The most common reward policy for sales personnel is to pay them a fixed
annual salary plus a variable commission. A problem with using this method is that
a customer-contact employee who aims to maximise his/her commission earnings
is often not concerned with the quality of the service-production/delivery process
and thus, not in a position to maximise customer satisfaction and thereby secure
repeat business. This reward strategy also heavily discriminates against personnel whose targets cannot be directly linked with sales revenues but whose contribution
to providing technical back up may be equally paramount for the success of the
business. The banks’ reward structure has created a ‘ them’ and ‘us’ mentality, leading
to divergent subcultures. Wilson’s studies (1997a and 1997b) have also identified
the existence of subcultures that relate to different staff functions (i.e. sales versus
service personnel). Such a set of subcultures was also discussed by Rosen (1985) in
his examination of an advertising agency.