Course: Compensation Management in a Knowledge-Base World

Topic: Characteristics of a pay structure.

Essay Question:
Describe the characteristics of pay structure. Define, in your own words, a pay policy line and how it is determined.

Essay needs to at least 350 words in length in an APA format.

There must be at least one in-text citation in the essay.

2 references; the textbook is one reference.

Book Reference
Henderson, R. I. (2006). Compensation management in a knowledge-based world (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Chapter 10, 11 and 12

Course: Compensation Management in a Knowledge-Base World

Topic: pay structure

Essay Question:
Southeastern Oklahoma State University is a growing university; however, professor and employee turnover rate is becoming a major concern. They are currently working on their pay structure; should they conduct a survey for this? Support your answer.

Essay needs to be only 250 words in length.

2 references; the textbook is one reference.

Book Reference
Henderson, R. I. (2006). Compensation management in a knowledge-based world (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Chapter 10, 11, and 12

Skill-Based Pay...Has it Caught On?

In 1987 Edward E. Lawler and Gerald E. Ledford?s article ?Skill-Based Pay: A Concept That?s Catching On? was published in Management Review. The authors stated, ?It is reasonable to assume that skill-based pay will become more and more popular in coming years."

Lawler,Edward E., III, & Ledford,Gerald E., Jr. (1987). Skill-based pay: A concept that's catching on. Management Review, 76(2), 46-46. Retrieved May 30, 2013.

Drawing on the material in the background reading and your own additional research, prepare a 4- to 5-page paper (not including the cover and reference pages) in which you:

--Compare and contrast a skill-based pay structure with a traditional job-based pay structure.

--Were the authors correct? Have skill-based pay structures gained in popularity in organizations since 1987? Discuss in detail, providing examples.

--If this type of pay structure has not caught on, has another type of pay structure grown in prominence in the private sector during this time? What is commonly found as a pay structure in organizations today? Give actual employer examples (stating employers by name).

Note: In your paper, focus as much as possible on pay structures in the private (business) sector, but feel free to make comparisons to their use in the public sector, too, if you wish. (This is not a requirement, however.)

Bring in at least 5 library sources to help strengthen and support your discussion.


Assignment Expectations:

Your paper should demonstrate critical thinking and analysis of the relevant issues and HRM actions, drawing upon all of the required background readings and relevant sources from your prior courses and your own library search. Use website information sparingly (reputable websites only).

Prepare a paper that is professionally presented (including a cover page, a "List of References," and a strong introduction and conclusion).

Proofread your paper carefully for grammar, spelling and word-usage errors.

Address all aspects of the assignment as stated.

Provide private-sector employer examples of HRM programs, systems, processes and/or procedures as you address the above assignment requirments. Provide names of the employers. Use different employer examples in your case paper than those used in your SLP paper.

Limit your web search and focus instead on your library search. Bring in information from the background readings as well to help add depth and validity to your discussion.

Give authors credit for their work. Cite sources of borrowed information in the body of your paper as footnotes, numbered end notes or APA style of referencing.

This project is an opportunity for you to gain experience and insight into developing a compensation plan. This is not a comprehensive consulting project; you are not being asked to offer your services to a company. Instead, this project is a smaller version (a microcosm) of what you might do on a larger scale within a company. Therefore, choose a situation that is convenient for you. In the interest of time and to maximize your learning from this project, consider selecting a job and organization type that is relatively common (e.g., registered nurse/hospital), rather than one specific to only a few specialized organizations (e.g., astronaut/NASA). If you use the job/company of one of your group members, which is the most convenient, make sure that you have permission to interview/question other employees, use company documentation, etc....

Following are the primary components that are needed in your project. Please ensure that your project is typewritten, double-spaced, and edited for typographical/grammar/spelling errors (errors will result in a reduction of points for the assignment). There is no set page limit. Picture yourself in the real world being tasked with creating a new compensation structure for your employer; your boss isn't going to ask you for a 20-page paper. What will be expected is a pay structure with all the supporting information that went into developing it. With that stated, higher quality projects involve more background research, data collection, and analysis, so they do tend to be longer than projects of lesser quality.

Part I: Introduction (10 points)

The introduction of your compensation project should include relevant background on the organization, including the companys mission, vision; this would include what the organization does, company history, etc... You may want to comment on such aspects as the competitiveness of the industry, etc... Depending on the jobs you choose and the organizational structure, you may also need to discuss the division, business unit, department, HR department, or other entities in terms of strategy and objectives.

