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WWYD SAS SAS (Pronounced "Sass")is Short for Statistical Analysis System

question 83

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WWYD SAS SAS (pronounced "sass") is short for Statistical Analysis System, which started out as statistical software written by academics, intended for academics. During the 1970s, SAS further developed its software to standardize how statistical programs were written for many different applications. This allowed the company to market its software to Fortune 500 companies and universities during the IT revolution. While SAS has been profitable every year since inception, there are threats to its highly successful business model. First, it will need to grow its workforce to meet skyrocketing demand. Second, although powerful, SAS's software is expensive and complicated, which makes SAS susceptible to competition. Existing software services firms, such as SAP, Oracle, and IBM are buying business intelligence companies to compete directly with SAS. Finally, intense competition for increasingly scarce technology workers, like software engineers, may make it difficult for SAS to attract, motivate, and retain a top-notch workforce. In addition to highly competitive benefits (i.e., health insurance, life insurance, and short- and long-term disability coverage) , few companies offer a better set of employee perks than SAS: flexible work hours, a 35-hour workweek, country club, subsidized day care centers, free snacks, coffee, and drinks, a barber, dry cleaner, car detailer, tax advisors, and the like, even subsidized cafeterias that serve breakfast to 500, lunch to 2,300, and takeout food for employees to take home for dinner. There's also the SAS health care center with doctors and nurse practitioners. Few employees leave SAS voluntarily. SAS employees typically get a year-end bonus (linked to their individual performance) and a profit-sharing check (which can be as high as 15 percent of one's salary, depending on how well the company performs) . In this way, it balances a focus on merit pay, which is based on individual performance, with a focus on treating people in a more egalitarian way, by paying everyone the same percentage of salary based on company performance. Likewise, SAS works hard to make sure its employees are paid current market wages.
With a shortage of high tech workers and an average industry turnover rate of 22 percent, are SAS's incredible employment benefits and perks, combined with its aggressive performance bonuses and profit sharing, enough to get people to stay? At most companies and most industries, the answer would be yes. But the high-tech industry is different. For example, when Facebook offered one of Google's software engineers a job, Google countered with a 15 percent raise, a $500,000 cash bonus to stay one year, and four times the stock benefits. But, the engineer still left! If Google is challenged to keep its best people, then you'd think SAS would be, too. But, other than their locations, there's one key difference between these companies. Google is publicly owned, and can offer stock and stock options to its employees, but SAS is not. SAS is privately owned, with 2/3 of that ownership belonging to founder and CEO Jim Goodnight. So, unlike Google, SAS is unable to offer stock and stock options to its managers and employees.
Jeffrey Chambers, SAS's HR manager, says, "To attract people, we have to have a strong employment brand, we have to be the employer of choice, and we have to be known as a culture that engenders trust. And to keep people, we need to do all those things, and provide intellectually challenging work for employees." Refer to WWYD SAS. The year-end bonus and profit-sharing check received by SAS employees are examples of:

Definitions:

Unique Or New Forms

Innovative or first-of-its-kind methods, structures, or types not previously seen or used.

Specific Performance

A nonmonetary award granted by the courts to a party of the contract who has suffered a loss due to the actions of another party.

Nonmonetary Award

Recognition given to employees or individuals that do not involve a direct financial reward, such as certificates, plaques, and verbal recognition, aimed at motivating and valuing contributions.

Breach Of Contract

A violation of one or more terms of a contract by a party involved in the contract.