Part 1

1 : Overview of Compensation and Strategic Perspectives of Compenstation

Compensation Definitions and Systems

What is your definition of compensation? How do perspectives on compensation differ? What forms of pay are used in your organization?

2 : Overview of Compensation and Strategic Perspectives of Compenstation

Compensation Strategies and Organizations

Look at the compensation strategies of Google, Medtronic, and Merrill Lynch.

- Discuss the companies' compensation strategies and see whether there is a fit between organization and strategy (See Exhibit 2.1 in the text and check out the companies' websites, etc.).

- Are the business conditions, customers served, and employee skills the same for each? If not, how are they different?

- What are the compensation strategies used by your organization?

Part 2

1 : Internal Alignment and Job Analysis

Job Analysis

Job analysis has been considered the cornerstone of human resource management. What is job analysis? Describe the job analysis process. What are some challenges with the job analysis process? How does it support managers making pay decisions?

2 : Internal Alignment and Job Analysis

Internal Consistency

What is a pay structure? Discuss the factors that influence internal pay structures. Based upon your own experience and research, which ones do you feel are the most important? Why are these the most important? What impact do they have on the design of the internal pay structures?

Part 3

1 : Job Evaluation

Employee Involvement in Job Evaluation

What are the pros and cons of having employees involved in compensation decisions? What forms can employee involvement take? What types of involvement are there in compensation decisions in your organization?

2 : Job Evaluation

Job Evaluation System

Consider several employers in your area, such as a college, hospital, retail store, auto dealership, or governmental agency. What compensable factors do you feel each of these employers would use to evaluate jobs? How would they go about identifying these factors? What factors does your organization use?

Part 4

1 : Surveying the Market, Determining the Relevant Market

Using Market Surveys

What is a market survey? What factors determine the relevant market for a survey? Why is the definition of the relevant market so important?

2 : Surveying the Market, Determining the Relevant Market

Salary Ranges and Pay Bands

What are the differences between salary ranges or pay grades and pay bands? Why would you use either? What are the pros and cons of using them to achieve internal alignment? How do they help or hinder external competitiveness?

Part 5

1 : Pay for Performance Plans, Performance Appraisals, and Incentive Plans

Pay-for-Performance Approaches

Does your organization have a pay-for-performance system? If so, describe how it works. If your organization does not, discuss the type of plan they do have and whether or not you think they should have a pay-for-performance plan.

2 : Pay for Performance Plans, Performance Appraisals, and Incentive Plans

Rating Performance Effectively

Which performance appraisal formats does your organization use? Given what you learned in the reading for this week, how could it be improved? Of all of the approaches found in the course reading for the week, which would you recommend as the best for your organization to use?

Part 6

1 : Executive Compensation, Benefits, and Budgets and Administration

Executive and Other Special Group Pay

In 2008, Pratt estimated that executives received more than 360 times the pay of the average worker (as cited in Milkovich, Newman, & Gerhart, 2011). What are the components of executive compensation? Why is there concern about executive pay today?

2 : Executive Compensation, Benefits, and Budgets and Administration

Managing Compensation Programs

Compensation programs are managed to assure that the total compensation is aligned with organizational goals and strategies. There are the right number of employees with the correct skill sets, and they are paid at the appropriate level and within a budget that is affordable to the organization. How can labor costs be managed? What tools are available to HR?

Part 7

1 : Role of Government, Legal Issues, and Unions in Compensation

HR's Legal and Regulatory Environment

Compensation programs are managed within a legal and regulatory environment. What are several laws that influence compensation programs in your organization? What rules and regulations are difficult for management to understand in your organization? What has your organization had to do to meet requirements of new or changed laws and regulations?

2 : Role of Government, Legal Issues, and Unions in Compensation

Union Involvement in Comp Practices

Unions have a significant impact on compensation design. Union contracts and negotiations determine how compensation will function in many companies. How has the role of unions affected wage levels, structure of pay plans, and pay practices like differentials? What are some of the common compensation clauses found in union agreements?