The relative lack of positive goals for the cashier/finisher position is ineffective. Employees are not encouraged to seek new, higher standards of performance because they face limited advancement and pay raise prospects. The company's emphasis on minimum standards works well, but the bagel example shows how better use of positive goal-setting can help to unleash the full potential of Dunkin's front-line customer service staff. If these employees working towards positive goals can bring the chain to be the number one bagel seller in the country in less than a year, then clearly the firm's day-to-day performance is underperformance and this is largely due to the lack of such rewards.

Conclusion

The cashier/finisher position at Dunkin' Donuts can be difficult to fill. As such, the company's job design, rewards and motivations systems are all geared towards meeting minimum standards rather than maximizing results. The systems are effective in that the company successfully maintains its minimum standards and is able to cobble together some motivation from its employees...

When the firm has offered a compelling blend of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards, success has followed. Yet company-wide adoption of such motivators remains minimal, and as a consequence cashier/finishers lack the motivation to perform to their highest level.
Works Cited:

Job Posting: Dunkin' Donuts Crew Member. Snagajob.com. Retrieved October 17, 2009 from http://www.snagajob.com/job-seeker/jobs/job-details.aspx?postingId=1308092&ref=vseindeed

No author. (2007). Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. NetMBA.com. Retrieved October 17, 2009 from http://www.netmba.com/mgmt/ob/motivation/maslow/

No author. (2008). Dunkin' Donuts rewards "brilliant bagel behavior." Incentive Performance Center. Retrieved October 17, 2009 from http://www.incentivecentral.org/employees/casestudies/Dunkin_Donuts_Rewards_Brilliant_Bagel_Behavior_.836.html