If available, provide background on the companys current compensation system, such as the availability of bonuses, use of merit pay, etc... Rather than discuss these in detail, I am looking for you to summarize the companys stance on compensation, much as a brief bio on a company would read. It may help you to think in terms of presenting the material to a viable candidate for employment.

In your introduction you need to provide a brief summary of your target job and two anchor jobs; the nature of the jobs and how they relate to one another. Provide an explanation as to why you chose these jobs and factors went into deciding which job would be the target job. It's likely that one of your group members holds or has held one of the three jobs; it's okay for this to be the reason you chose the jobs you did.

Deliverables

? Two to four pages of type written information should address the aforementioned. You are free to include references to websites, copies of tables/charts, etc... from websites, scanned brochures, etc... that relate to the aforementioned.




Part II: Job Analysis (30 points) and Resulting Job Description & Specification (5 points)

Most of your job analysis will take the form of completed questionnaires, interviews, information from websites, etc... However, in the body of your paper, I would like for you to outline the procedure of your job analysis (what you did for each step below), as well as a summary of findings. I will want to know exactly what you did, when you did it, what you learned, and anything else you want to tell me about the job analysis.

To perform the job analysis, you will need to:

1. You will conduct job analysis on your target job. In the "real world" you would conduct job analysis on your anchor jobs as well, but for a number of reasons you will only conduct job analysis on one of your three jobs - we will refer to this as your target job.
2. Review the relevant literature available on the job. It may be useful to start with the resources provided by the US Department of Labor ??" especially O*Net (http://online.onetcenter.org/). Be sure to try and to locate some in-house data (e.g., organizational charts, existing job descriptions, job specifications), as well as external information (e.g. job descriptions from similar organizations). What you are trying to do in this step is to familiarize yourself with the position beyond what you may already know what about it. So, in your paper, you will tell me what information you decided to collect, why and how you got it. The information itself, i.e. links to O*NET site or copy/paste of O*NET information.
3. Now identify and select two (2) different methods for collecting job content data and other related facts. You may use any job analysis methods that you want, but consider your job when determining which methods will be "best" for your target job. You can interview, have questionnaires completed, watch people work, or any combination of these or others. In your paper tell me why you chose these methods over others. Include copies of the instruments; that is include a copy of the completed questionnaire, list of interview questions and responses from interviewee, notes from job observation, etc... (step 4 below discusses the actual completion/process of job analysis). Remember to choose methods that will help you best collect the primary data that your secondary data search did not find; meaning that your methods should complement one another - one method may yield information that the other didn't.
4. Select the subject matter experts (SMEs) for the job analysis. They can be job incumbents (people who hold the job), the supervisors of the job, or others who are very familiar with the job. Be sure to use at least two (2) SMEs, even if they are in the same position (e.g., 2 job incumbents, 2 supervisors, 1 of each). You will need to tell me why you selected the SMEs that you did, along with a description of characteristics that may impact your results (e.g., tenure with the company, length of time on that job, performance level) or the generalizability of your results (e.g., sample size in relation to the number of incumbents, geographical limitations, etc...). Please note that, in reality, more SMEs would be used; however, given the need to complete this project in a quarter, and given the disruption to SMEs that a job analysis sometimes creates, we are severely limiting the amount of information collected at this stage. (Note: You dont have to administer both of your job analysis methods to all your SMEs. Say youve chosen an interview and observation; you can interview one SME and observe another.)
Recap: Gather job analysis information from O*NET, currently used job descriptions, etc... Discuss the process of gathering this information and include printouts, etc.... Use two job analysis methods and use two SMEs. In the paper tell me the steps you took to accomplish the analysis. Include transcripts of the interviews, copies of the completed questionnaires and subsequent data analysis, notes from observations made, etc. Keep in mind that the integrity of the job analysis often is called into question when a compensation system is challenged. You dont want to cut corners in this section.





Deliverables

? Narrative addressing:
1. What job analysis methods you used and why.
2. What SMEs you choose and why? The titles of your SMEs and their connection to the target job.
3. A description of the characteristics that may impact your results (e.g., tenure with the company, length of time on that job, performance level) or the generalizability of your results (e.g., sample size in relation to the number of incumbents, geographical limitations, etc...).
4. How you constructed your job analysis instruments.
? O*NET print outs
? In-house and external information if available
? Completed job analysis instruments

Next you need to organize the information ollected in the job analysis into a coherent job description/job specification. To complete it, follow the steps outlined below.

