Angela,one of the Company's Best Administrative Employees,has Made an Appointment

Angela,one of the company's best administrative employees,has made an appointment with you,the vice president of HR.Angela is extremely upset because she has done an Internet search on compensation levels for her particular job.She has found that her salary falls below both the industry median and industry average,even though she has been with the company for four years and has had outstanding performance reviews.Angela is a valuable employee and she would be difficult to replace.In addition,if Angela's morale declines,her attitude will strongly affect her co-workers.The compensation system at your company has a strong emphasis on internal equity,and it is a solid and legal system.Which of the following arguments would be LEAST effective for retaining Angela and maintaining her morale?

A) Tell Angela that the company has done extensive job evaluation studies, and although she is a highly-valued employee, you can't justify paying her any more.
B) Demonstrate that your company offers higher benefits than does the average company listed in the surveys she has found.
C) Point out to Angela that your company is located in a small, rural town with a low cost of living, and that the data she has gathered from the Internet is based on companies that operate in all geographic locations.
D) Explain that Angela's job does not include responsibility for budgeting that the benchmark job in the Internet survey includes.