Peer Responses Public Human
Respond to two students discussion post. Just type the paragraph under the discussion. It doesn’t have to be in essay form.

Also, make sure that your response(s) are substantial and at least 100 words. In your responses, you must include connections to course learning objectives.

Discussion Post #1

Paige Cronan

“Compensation can be divided into salary, benefits, and incentives. While salary and benefits must be competitive, incentives are the most likely drivers of attracting and retaining the best employees in startups” (MaRS Startup Toolkit, 25, Sept. 2019). The different types of compensation for companies are 401K, bonuses, insurances, stock programs, etc. I work at Walmart currently and the company offers all of the above. Usually, it’s only full-time employees that receive benefits like this but at Walmart, you get them even as a part-time associate after you have been there for 90 days. There are essentially five factors affecting compensation such as years of experience and education level, industry, location, in-demand skill set, and supply and demand. If you are not able to provide a competitive salary, you could supplement with low-cost or no-cost perks. These perks could be developmental opportunities, more vacation time, flexible hours, etc. There are three compensation theories. First, you have reinforcement and expectancy theory which is an assumption that award-earning behavior is likely to be repeated. Equity Theory is the second and means that if an employee feels he is not being paid fairly this will result in low performance. There are three types of equity, internal, external, and individual. Internal equity is when the employee feels that fairness in pay is related to how much work is involved in a job. External equity is when the employee feels the fairness for what they are being paid is related to what other companies are paying their employees for the same type of job. Individual equity is when the employee understands that someone with more experience could be paid more for doing the same job. Lastly, Agency theory is when both the employer and employee are stakeholders of the company, this means that the compensation paid in the form of salary and wages can be determined based on the employee’s behavior.

Discussion Post #2

Alexandra Yarnall

The reading for this week discusses three specific compensation theories, which should be considered when an organization is developing a pay system. These three pay theories are the equity theory, the expectancy theory, and the reinforcement theory (Human 158). The equity theory deals with pay equality, or the perception of pay equality. When it comes to the pay, or specifically the amount of money that individuals earn at a job, they will more than likely compare their amount to the amount someone else makes for performing the same or very similar job (Human 158). If individuals perceive that their pay is less than others performing the same jobs, especially within the organization, they may lose motivation or begin to underperform. Another theory discussed is the expectancy theory, this theory implies that workers will put in an amount of effort that is based on the pay they expect from the job (Human 158). Organizations should ensure that employees feel they are receiving compensation that makes their work worth doing well. Then final theory that was addressed was the reinforcement theory. The book explains this theory can be beneficial to reward high or above ordinary performance (Human 158). If employees never see good work rewarded or recognized, and only see it treated the same as bad or mediocre work, then the employees will not be incentivized or motivated to work harder. The theory utilized will depend upon the employee’s perceptions, the company’s culture, and what those in leadership are trying to gain from their employees.

The wages that people receive and the compensation packages they may receive, are often talked about interchangeably, but their difference should be specified. When referring to the wage someone makes or their salary, this is mostly referring to the agreed upon amount of money they will receive from their workplace for performing their job. When referring to compensation and compensation packages, this typically entails more than just the amount received on a paycheck. Specifically speaking, a compensation package typically includes details regarding payment type, health-care benefits, 401k, sick leave, paid time-off, bonuses, and commissions (Human 141). When looking into types of pay that employees can receive, the textbook mentions three typical modes of pay which are hourly wage, salaried, and piecework (Human 160). Typically, salaried pay is utilized for full time employees who may be higher up in larger organizations, these individuals have a set pay and will not receive overtime pay even if they work longer hours than normal. Hourly paid employees are very common for lower level jobs, smaller organizations, or for example the food industry. Since these types of employees do not have an established month or yearly salary, if they work more hours than previously expected they can receive overtime pay. Lastly, organizations may choose to use a piece work pay system. This is not as common as the others, and instead of an agreed upon amount or number of hours, the individuals are paid per piece of merchandise or goods they make. Although this is not the most typical pay system, I have come to understand this as it is utilized in the pallet construction industry in which I have worked. Where pallets, or specific merchandise items are the only item being produced, it can be more motivating for the employee and beneficial for the company to utilize a piece work system rather than a salary or an hourly pay. This may ensure more pallets or merchandise get produced. When looking at more that just the pay, such as, other benefits that are included in a compensation package for workers there are many influences to consider. These influential factors could be both internal to the organization and external regarding the environment. One internal factor that could influence the types of packages that are presented to employees is the company’s values. If an organization wants not only their employee’s physical but also mental health taken care of, then their benefits package may include excellent coverage for both doctors and psychiatrists or therapist. However, if taking care of the employee is not one of the company’s core values, their health benefits may only meet the bare minimum legal requirements for their state. This means they may not actually provide much coverage for the employee. External factors can have a huge influence over a compensation package. As mentioned above, individuals may compare the pay of similar jobs to see if they are getting what they believe is fair payment of their job. Individuals may do the same for the benefits they are offered or are receiving. In order to attract workers and to retain those who work in the company, organizations will have to keep their benefits as close to a competitive and fair range as possible. Another external factor that may influence the forms of compensation received, is the current standing of the economy and how well the organizations in question is performing in the current economy (Human 146). Establishing a pay system by analyzing what pay theories should be utilized, what form of payment to use, and what other compensation benefits should be administered to an employee is no easy task and should be approached strategically.