1. Review the data you collected in the job analysis. If you think anything is missing, re-collect it. It may mean another call to or visit with a SME to secure this information. Make sure that you have enough detailed information to help you write the job description.
2. Use the data collected from the job analysis to complete the sections in the job description outlined below.
3. Do not use the organizations existing job description! Also, do not copy the job description from an online source or another company. Create your own version of the job description based on the primary data you collected (you can supplement with secondary data, i.e. O*NET). This gives you practice in creating the foundation of the compensation plan from scratch. The following is the template you should use. Please conduct some research on job descriptions and note the wording; with the exception of the job summary, job descriptions don't read like narratives. Also review the section of the text that covers job descriptions, which includes a sample job description.

Deliverable

? Job Description

Part A: Identification
Job Title:
Relationships:
Reports to:
Supervises:
Internal relationships (other positions that this position regularly works with):
External relationships (customers, vendors, etc...):
Part B: Job Summary
Include a paragraph that summarizes the components of the job, providing a succinct overview.
Part C: Responsibilities & Duties
Include a list of the responsibilities and duties performed by an individual in this position. This is based on the tasks of the job.
Part D: Specifications (Qualifications)
List the knowledge, skills, & abilities (KSAs) required to perform the job, as well as the physical requirements and conditions under which the work is performed.
Part III: Job Evaluation (25 points)

The goal of Part 3 is to determine the actual worth (value) of your target and anchor jobs to the organization. You will use the job description you developed in Part 2 as input. Because you did not conduct job analysis on your anchor jobs you will use information from O*NET, existing job descriptions and anecdotal information from employees within the organization to get a sense of the value of your anchor jobs. Follow the steps outlined below.
1. Select four (4) compensable factors and justify these. Hint: This is where some of your background information on the organizations strategy and values will help. Also, feel free to use the universal factors (skill, responsibility, effort, working conditions), or compensable factors that other organizations have used. Just make sure that your choice fits your particular organization. Note that compensable factors often contain subfactors. For example, skill may be broken down into education, experience, etc. Given the brevity of this project, do not choose subfactors. Just remember that you will likely consider these subfactors in practice.
2. Create a definition for each compensable factor.
3. Scale the factors; meaning select a number of degrees that represent the full range of jobs. In this case you have 2 anchor jobs and your target job, so 3 degrees should be sufficient. Define factor degrees for all the factors. If you choose 4 compensable factors and each factor contains 3 degrees, you will have a total of 12 degree definitions. (See Table 6-10 on page 142)
4. Weight each compensable factor. It is extremely important that you explain your rationale for the weights. Try to use weights that are aligned with the corporate strategy and goals. So each compensable factor will have a percentage associated with it; the percentages for all of your compensable factors will total 100%. You will use the weights for your compensable factors along with a 1,000 point possible total to create your job evaluation chart; of course this will be explained in class.
5. Evaluate each anchor job and the target job using your job evaluation chart. You should have 3 completed evaluation forms. Each of your jobs will have a job evaluation point total.

Deliverables

? Narrative that includes:
1. Your four compensable factors and why choose them
2. Compensable factor definitions
3. The weight of your compensable factors and why you chose to weight them as such
4. Compensable factor degree definitions
5. The process the group went through to decide what degrees you assigned for each compensable factor for each job
6. Three completed job evaluation charts, which will include the job evaluation point total for each job.

Note: I recommend you put items 2 and 4 into charts like Table 6-10; sample anchors aren't required, but you are welcome to include them.

Part IV: Market Survey

To complete Part 4, you must collect data about how much other organizations pay their employees for comparable jobs. You must turn in the results of your salary surveys, as well as how you went about collecting the data. You may use any sources of data you want. You can use free data available from magazines, the library, salary information from employees in the industry or the Internet. You can collect your own data from local organizations, although be wary of the concerns that many organizations have in sharing pay data. You can use a combination of sources and/or techniques, but please pay attention to the quality of the data you collect. Ensure that it is relevant, collected well, and you can rely upon it with a fair degree of confidence.

