BUS 681 Entire Course

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Week 1

Compensation Strategy. Discuss the general goals of an organization's compensation system, including how a compensation strategy works to support the organization's business strategy. Respond to at least two of your fellow students’ postings. 

Compensation Practices. Discuss the various factors that influence a company’s competitive strategies and compensation practices. Assess how a company can mitigate these factors using effective compensation practices. Respond to at least two of your fellow students’ postings. 

Journal Article Research and Analysis. Using a variety of research techniques, write a 3-5 page essay that summarizes the impact and affect of compensation within an organization. This essay should be based on research obtained through a minimum of three Journal articles. 

Week 2

Seniority and Merit Pay. Define the concept of seniority and merit pay plans, including the strengths and limitations of such plans within an organization. Discuss the job, organizational and/or other factors that should be considered when deciding between the two. Respond to at least two of your fellow students’ postings. 

Incentive Pay Plans. Discuss how incentive pay plans – both individual and group – motivate employees to achieve high levels of performance. Identify potential weaknesses of these plans and suggest steps that can be taken to make these plans highly effective. Then, choose one industry that either an individual or group incentive pay plan would work best providing support for your reasoning (using personal examples to illustrate your point if possible). Explain your answer. Respond to at least two of your fellow students’ postings. 

Performance Management Issues. You have been asked to return to your alma mater and speak to current students about performance management issues. To make the most of this experience for yourself and the students, write a 3-5 page paper that details the following: the concept of “performance management”; the most prominent types of performance management plans; its impact on the employee and the organization; the relationship between performance management and compensation; and factors that should be considered when successfully implementing performance management within an organization. 

Week 3

Building Blocks. Discuss the basic building blocks of developing a market competitive pay system, including the relationship between internal and external equity. Respond to at least two of your fellow students’ postings. 

Job Analysis. Provide a brief overview of the job evaluation process, including the importance of compensable factors. Detail the compensable factors of a position you are familiar with and their impact on that position’s salary, and you may want to reference the job analysis and job description process, which form the foundation of job evaluation. Identify at least four pitfalls that exist for organizations that do not follow this process. Respond to at least two of your fellow students’ postings. 

Market Competitiveness. Compose a 3-5 page paper that assesses the concept of market competitiveness in relation to an organization’s pay system, particularly when it is unable to offer its employees market competitive salaries because of a lack of financial resources. Propose alternative approaches for organizations which have limited financial resources and outline at least three specific steps that could be taken to minimize the impact this could have on the firm’s success. 

Week 4

Benefits. Discuss the role of benefits in compensation. Review the primary reasons an organization provides benefits to its employees; predict future trends in relation to employee benefits, including national healthcare; identify factors that should be considered when creating a benefits plan. Respond to at least two of your fellow students’ postings. 

Employer-sponsored Retirement Plans. Discuss the origins of employer-sponsored retirement plans. Then, discuss the 2-3 most prominent trends in retirement plans including its impact for both the employee and the organization. Respond to at least two of your fellow students’ postings. 

Social Security Programs. Conduct research on the current state of Social Security. Based on your research, write a 3-5 page paper that address the following: the concept of Social Security as originally envisioned by President Roosevelt; the viability of Social Security within the next 20-30 years; and 2-3 recommendations that would improve the viability of Social Security for the next generation. Detail how best these recommendations can be implemented within the highly political environment that exists with this issue (including factors such as the implementation itself, communication, education, support, etc). 

Week 5

Executive vs. Non-executive Pay. Contrast the principle difference between executive pay and non-executive pay, including a discussion on controversies associated with the growing disparity between executive and non-executive compensation packages. Respond to at least two of your fellow students’ postings. 

Contingent Workers. Contingent workers are assuming a greater role in today’s organization. With that as a background, discuss compensation and benefit issues associated with the following workers: part-time, temporary, independent workers, and flexible/telecommuting. What impact may these changes have on an organization’s compensation plan? Respond to at least two of your fellow students’ postings. 

Compensation Philosophy. In a 3-5 page paper, outline the current compensation philosophy for your organization. Evaluate this current philosophy and propose ways to enhance or revamp the current compensation philosophy to meet the changing needs of the organization and its employees. Identify key factors within the internal and external environment including the mission and strategic focus of the organization, as well as the financial and cultural aspects of your organization (i.e., you cannot have a compensation philosophy where you “lead” the market if your organization does not have the financial resources) that should influence this philosophy. The proposed philosophy itself should be no more than a short paragraph. The remaining portion of your paper should be devoted to supporting your choice of that philosophy within your chosen organization by identifying the key factors that should contribute to its development.

Week 6

Expatriate Pay. Evaluate the following methods for establishing base pay in international assignments: home country-based pay, headquarters-based pay, and host country-based pay. Include within your discussion the strengths and weaknesses of each method and factors that should be considered when determining the appropriate international pay strategy. How should organizations balance host-country income tax differentials? How do compensation plans affect employees’ willingness to accept foreign assignments? Respond to at least two of your fellow students’ postings.

Compensation in Other Countries. Select one country whose pay and benefits practices are discussed in chapter 15 and compare them to pay and benefits practices used in the United States. Include in your discussion how these practices are similar and how they are different. Respond to at least two of your fellow students’ postings. 

Focus of the Final Paper

With instructor approval, students will select an organization that either has or is experiencing challenges with its compensation and benefit system. The student will provided a brief historical view of the organization, an assessment of their current challenge, a review of other organizations who had a similar situation and the strategy they devised to address the issue, theories and strategies that should be contemplated to address the situation and, finally, a recommendation to management on how to address/resolve the situation. Importantly, the student should ensure any recommendations are based on solid research and analysis and reflect a comprehensive solution to the problem.

The research paper should integrate items discussed in class, textbook material, and additional information gathered from secondary or primary sources. A minimum of eight credible sources (other than the course textbook) should be used to develop your final project paper. Research topics must be reviewed in advance with the instructor.

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