The problem in both cited cases was that the employee had the ability to give discounts. This is shocking. At most major retailers, only supervisors have that ability, and even there, they show up in audit forms that someone would see.

Neither is really a case of an incentive being gamed so much as lax security procedures. Simple auditing can sniff those out, and they're clearly violations of company rules over which the employee can be disciplined and probably fired, as per Joel's incentive plan.

On the whole, not a very good article.