Chapter 11

This week we learned about pay. We learned about all of the different pay stuructures and policies, and the decisions that are invovled in establishing them. Basically Organizations decide relative pay for different jobs within their company (this may vary depending on job functions or responsibility). They decide the average paid for the different jobs and then use this information to put together a pay structure policy. Economic forces can be a big influence on decisions regarding pay. Companies have to juggle meeting the demands of employer markets and product markets. Depending on the companies situation and their business strategy, a decision is made whether to pay employees below, at or above the market rate (each of which can have its consequences). When people are deciding if they are paid fairly the compare their pay/input ratio with other people's pay/input ratio. I know I have done this before when evaluating my pay level. I have asked many people about their jobs and their pay structures. Unfortunately, I feel that being a student and only accepting part time jobs puts you in a position to get paid lower than market value, which is frustrating. Normally, I have felt underpaid and have usually left most jobs hoping for a better opportunity. It's important that Human Resources constantly compares actual pay with pay structures to see and make sure that the practices and policies match. I feel that it is a big responsibility to work with managers in making sure that employees are happy and motivated with their pay structure. I didn't realize how much went into pay structures and found it interesting to learn about.