Student 1
What are some characteristics of an unsuccessful versus a successful performance appraisal system?
There are many reasons why a performance appraisal system can fail. They can be poorly designed in which they will not function the way in which they were intended to. Sometimes they were not tied directly to their organizational objectives or the system will lack the tools that are needed like the ability to have written documentation. Another reason why it can fail is if it is not properly communicated with everyone. Everyone involved with the system should know the expectations of them a how it relates to them. Which can lead to them being unsupported by management due to a lack of communication and managers sticking to the process. This also occurs when the managers are not willing to give the people who report to them accurate accounts as to how well they performed throughout the year.
Student 2
Question 9 What are some characteristics of an unsuccessful versus a successful performance appraisal system?
Some characteristics of an unsuccessful performance include “poorly defined systems, poorly communicated systems, inappropriate communicated systems, poor supported systems, and unmonitored systems.” (p. 326) Criteria for a successful appraisal performance includes, “clear objectives, management of employment endorsement, flexibility, predictability, performance dialogue, appraisal form and periodic system checks.” (p. 328)
I couldn’t agree more with the factors that go into a successful performance appraisal. An employee should understand the “clear objectives” that are presented in these appraisals and also have the opportunity to voice their feedback and concerns to their manager. Organizations should deliver these appraisals in a clear and organized way to ensure the employee feels comfortable and as a result it promotes a healthy working environment.
Anthony, William P., Kacmar, Michelle K., Perrew, Pamela L. (2010) Human Resource Management: A Strategic Approach, (6th Edition) Cengage Learning.
Student 3
What are the important external and internal environmental variables affecting compensation plans? Which are most important? Why?
Below are some of the most important internal and external factors that affect organization compensation plans.
Internal factors:
Organization strategy- determines how the business budgets resources.
Job evaluation- determines a jobs worth based on the needed skills and qualification.
Job analysis- determines a positions responsibility in order to create the job description.
External factors:
Wage levels- by conducting surveys to make sure that salaries align with industry standards.
Government- various legislative acts (minimum wage, equal pay, FLSA etc.) affects internal compensation plans.
Globalization- has caused major changes in compensation structures in many employment sectors i.e. technology and electronics.
Student 4
Question 1: What are the important external and internal environmental variables affecting compensation plans? Which are most important? Why?
External Environmental Variables are:
Competition– the level of the competition an organization faces in the product market.
Labor Market– concentrates on labor supply and demand, and the wage levels that competitors are paying to their employees.
Government Regulations– Federal legislation can affect almost every aspect of the compensation plan. To be exact, it places a lower limit on wages that can be paid, affects raise and incentive decisions, proscribes wage discrimination, and requires that certain benefits be paid for all employees. (Anthony, Kacmar, Perrewe, 2010)
Internal Environmental Variables are:
Corporate Strategy– providing the direction for the organization. Pay system needs to be designed to support an organization’s long term corporate strategy.
Management Philosophy– the value that needs to be placed on human resources and needs to be reflected in the relationship between management and line employees.
The Type of Job– differences between the jobs in terms of their assigned tasks, amount of physical or mental effort, etc… The ability to distinguish all of the components of different types of jobs is important to determine the pay.
Productivity– the ratio of outputs to inputs.
I think the most important variables are competition, corporate strategy, and government regulations. I believe competition forces organization to look at its pay levels. Moreover, the compensation system needs to be well-aligned with the corporate strategy for an organization not to lose a direction it’s going with. As for the government regulations, it dictates many pay & benefit decisions companies need to follow in order not to get in trouble with the law.
Reference:
Anthony, W.P., Kacmar, M.K., Perrewe, P.L. (2010). Human Resource Management: A Strategic Approach. (6th ed.) Cengage Learning.
Student 5
If you were to design a pay system for sales employees at a large mens clothing store, how would you set it up and why?
If I had the ability to design a pay system for a mens clothing store, I would do a small base salary with the rest of their earnings coming from 3% commissions from their total sales. I would do this because generally the commission-based sales platform will drive the associates to be more productive by getting more sales and this platform will make the store more profitable by not having an excessive employee pay structure that will cut into the total profits
Student 6
10. If you were to design a pay system for sales employees at a large mens clothing store, how would you set it up and why?
I have done HR for salespeople and found that the ideal pay system has a strong pay for performance element. If a major goal of compensation is to motivate employees to work at their best level, then pay for performance is an intuitively appealing idea (Anthony, Kacmar & Perrew, 2010, pg. 346). Sales is also the work of individual contributors, so designing rewards at the individual level would matter more. I would design the pay structure to include a decent but not excellent base salary, and then tack on a commission structure. A straight commission plan would demotivate employees to be customer focused, and may result in a bad reputation for the store. Combining an hourly base and commission would be more likely to foster an environment where employees take pride in their work. It would also not assume that the only objective for an employee is to make money, and factor in intrinsic motivators such as job stability.
Anthony, William P., Kacmar, Michelle K., Perrew, Pamela L. (2010) Human Resource Management: A Strategic Approach, (6th Edition) Cengage Learning.
