Reference no: EM131232037

I need someone to complete the replies for these two posts. I had someone else working on it, but they did not meet the deadline, so now my assignment is late.

Textbook: Martocchio, J. J. (2015). Strategic compensation: A human resource management approach (8th ed.). Pearson.

1)

Part one -

The case study that discussed whether the shift supervisors at Jones Department store should be classified as exempt or non-exempt employees was an exercise in evaluating the reasons for the manager's decision to classify the position as exempt, determine the factors considered in making that decision, and to discuss the merits of the decision based on the requirements on classifying the position in accordance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Though it would seem the position may not have met the standards to be classified as exempt, Amy had classified the position as exempt. If the position were to remain in an exempt status, which benefits the company by saving on overtime cost, Amy could satisfy her shift leaders by adopting aperson focused pay plan.  A person focused pay plan is one in which employees are rewarded for acquiring job-related competencies, knowledge and skills (Martocchio, 2015). Shift leaders are considered by Jones Department Store to be a part of the management team, even though a portion of their role requires manual labor. The type of reward system encourages shift leaders for developing their knowledge and skills which offers the company a higher caliber of shift leader better versed in management while providing additional pay to the shift leader. This type of plan would likely have satisfied Jane because she would have had an incentive to sharpen her skills to earn more money.

Part two -

During the 1990's the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration developed the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) (Martocchio, 2015). O*NET was created for two reasons. The First was to describe jobs that were found in the service sector. The second was to better describe jobs that had evolved as advances were made in technology (Ibid). O*NET did not just focus on the jobs, however, it also had an element that focused on workers and its content model contained a list of six categories of both jobs and workers: worker characteristics, worker requirements, experience requirements, occupational requirements, workforce characteristics, ad occupation-specific information. The O*NET program was a project developed to provide job seekers a source of occupational information for a wide variety of job choices and is centralized around a database "containing information on hundreds of standardized and occupation specific descriptors" (About O*NET, 2016, Para. 1)

The O*NET Content Model provides a detailed listing of the distinguishing characteristics of each occupation listed; defining the key features with standardized and measurable variables that measure the day to day aspects of each job (About O*NET, 2016). O*NET is usable not only by job seekers, but by Human Resources professionals, students, and transitioning service-members seeking post service career paths (O*NET, 2016). Through the O*NET Online website (www.onetonline.org) users are able to search occupations and research the descriptors of each. Transitioning service-members are able to compare the jobs they performed while in military service with similar positions in the civilian workforce. Job seekers are also able to compare various jobs to determine where their skillsets may best be a match.

References

About O*NET.(2016) About O*NET. O*NET Resource Center. Retrieved September 15, 2016 from https://www.onetcenter.org/overview.html

Martocchio, J. J. (2015). Strategic compensation: A human resource management approach (8th ed.). Pearson.

O*NET. (2016) O*NET. O*NET Online. Retrieved September 15, 2016 from https://www.onetonline.org/

2)  

Part A -

In case study one, Jones Department store shift leader, Jane Swift, felt that she should be paid overtime, despite the fact that the company classified her position as management.  In reviewing Jane's job duties, I did agree with Jones Department store and their manager, Amy, in classifying the position as a management position.  This conclusion was drawn from the Fair Labor Standards Act's definition of an administrative position and executive position.  Despite the fact Jane feels that she spends a majority of her time performing the duties of an associate, she did agree that she is part of the management team, therefore making her exempt from overtime pay.  After the current week's study, I would not change my opinion that the department store correctly classified Jane's position.  I would however, recommend the manager complete a job evaluation and use those results to develop a compensation plan that appropriately compensates the shift leaders for their job and all the job entails.

Part B -

A job evaluation can be used by compensation professionals to establish pay differentials for various positions (Martocchio, 2015).  After World War II there was a wide-spread institution of job evaluation used by various industries to determine wages (Figart, 2000).   Initially, job evaluation was supposed to reduce pay disparities between employees and rationalize the personnel policy (Figart, 2000).  A main objective of job evaluation is to assess the value of various positions in an organization which in turn is then used to determine pay grades (van Sliedregt, Voskuijl, & Thierry, 2001).  Job evaluation is used in varies countries, thus proving how valuable this process can be to an organization.  Ensuring all employees receive equal pay has been an ongoing problem for decades.  The Equal Pay Act of 1963 was enacted to solve a "serious endemic problem of employment discrimination in private industry" (Yoshino, 2013, p. 590).  One major problem in the workplace is the gender inequality of pay between men and women in the same position.  Romans 2:11 (NLT) states "For God does not show favoritism".  The EPA prohibits such discrimination, however, there is still a serious pay differential between men and women today.  Organizations seeking to ensure all employees are paid equally should incorporate job evaluations into their practice.  Leaders can follow Romans 2:11 by ensuring there is no favoritism and establish equal pay rates for employees.  Depending on the industry and the company, compensation professionals should ensure the appropriate job evaluation technique is utilized.

Over the years there have been legislation introduced to address equal pay.  The Fair Pay Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act are pieces of legislation aimed at dealing with the flaws of the Equal Pay Act (Yoshino, 2013).  The Fair Pay Act changes the equal substantially equal standard to equivalent jobs.  The Paycheck Fairness Act aka the common-sense bill, changes the "any factor other than sex" defense used by many companies.  PFA requires a bona fide factor other than sex as a defense (Yoshino, 2013).  Proverbs 20:10 (NLT) states "False weights and unequal measures - the Lord detests double standards of every kind".  It is important to understand that by having inequality in pay is going against God's will.  Compensation professionals need to ensure the job evaluations are effective and serving their purpose.

References

Figart, D. (2000). Equal Pay for Equal Work: The Role of Job Evaluation in an Evolving Social Norm. Journal of Economic Issues, 34(1), 1-19. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/4227529

Martocchio, J. J. (2015). Strategic Compensation: A Human Resource Management Approach (Eighth ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

Van Sliedregt, T., Voskuijl, O. F., & Thierry, H. (2001). Job evaluation systems and pay grade structures: do they match?. International Journal Of Human Resource Management, 12(8), 1313-1324. doi:10.1080/09585190110083811

Yoshino, K. (2013). Reevaluating the Equal Pay Act for the Modern Professional Woman. Valparaiso University Law Review 47(2), 585-626.