, tendo em vista a sua efetividade. / Sales force management presents an important strategic decision to many firms. It has been widely acknowledged that the compensation of the sales force may be used to enhance sales, control sales force activities and improve customer relationships.Despite the ackowledged importance of sales compensation, the literature on the topic is rather limited and esparse. Based on contingency theory, it is proposed that the effectiveness of the type of compensation cannot be adequately assessed without consideration of these factors. It is hypothesized that the effectiveness at realizing intended pay strategies depends significantly on the existence of a match between compensation strategies, organization and the environment. To date, vey little work has been done in development a contngency theory that ties the pay system to the organization`s operating objetives and strategies. This study seeks to expand the emerging compensation strategy literature and examines the various dimensions that may be used to study this construct. Compensation strategy is the repertoire of pay choices available to management, that may, under some conditions, have an impact on the organization`s performance and the effective use of its human resources. Pay mix (the split between fix and variable pay) was assumed to be the most important pay choice for the sales force. Besides that, pay mix is one of the pay strategies that presents great variability between the companies, even from the same economic sector, suggesting that it is influencied by contingency factors. Thus, this study adresses the following key research question: What are the contingency factors that moderate the pay choices (pay strategy)? The contingency fators were studied beyond two major categories: external environment and internal environment. To answer the proposed question, an empirical study was conducted. The study was employed was a case study methodology. Primary data was obtained by in deep interviews .The study offer empirical support for the contingency theory. In particular, macrolevel factors like uncertainly and risk, as well as organizational factors ? corporate culture seemed to be relevant for the corporate pay strategies. On the other hand, ?pay mix? was the pay choice that seems to be influencied by multi-level factors. Some factors appeared to have more influence in the pay mix choices in the searched organizations: the degree of uncertainty of the market and the environment; the competitiveness and stability of the market; the competitive strategy; the organization life cicle and culture; characteristics of the sales cycle autonomy and received supervision. It can be concluded that strategic decision on pay mix must take careful analysis on contingency factors related to external and internal environments, because they tend to shape the sales process and the sales force role. The findings suggests some possible points of attention in the decision concerning to compensation of sales force towards effectiveness and could help practitioners manage the relationship between reward processes and strategy in organization.

Li, Ho Ming. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 16-18). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Related literature --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- Background --- p.3 / Chapter 2 --- The model --- p.4 / Chapter 2.1 --- Set up --- p.4 / Chapter 2.2 --- The rationale for performance pay --- p.6 / Chapter 2.3 --- Performance pay with private tutoring --- p.7 / Chapter 2.4 --- Good teacher is not less susceptible --- p.8 / Chapter 2.5 --- Effect of the decreasing tutoring fee --- p.9 / Chapter 3 --- Conclusion --- p.10 / Chapter 4 --- References --- p.12 / Chapter 5 --- Appendix --- p.18 / Chapter 5.1 --- Tables showing bonus schemes across states --- p.18 / Chapter 5.2 --- Derivation for Proposition 1 --- p.18 / Chapter 5.3 --- Numerical example for Proposition 1 --- p.18 / Chapter 5.4 --- Derivation for Proposition 3 --- p.19 / Chapter 5.5 --- Numerical example for Proposition 3 --- p.19

The work performance of employees remains a vital factor both in an organization's viability as well as in the prosperity of its employees. Merit pay can influence employee performance and is one of the most frequently used monetary reward incentives for motivating employees to achieve a higher level of performance. The problem is the limited knowledge on how state employees in a southern state perceive merit pay and how those perceptions may influence employee work performance. Using a conceptual framework built from elements of various motivational theories including Maslow's hierarchy of needs and Herzberg's 2 factor theory, the purpose of this case study was to understand how fifteen employees at a state department in the southern part of the United States perceived how merit pay influenced their work performance. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews and transcribed, coded, and subjected to a thematic analysis procedure using NVivo10. A key theme emerging from this study suggesting that participants were not motivated to perform based on merit pay; rather, performance was viewed to be the result of personal determination. This determination sets the stage for state agency leadership to initiate action toward enhancing and implementing a formal recognition program to motivate and engage employees. Findings of the study revealed that the 15 workers were motivated by their current individual personal need level, as Maslow delineated in his hierarchy of needs theory. The positive social change implications stemming from this study include recommendations to policymakers and state department leaders to consider nonmonetary rewards for employee recognition as a motivational tool in order to improve or maintain work performance.

The budget system is one of the important tools in the management accounting control system. However, in the budget goal setting process, budgeting managers may insert slack into their budgets. Budget slack will erode the effectiveness of the budget system. Agency researchers recognize that well-designed contracts can be used to solve this incentive problem. Therefore, truth-inducing schemes are widely discussed and analyzed. However, many empirical studies report that such schemes can decrease, but not eliminate slack completely. In the meanwhile, they can not increase performance. This study points out that the parameters of the schemes are not well-designed, therefore, the effectiveness to induce subordinates to disclose private information and increase performance is of failure. This paper analyses the relationship among parameters of the truth-inducing pay scheme, risk preference and budget slack by Minimax law under uncertainty, and points that this scheme will lose its effectiveness under some condition. At the meanwhile, this thesis also explains how to design a compensation contract to provide a reference for practical application.