Students are given a scenario of a small business and its benefits package. Students are to devise a benefits package “in keeping with the size and requirements for this firm.” This means that they need to carefully balance the costs and the administration requirements with the resources that the small firm has.
1. Assume you are mediating this dispute. Discuss five creative solutions you would suggest for how the grocers could reduce the health insurance benefits and the cost of their total benefits package without making any employees pay more. It is suggested that you consider giving this exercise as a group assignment. Finding five creative solutions will be challenging, but things that should be considered include: altering deductibles but providing grandfathered employees extra pay to compensate; altering the pay schedule by increasing the pay for existing employees to compensate for additional health care costs passed on to them, but new employees not getting that pay increase; etc.
2. From the grocery chains’ point of view, what is the downside of having two classes of