Final answer:
Employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) are not typically used to elicit employee suggestions and reward productivity contributions; they provide ownership interests. In contrast, Scanlon plans, Rucker plans, and Improshare plans are linked to productivity and involve employee suggestions and rewards.
Step-by-step explanation:
The option that is typically not used by companies to elicit employee suggestions and reward them for contributions to productivity is d. Employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs). ESOPs are primarily designed to provide a company's workforce with an ownership interest in the company. In contrast, a. Scanlon plans, b. Rucker plans, and c. Improshare plans are all employee incentive programs that directly relate to productivity improvements and typically involve mechanisms for employee suggestions and rewards based on productivity increases.