What type of incentive plan compares a worker's performance against objective standards?

The individual incentive plan is designed to evaluate each worker's performance against clear, objective standards, making it the appropriate choice for this question. This type of plan focuses on individual accomplishments and contributions, allowing for a more personalized assessment of performance. By tying rewards directly to an employee's output, quality of work, or specific goals achieved, organizations can motivate employees to improve their productivity and performance.

This method also provides transparency and clarity, as employees are aware of the performance metrics they need to meet to receive incentives. In contrast, the other options tend to focus on group dynamics or collective achievements rather than individual performance metrics, which is why they do not fit the criteria set out in the question. Group incentive plans evaluate performance as a collective, team-based incentive plans incentivize team outcomes, and merit-based compensation plans may incorporate more subjective factors such as overall job performance and contributions rather than strictly objective standards.