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Evaluating Solutions to a Motivation Problem
A graphic design agency pays its designers a fixed annual salary. The management team is concerned that several key projects are falling behind schedule. They believe the issue is not a lack of hours worked, but a lack of consistent, high-quality creative effort, which is inherently difficult to measure objectively. Two solutions are proposed:
- Direct Supervision: Assign a project manager to each team to closely monitor progress, provide frequent feedback, and check in on designers' work multiple times per day.
- Outcome-Based Incentives: Introduce a significant bonus for the design team if their project wins a prestigious industry award or achieves exceptionally high client satisfaction scores.
Critique both proposed solutions. In your evaluation, identify the fundamental conflict between the agency and its employees that management is trying to solve. Then, make a justified argument for which solution is likely to be more successful in fostering the desired high-quality creative effort, and explain the potential downsides of your chosen approach.
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