I would assume that management approached those recommendations with retention of their best associates in mind, while knowing higher ups could and in many cases undercut those recommendations. What's most baffling is 10 year associates, top rated and HiPo folks, have been receiving .50-.64 cents while shitbags have received $1-$1.25. This is the reason the merit based aspect is hard to believe. Not that you SMs and ASMs are part of any conspiracy to fuck over tenured associates, but if your recommendation is glowing for a HiPo associate and the higher ups say fuck it, .60 cents, it creates a ton of tension between associates and store management, which sucks for all of us.