C. Pay raise commensurate with their performance is the best answer. A merit bonus, sometimes described in compensation practice as a lump-sum merit award, is commonly used when a high-performing employee is already at or near the maximum of the established salary range. The employee ' s performance may justify additional financial recognition, but increasing base salary by the normal merit percentage would move the employee beyond the organization ' s approved range maximum.

The HRCI SPHR framework places this issue squarely within Total Rewards . Its outline requires senior HR professionals to analyze compensation strategies involving “incentives, bonuses” and to understand “job pricing and pay structures.” These concepts require distinguishing between adjustments to base salary and one-time payments.

A merit bonus solves an important compensation-management problem: it allows the organization to recognize strong performance without permanently increasing base pay above the appropriate salary-range ceiling. WorldatWork similarly identifies a lump-sum bonus as a common solution when the calculated merit increase would otherwise cause an employee ' s salary to exceed the defined range maximum.

A is incorrect because a merit bonus is itself a form of performance-related financial recognition; employees do not receive it because they are prohibited from receiving a “regular bonus.”

B is incorrect because the logic is reversed. A lump-sum payment is typically the alternative being provided, not an increase the employee cannot receive. A compa-ratio compares an employee ' s salary with the midpoint of the salary range and helps evaluate salary positioning.

D is incorrect because job-evaluation points generally help establish the relative value or classification of a job. They do not determine whether a high-performing employee at the range maximum should receive a merit award.

The examination clue is “high in the salary range.” The employee deserves performance recognition but cannot appropriately receive an equivalent permanent base-pay increase. Therefore, C is the best answer.