Reference no: EM132825057

Fresh Munchables is a mid-sized but steadily growing food-processing company founded in 1967. Since its inception, the company has been committed to providing only premium quality health foods. The company is headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, and it is one of the area's largest producers of soups and simple meals. In the past 20 years, the company has also begun processing healthy snacks and beverages. Fresh Munchables has traditionally sold its products through large grocery stores, but it is now venturing into online and restaurant businesses, which is all very new territory for management.

The company is split up into three overarching strategic business units-soups and meals, drinks, and snacks. Additionally, the company is divided into several business units at the operational level, consisting of a mix of business operations, manufacturing (production), research and development, finance, and so on. As the company continues to grow, the executive team and other leaders are constantly looking for ways to improve processes.

Because Fresh Munchables has grown from a very small company into a well-established organization, management has decided to broaden the company's strategic HR functions. The human resources team is currently working to improve recruiting and hiring processes, succession planning, and most importantly, compensation and rewards.

For many years, the company has delegated compensation decisions to managers with little to no training on the subject. This has left the company in a disorganized, confused state when it comes to paying and rewarding employees. These problems have compounded as Fresh Munchables has recently opened up new manufacturing locations with new managers and many new employees.

The chief human resources officer has organized a team of compensation specialists of which you are a part to spearhead total compensation-related problems and help the company to reach its current and future goals. You and your team can achieve this by revising the current total compensation system to reflect the company's current business strategies and goals as well as attract and retain top talent.

The executive department at Fresh Munchables has decided to completely change the company's current compensation system. They are considering implementing the same compensation system used by a similar food company that has been extremely successful. However, Fresh Munchables' compensation team strongly disagrees with this idea.

Why would it be a bad idea for the company to use another company's system as opposed to creating its own compensation system?

• Creating an effective compensation system will require you to have a clear understanding of your own company's employees and what they have traditionally been paid.
• Creating an effective compensation system will require you to have a clear understanding of your own company's total equity and value.
• Creating an effective compensation system will require you to have a clear understanding of your own company's management system and culture.
• Creating an effective compensation system will require you to have a clear understanding of your own company's rewards and how it competes in the market.

Several new positions have recently been created to streamline the delivery of ingredients from Fresh Munchables' factories to its restaurants. The CEO of Fresh Munchables wants the HR department to figure out how much each position should be paid based on the company's internal rewards alignment.
What question should not be considered in order to make these new positions fit within the company's pay structure?

• How can the company maintain good morale, collaboration, and information sharing among employees?
• How well does each position's rewards align with those received by others in similar positions in competing companies?
• How should two employees with similar duties but different titles be paid?

One of the strategic goals for the restaurant and dining business unit at Fresh Munchables is to improve its human capital by attracting target employees. This unit is becoming increasingly vital to Fresh Munchables' success, and in order for Fresh Munchables to reach its goals, the restaurant and dining unit must have the right talent.
With this knowledge in mind, what might the compensation team at Fresh Munchables work toward in order to achieve the desired outcomes?

• Lead the market in total compensation, because this will help draw in the desired talent
• Ignore the market, because hiring and compensation goals should not be stipulated by external factors
• Match the market in total compensation, because it is cost-effective and suitable enough to draw in talent
• Lag the market in total compensation, because the savings will make up for the lack of needed talent