Module 1 – Case
Wage and Salary Administration
Case Assignment
Is There a Maximum Rate of Pay?
You are the Total Rewards Manager for Front Appliance Company. You are usually a pretty relaxed, friendly, and easy-going manager. Although you are a no-nonsense, competent executive, you are one of the most popular managers in the company. This particular morning, however, you feel a challenge ahead.
As chair of Front’s job evaluation committee, you called a late-morning meeting at which several jobs were to be considered for re-evaluation. The jobs had already been rated and assigned to Pay Grade 4. But the Office Manager, Ortho Janson, was upset that one of his employees was not rated higher. To press the issue, Ortho had taken his case to two executives who were members of the job evaluation committee. The two executives (Production Manager Peter Strong and Marketing Manager Margo Arms) then requested that the job ratings be reviewed. Peter and Margo supported Ortho’s side of the dispute, and you are not looking forward to the confrontation that is almost certain to occur.
The controversial job is that of receptionist. Only one receptionist position exists at Front Appliances, and Rebecca Reichart held it. Rebecca has been with the firm 14 years, longer than any of the committee members. She is extremely efficient, and virtually all the executives in the company, including the president, have noticed and commented on her outstanding work. Peter and Margo are particularly pleased with Rebecca because of the cordial manner in which she greets and accommodates Front’s customers and vendors, who frequently visit the plant. They feel that Rebecca projects a positive image of the company.
To begin the meeting,
you say the following:
(Fill in what you would say.) |
But before you can finish, Peter interrupts: “I suggest we start with Rebecca.” Margo nods in agreement. When you regain your composure,
you quietly but firmly assert:
(Fill in what you would say.) |
Then you proceed to pass out copies of the receptionist job description to Peter and Margo, who are visibly irritated.
Continue in the meeting and lead the discussion, in a conversational tone as if Rebecca were also in the room.
1.
Explain to the group why you insist that the job, not the person, be evaluated.
2.
Share with the others whether or not you think there should be a maximum rate of pay for every job in an organization, regardless of how well the job is being performed. Justify your response.
3.
Rebecca is earning the maximum of the range for her pay grade. Discuss ways an employee at the top of his/her pay range might be able to obtain a salary increase.
Be specific and give good examples that Rebecca might also be able to apply easily to her situation.
Use at least
3 library sources and/or module materials to help strengthen and support what you say.
Submit your response by the module due date. Your response can be in one of the following formats:
· Audio recording (about 8 minutes, with a written reference list provided)
· Audio/video slide presentation (8 slides, not counting the cover or reference slide)
· Short video (about 8 minutes), with a reference list provided)
Note: Video, Audio, and Voice Over Slide Presentations
These presentations might take time to upload directly to the classroom. If you have slow internet, you may be timed out.
To resolve this, your submission may be uploaded to YouTube and the link shared. Set as
public or unlisted, NOT PRIVATE. Unlisted means your audio/video/slide presentation will not come up in search results. Only those who know the link can view it, even if they do not have a YouTube account/username.
Important: Put the link to your video, slide presentation, or audio recording in a Word document and submit your Word document as the assignment to the Dropbox. Your professor will find the link and click it to access your submission. (Note: Slide presentations with written speaker notes normally load to the classroom with no issue.)
Module 1 – Resources
Wage and Salary Administration
Money is not the most important thing in the world. Love is. Fortunately, I love money.
—Jackie Mason, comedian
Job evaluation methods can range from simple to complex. Job ranking and paired comparison are the simplest forms. For each the job as whole is compared with other jobs. This is followed by ranking them in order of importance from simplest job to most difficult. Jobs are judged according to duties, responsibilities, and job demands.
Job classification methods examine job grades or classes with similar difficulty or require similar skills. The grades are determined from job analysis information. Jobs are placed into a class based on how well its characteristics fit in the class.
Point factor rating is commonly used where jobs are broken down over identifiable factors such as skills, effort, knowledge, responsibility, job conditions, etc. Plots are allotted for each factor. Weights are given depending on the job worth. Jobs with similar points are placed in the same grade.
Factor comparison method combines both the ranking and points methods by rating jobs and comparing them. Factor comparison is often used to evaluate higher-level positions (professional and managerial).
The following video presents these methods in more detail:
· Job Ranking
· Paired Comparison Ranking
· Job Classification
· Point Factor Rating
· Factor Comparison
Berry, J. (Oct. 25, 2020).
Evaluating jobs to ensure equity in pay
. Timeless Time HR.
View the next three videos to more fully understand compensable factors and how to develop a base pay structure.
Designing total rewards
– From LinkedIn Learning. Please note that this link will open in a new window and may require activation of a LinkedIn account on the first attempt. Trident students may use their student email address to access this free subscription to LinkedIn Learning as a part of this course.
Evaluate total compensation
– From LinkedIn Learning.
Why gender pay equity is critical
– From LinkedIn Learning.
Optional Reading
OWLPurdue. (2012, May 9).
Purdue Owl: APA formatting: The basics
[Video file]. Retrieved from
Business & Legal Reports (Firm). (2014). Employee Compensation in [choose a state]. Madison, CT: BLR. Retrieved from EBSCO in the Trident Online Library.
Phillips, R., & Robinson, J. (2016).
Developing & maintaining a sound base pay program
, pp. 4-26. Retrieved from
Tarallo, M. (2018).
Paved with good intentions: How employee incentives can go awry
. Retrieved from
