HR Compensation Portfolio

Signature Assignment – HRM 667 ______________________________________________________

   Prepare a Compensation Portfolio

All students must complete a “signature” assignment that is a standard component of all HRM-667 sections. Exceptional  You achieve this through a combination of research and practical application of compensation concepts relating to extrinsic and intrinsic rewards as elements for shaping work-related behaviors that an organization deems as most valuable for achievement of its strategic advantage and objectives.  If you have recently completed HRM 637, you are likely already familiar with the signature assignment approach to exploring HR concepts through development of an integrated application.

In HRM 667 you will combine concepts through discussion of current research on reward, motivation, and performance appraisal, coupled with practical application of these ideas through evaluation of specific jobs and comparison of these jobs within a defined industry and market salary and benefits survey that lead to assessing benefits relevant to the employee population and organizational structure, and formulating a compensation system based upon merit, knowledge, and skill acquisition.

Mechanics of a traditional paper, such as introduction, discussion of research findings, a summarization and conclusion of the specific topic together with a reflection on the impact of the assignment and its influence on your own personal, academic, and/or professional development appear in the final product, along with such practical elements as a job analysis identifying compensable factors, tying those factors to a pay scheme that attempts to incentivize the desired work behaviors and attitudes consistent with the company’s strategic goals.

The purpose of this Preparation Guide is to provide you with some general direction concerning the content, process, and structure of your signature assignment. In the sections below, helpful information is proffered that will prove valuable with respect to facilitating your completion of a course project reflective of the high standards of quality work and personal learning that should be the aim of each participant in the course.

Step 1:             Select an organization to feature in your portfolio

Step 2:             Select a position or job series in the organization to analyze and evaluate for compensation

Step 3:             Prepare a portfolio of the planning, analysis, and data collection to develop a compensation plan for the job(s) 

Include the following in your job portfolio:

• Contextual influences affecting the compensation (Chapters 1-2)
• Job analysis of select position(s)/series (Chapter   6)
• The underlying bases for a pay system for the job and context (Chapters 3,4,5)
• Job evaluation plan for determining internal relationships             (Chapter   6)
• Determine an external market and conduct a market survey (Chapters 7)
• Identify bases for incentivizing pay and performance (Chapters 5 & 8)

Begin by selecting an organization to feature in your portfolio

(e.g., Nike; Google; Southwest Airlines, etc.)

Select a position or job series within the organization to analyze

(e.g., production assistant, maintenance, sales associate, engineer, etc.)

Your portfolio will begin with a brief background of the organization, including its mission and vision. (Part 1 Due Week 2)

Your portfolio will proceed with the internal and external motivators relating to this kind of work and the relationship of this job to the overall goals / strategies / values of the organization. (e.g., Nike needs to save money in production and boost sales so will incentivize employee behaviors that lead to desired outcomes; Google needs to foster intense creativity so in addition to high pay, provides extensive and uncommon benefits such as 24-hour cafeteria services for free). (Part 2a – Due Week 3)

Begin by providing the formal definition of job analysis for reward evaluation as described in the text. Discuss your decision to conduct a job evaluation analysis and the factors that will need to be considered.  Describe the process of collecting information about the job and the relative evaluation factors.  Prepare a Job Description of the select position (see, Rubric).  The job analysis, evaluation questionnaire(s), evaluation factors and reward schemes will become appendices in your final report. (Part 2b – Due Week 3)

Develop an evaluation plan utilizing the theories discussed in the text, including identification of an appropriate external market and benchmarks for salary comparison data and analysis. (Part 3 – Due Week 4)

Written Performance Standards (see also, Rubric)

Structure and Organization

• Clarity of Introduction
• Overview of Topic
• Quality of Writing
• Grammar, Punctuation, Spelling, and Format

Development of Main Points

• Clearly Describes + Emphasizes Key Ideas
• Illustrates Main Points with Examples
• Quality of Writing and Adequacy of Analysis

Concluding Summary

• Summarizes Key Ideas
• Quality of Writing and Adequacy of Summation/Conclusion

While your job portfolio is divided into specific parts as outlined above and in the rubric on page 3, the paper should flow from one section to the next in a seamless fashion, providing the reader with a view of the entire HR process relating to compensation including basis for pay, incentives, intrinsic and extrinsic motivators, pay relative to the market and competing firms, and gaining competitive advantage from the overall reward system.