motivating employees with limited pay incentives using equity.pdfVIP

International Journal of Business and Social Science Vol. 2 No. 23 [Special Issue –December 2011] Motivating Employees with Limited Pay Incentives Using Equity Theory and the Fast Food Industry as a Model Thomas R. Tudor Department of Management University of Arkansas at Little Rock Abstract A common question in low pay industries is how do employ ers motivate the lowest paid workers? Even in high unemployment environments these positions are readily available with employers knowing that at anytime their employees could switch to another low paying employer. In addition, employees know that wage increases are limited with also limited or non-existent promotion opportunities. These positions also tend to be less pleasant and have inadequate or no benefits. Turnover is generally high. This paper explores how equity theory can be effectively used to motivate employees with limited pay incentives. An emphasis is placed on the fast food industry. Introduction Motivating the lowest paid worker has always been a challenge and this fact has been particularly true in the fast food industry. Pay is low and there are limited or no advancement opportunities. In addition, work conditions are not ideal. Turnover is high and these fast food positions are readily available. Equity theory is used to explore how to better motivate employees with limited pay incentives. Main topics include using pay as a motivator, recognizing different money needs, offering comparable fast food industry pay, employee pay comparisons outside of food industry, selection of cashiers and food preparers, helping some