The Well-Paid Receptionist Case Analysis
Harvey hired the very qualified Cathy Brannen seven years ago for an annual salary of $14,000 and the incentive of sales override of 2% of the total sales. Today, Harvey just realized that his secretary has been living very comfortable with $127,614.21 this year. Harvey cannot believe the situation and wants to address her salary, which he feels is inappropriate, but has not considered his contributions, or lack of contributions, that has led to this outcome (Cohen & Fink, 2001). A Bloated Salary and an Oblivious Leader
Cathy has been making a significant amount for some time, refer to Table 1. There have been significant raises each year and should have been caught by Harvey or the comptroller long before her 7 year anniversary. Why was there a lack of due diligence that allowed this to not be noticed more promptly? Why were no complaints brought forward by other employees? Is this an isolated case or other employees making significant salaries as well?
Cathy is making significantly more than Harvey’s best salespersons and managers, almost as much as Harvey and extremely higher than any receptionist’s salary (Cohen & Fink, 2001). The problem does not lie with just overlooked financial, payroll documents but Harvey’s lack of participation in the financials of his business. When Harvey hired Cathy, he could not offer her requested salary, and even made an offer that was 12% lower than her previous salary, but Harvey needed the
Colin Moore works hard to distinguish himself; however, he is dissatisfied with organizational opportunities, which cause no appreciative compensation. Moreover, he believes he has missed a chance to compete with new employees because of technical inability. Looking at another position, a massive fix is needed by Bob, who has worked seven years in HUS’s HR department. In a pressured working environment, Bob has been asked for offering competitive raises to support managers’ preferred employees. It will cause him to switch lots of programs to provide better compensation for employees. Based on what Bob’s shared he is also having a problem filling out benefit forms, which he has considered be fixed. Bobs role is very hectic at this time; he was not able to hand out forms unless he would have an assistant.
Boseman remain intimately involved in this process, empower HR to own most of the aforementioned research, and maintain ownership of the responsibility of speaking to Julia and resolving her issues. Doing so would enable Dr. Boseman to learn additional information about the company’s compensation strategy and methodologies and allows her to work as Julia’s advocate when appropriate throughout the process while balancing her responsibilities as a steward of the company. Furthermore, it enables HR to remain a secondary point of escalation within the company for Julia should she be dissatisfied with the HR and legal approved resolution provided by Dr. Boseman at the conclusion of the examination of salary inequity. In conclusion, if Dr. Boseman is empathetic, open minded, highly communicative, thorough, and proactive in her approach to handling this issue, there is a strong chance the company will have the opportunity to educate Julia regarding the company’s pay practices, appropriately address her concerns, and/or resolve any inadvertent salary inequities without litigation or intervention from the
carefully planned out and considered, the total closure or failure of the organization could be at hand in the near future. In our modern age, employers know that salary is not the only factor that should be considered and that salary alone will not lead to better or more highly profitable workers alone. This is why compensation planning is important and why pay should have some connection between performance and compensation. This is why the human resources department should consider many monetary and non-monetary factors when considering how to properly compensate and motivate employees (Dessler, 2013).
“I have mentioned the way the hiring process seems designed, in some cases, to prevent any discussion or even disclosure of wage- whisking the applicant from interview to orientation before the crass subject of money can be raised. Some employers go further; instead of relying on the informal “money taboo” to keep workers from discussing and comparing wages, they specifically enjoin workers from doing so.” (207)
In this country, getting paid to perform your job is understood. It is routine. It is expected. It is right. But how is one employee’s salary regarded in comparison to another employee’s salary? Do these salaries have to be equal? Most would agree that if both employees are performing the same tasks at the same establishment with the same amount of dedication and efficiency, equal pay is deserved. But what about if one employee is male and the other female, then on what grounds are their salaries determined? This answer shows its true colors through the life of one woman working for a well established company where nearly all employees were men, and for her particular position, she was the sole female. Her efforts to overcome pay
Harvey Finley did a quick double take when he caught a glimpse of the figure representing Ms. Brannen’s salary on the year-end printout. A hurried call to payroll confirmed it. Yes, his receptionist had been paid $127 614.21 for her services last year. As he sat in stunned silence, he had the sudden realization that since his firm was doing so well this year, she would earn at least 10 to 15 percent more money during the current fiscal year. This was a shock, indeed.
