DHR11
Wages
& Salary Administration
Assignment
- I
Assignment Code: 2016DHR11A1 Last Date of Submission: 26th May
2016
Maximum Marks: 100
Note:
1. This
assignment is divided in two sections, each of 50 marks.
2. Section
A has two essay type questions, each of 25 marks.
3. Section B has a Case Study. Attempt all
the questions given at the end of the case.
All questions carry equal marks.
Section A
1. i) Discuss the various factors that may influence an
organization's compensation strategy.
ii) Explain what is meant by equity and how it
is an important consideration in compensation.
(15+10
Marks)
2. i) Discuss the
concept of job evaluation, including the most common methods used by
organizations.
ii) Explain the philosophical basic assumptions
behind variable pay plans.
(15+10
Marks)
Section B
Case Study:
In a speech to the employees, the
chairman of Praveen Metals said that to survive in the dynamic market, they
must be able to switch gears and perform differently in response to change.
According to him, traditional job titles and descriptions indicated a
restricted set of work duties. Paying employees according to these structured
duties led to rigidity during times of change. Paying employees according to
their competencies seemed to be a more rational approach, allowing the
organization to speedily change employee assignments and motivate their
employees to gain skills and become more valuable. The workers would be
motivated as they were being paid according to their skill sets.
The chairman felt that by doing this,
the employees would gain some control over their pay. All in all, such a pay
system had the potential of being more motivating as well as of retaining
employees. More motivated and performance-oriented employees would be drawn to
such a system because it allowed them to realize their potential. Such people
were often the high achievers and effective employees.
The management initiated skill-based
pay in the organization, replacing the earlier system of job grades based pay.
During this transition, employees assisted in writing skill definitions and
benchmarking skills. Jobs, based on job scope and complexity, defined the
benchmarked competencies. The company conducted training sessions and made sure
that employees understood the new system.
Supervisors and team leaders assessed
employee application of knowledge. If employees were applying skills beyond
their designated skill base pay level, the supervisors initiated certification
and approval processes to promote them to the next higher level. If employees’
performance was below the standard, their pay remained the same. However, the
supervisor and the employee were required to establish a training plan of
action.
After a year of operation, employees
were asked to provide inputs in three areas: (1) access to training and job
rotation, (2) how well they understood the new plan, and (3) their view of
advancement under the new plan. After the implementation, the following results
were identified. Employees who had a positive perception of their access to
training and job rotation during the first year of the new pay plan, were also
satisfied with their skill based pay in the second year. Employees who
understood the new plan in year one were also satisfied with their skill based
pay benefits in year two. Overall, these employees felt that the system was
fair. So, from these findings, the management found that both employee
understanding of the pay system and their being able to affect their pay
through access to training and job rotation were important for the success of
the skill-based pay plan.
Questions:
a) The chairman
suggested the replacement of job grades. Can you suggest some of the modern
approaches to wages and compensation determination?
b) According to the
Chairman, employees do not have control over their pay by using the traditional
approach. Is it possible for employees to have control over their pay?
(25+25 Marks)
DHR11
Wages
& Salary Administration
Assignment - II
Assignment Code: 2016DHR11A2 Last Date of Submission: 26th May
2016
Maximum Marks-100
Note:
1. This assignment is divided in two
sections, each of 50 marks.
2. Section A has two essay type
questions, each of 25 marks.
3. Section
B has a Case Study. Attempt all the questions given at the end of the
case. All questions carry equal marks.
Section
A
1.
i) Briefly outline the steps
involved in developing a pay structure..
ii) What
are the key components of group level diagnosis? Discuss how the absence of any
one of these components can impact outputs. (15+10 Marks)
2. i)
Explain how executive compensation differs from the
compensation packages provided for other employees in the organization. Identify the major criticism regarding
executive compensation in India today.
ii)
Under what conditions are
customer-centric structures appropriate? What challenges does this type of
organization structure face and why? (15+10 Marks)
Section B
Case
Study:
The northern division of
Gautam Appliances met every month to
analyze its targets and the actual sales. Shravan Kumar, a jovial and friendly
manager who was respected by all the sales personnel headed the meeting. His
suggestions and other contributions during the meetings always helped sales
personnel exceed their targets. He also gave a patient listening to employee
problems and suggestions. During one such review meeting, one of the sales
executives, Pavan Kumar, raised the issue of the uniform compensation system
being implemented by the management. He
felt that despite their achieving a greater percentage of the sales than the
southern division, they were not being compensated appropriately. The
incentives being received by the employees of both the regions were also the
same. There were times when the northern division achieved double the sales of
the southern division. But, the management did not recognize or acknowledge
this. Pavan felt that it was demotivating for them to work hard and put in
extra effort when the other division was not matching their performance, but
were getting the same compensation.
Shravan explained his inability
to provide a solution to the problem as it was an organizational issue. He told the employees that despite his
suggesting to the management that they adopt the performance-based variable pay
system, they had not considered it. He said the management believed in the
standard pay system based on the number of days the employees worked. However,
he assured the employees that he would put forward this suggestion to the top
management at the next meeting. The meeting was adjourned and the sales
personnel left the room in a state of hope.
After a month, when the staff
assembled again for the review meeting, Shravan was not his usual jovial self.
The employees realized that the management had not reacted positively to the
idea of performance-based compensation packages. Shravan tried to convince the employees that the management
was looking into this issue and would resolve it as quickly as possible.
However, even two months later the sales personnel did not receive any
information from the management on this issue. The next two months saw a very
high employee turnover rate in the northern division of Gautam Appliances. The
employees who remained also did not put in their best efforts. Their sales
performance came down drastically. At the monthly meetings, the top management
questioned Shravan about the poor
performance and the high employee turnover. Shravan made it clear to the
management that even at this stage if they did not consider rewarding the
employees for their performance, they would be losing a valuable employee base.
He suggested that they should at least consider giving employees incentives to
reward their performance. After two days, Shravan was called and asked to
present his views on designing an appropriate performance-based compensation
system for the organization.
Questions:
(a) The organization was following the traditional method of compensation. What are these
(a) The organization was following the traditional method of compensation. What are these
methods and how do they
function?
(b) Shravan
requested the manager to provide the employees with at least incentives based
on
the targets being
achieved. What are the various incentive schemes that can be implemented? (25+25 Marks)
No comments:
Post a Comment