Business is business, so what's wrong with a little in-house incentive. Unless handled poorly, it usually brings the troops together tighter and even yields a higher form of competitiveness and gets your people to understand free trade, thus resulting in better cooperation as they see how things really gel and how people can work with one another.
I'd offer a free week's vacation for the top winner. Nothing more than that kinda incentive is gonna get results. Let them all submit several schemes, have a vote, then have a semi-final and the winner takes all. The runners up get a week's worth of free lunches or a day off.... with pay.
You don't want any input, so you're stuck with what ya have so far, but it'll do. Either of those designs will work. Just not my cup-a-tea, but if it's what your shop is used to..... git-r' done.
Interestingly enough I agree with everything said above under the right circumstances.
One must wonder though, is the goal of a new logo for increased business, brand awareness, or simply just to have a new logo.
If it is the latter, simply to have a new logo, without much care for the logo performing or achieving anything, than I could agree 100% with you.
If on the other hand this business owner, is interested in the logo helping to increase business, it would be disingenious for anyone to tell him to proceed with whats on deck. (not suggesting you Gino have implied this)
The other aspect to all of this, is unless a business owner has experienced the tangible results from investing in a good logo, they will always have a hard time contemplating spending 1, 2 or even 10 grand on a logo.
To many owners, it is about the same as buying toilet paper, just another expense.
Good luck to him, and I hope it works out the way he has intended!