As Director of Human Resources for Wilson Bros, the conclusions that I draw with respect to the status of the company’s compensation strategies is that they lack security for their employee’s compensation and lack flexibility to the changing economy, competitive environment, and growing organizational needs.
Federal governance in executive pay is essential to a stable and healthy economy. I offer that the issue of Federal governance in executive pay is bigger than equity in compensation. “Taxpayers and politicians and others disapprove of these levels of compensation precisely because the leaders of these firms, in the words of Treasury Department officials, nearly caused the financial system worldwide to collapse.”
Alkadry, G., & Tower, L. (2011). Covert pay discrimination: How authority affects pay differences between women and men. Public Administration Review, 71 (5), 740-750. Retrieved from: eds.a.ebscohost.com.proxy1.ncu.edu/ehost
This report explores the issue of the pay that top executives make, and the reasons why they do. It also suggests improvements that can be made to make the system better. High Pay Seems Small When Compared To Company Profits Many companies pull in profits that are extremely high. When an employee of such a companies salary is compared to the amount of profit that the company earns, it starts to seem reasonable. It only makes sense that if the employee is directly responsible for the success of their company, then they deserve to get their payback. It seems ironic, but many salaries even look small once compared with a companies profits. Top Executives Are Under A Lot Of Pressure Being the CEO of a
As a global justice organization, FIDA employs a hiring policy that provides for a limit on the salary of employees to be hired. Thus, the highest paid salary will not exceed three times that which is paid to the lowest paid member of the organization. However, FIDA needs a new chief executive officer and is considering a candidate, Joan, who wants three times the outgoing officer’s salary. Joan has indicated that she is worthy of the higher salary as she can significantly increase funds raised. Applying the Rawls’s difference principle would support hiring Joan at the higher salary only if it resulted in a greater share of resources available to all stakeholders and benefited the least well off of that group. Therefore, the key stakeholders must be identified and it must be determined whether they would be better off under the circumstances.
In 2003 the average pay for CEOs at 200 of the largest U.S. companies was $11.3 million--but there are a good number whose compensation packages approach the $100 million mark. Faced with these figures, Americans from all walks of life--who revile CEOs as greedy fat cats--are overcome with bewilderment and indignation. Astonished to learn that what an average worker earns in a year, some CEOs earn in less than a week--people ask themselves: "How can the work of a
This paper will discuss the reasons why CEOs are not being overpaid. It will apply the utilitarian ethical principle to many a few aspects to CEO compensation and whether or not it is justifiable for such pay. The paper will look at whether or not their performance is justifiable for the pay because they play such a big role in the livelihood of the company along with the principle agency theory and how it is being addressed for the benefit of the shareholders and others involved with the company, the supply and demand of the CEOs, and the paper will describe the comparison of other professions to help link the idea of CEOs being fairly compensated.
This paper will outline an employee compensation and benefits package for a new hire for a secretary for the department. First, it will describe the organization I chose for designating a compensation package. Next, this paper will develop an employee compensation and benefits package for this new position. This paper will outline an employee compensation and benefits package for a new hire for a secretary for the department. First, it will describe the organization I chose for designating a compensation package. Next, this paper will develop an employee compensation and benefits package for this new position. Attached to this paper is a Powerpoint presentation that will detail this employee compensation and benefits package, as well as an the eligibility of exempt or non-exempt status, other benefits that might be considered, government regulations that influence the compensation, two other organizations with similar compensation, and how this package aligns with the HRM strategy.
Some organizations are unwilling to show their reward systems and pay policies (Lawler, 1995). Many Human Resources professionals believe gender pay gaps to be resolvable through the monitoring of pay levels and communication (Report on Salary Surveys).Greater pay transparency has been a great benefit to the board, employees and managers as they now know what is happening across the business and they are able to confidently justify their actions (Commission Policy Report).All market-related supplements are recorded and reviewed separately from basic salary to ensure openness and transparency. Regular research market rates within the various labor markets in which they operate is undertaken improving transparency would also help to improve talent development, as employees would be able to see what they could earn if they wanted to move to another division and upgrade their skill set. (Commission Policy Report).