No matter how you gather your salary information, document the following:

1. Why did you use the source/technique you used?
2. What did you do to collect the data? Be specific and list steps.
3. What did you find? Include printouts/websites of the actual data. Note: Please avoid complaining about the lack of available data. If you have difficulty finding data, then this is something you can discuss from a problem-solving point of view and provide your solutions to this set-back (how you went about dealing with this real-world challenge).

You must collect salary rates from at least 3 different sources for each job (e.g., 3 different organizations, 2 organizations and 1 published salary survey, 3 published salary surveys, etc.). Note that some organizations use the same data (e.g., Monster.com uses the data from other sources), so make sure that your sources are unique and are not duplicates.

Please annualize the salary information on a full time basis. For example if you collect an hourly salary for a part time position you need to multiple the hourly salary by 2,080 (number of hours worked if someone works 40 hours a week) to get an annual full time salary.

If you find salary information where they present a minimum, midpoint and maximum salary, use the midpoint salary.

Deliverables

? Narrative that includes:
1. Process you went through of finding salary data
2. Challenges you faced with finding salary data
3. The salaries you collected; I recommend you present this information in a chart
? Include printouts/websites of actual data












Part V: Pay Structure

To complete your pay structure, you must integrate the job evaluation points assigned to the jobs in Part 3 with the results of your salary survey in Part 4. Follow the steps below:

1. Generate a market pay line using regression analysis. Remember, a market pay line uses market data, not the salaries for the actual jobs you originally analyzed in the specific organization. You will be provided with the tools needed to generate the market pay line.
2. Develop pay grades and pay ranges
a. Pay Grades - Each of your jobs, your target job and your two anchor jobs, represent a pay grade. In reality there will be multiple jobs in your pay grades not just one. For example, with an Accountant I there may also be a Human Resources Assistant in the pay grade. Therefore you need to develop a range of job evaluation points for the pay grade the Accountant I is in. Usng the example from the text, the Accountant I is worth 100 job evaluation points; so you could adopt a pay grade of 50-300 points for the pay grade the Accountant I is in; the 100 points for the Accountant I is within the pay grade of 50-300. The low end of your first pay grades can start at any number you chose; it doesn't have to start at 1. The high end of your last pay range should be no higher than 1,000. Your ranges should have no overlap; for example your first pay range could be 50-300, your second 301-700 and your third 701-1,000.
The pay grades are totally up to your discretion; just explain your rationale. You could use the one of the philosophies set forth in the text to help you decide (pg. 183 section entitled Step 3: Defining Pay Grades.) Again you will have three pay grades; one for each of your jobs.
b. Pay Ranges ??" You will start with the market pay line to develop pay ranges. The salaries that create your market pay line are typically the mid-points of your pay ranges. If you go with the market pay line you will be matching the market. You can chose to lead or lag the market as well. Please discuss what policy you will adopt and why. You will have 3 pay ranges that correspond to the 3 pay grades you developed above.
To calculate the minimum and maximums of your ranges you can use one of the two approaches used in the book. Do what your competitors are doing or use a range spread. (pg. 186).
For the Pay Grades and Ranges you do not have to plot them on the chart; simply communicate each of your pay grades and corresponding ranges (the minimum, maximum and midpoint).
3. Compare the salaries for the three peoples jobs you originally used in Part 3 (the pay of employees that hold the target and anchor jobs) to the pay ranges you created for their positions. Do they fall in the pay ranges you created? How will you handle it if they do not? Discuss how you might eventually get the person in the pay range. If you do not have this information, make a guess as to where you think they are being paid.

Deliverables

? Narrative that includes:
1. Your three pay grades and explanation of their development.
2. The pay ranges (minimum, midpoint and maximum) that are attached to the pay grades
a. Whether you chose to match (use the exact salaries from regression for your midpoint), lead (increase the salary from regression by a certain percent) or lag (increase the salary from regression by a certain percent) the market and why
b. How you calculated your minimums and maximums
3. Comparison of actual salaries as addressed in #3 above
? Regression analysis spreadsheet

Part VI: Incentive Plan

Create an individual incentive plan to motivate the job incumbent(s) in the target job and a group incentive that will motivate the job incumbents for all three jobs. Remember an incentive plan involves cash or stock. Be creative, but remember the goals and characteristics of an incentive plan. Discuss how it will work, why you designed it as you did, etc... Your don't have to incorporate detailed formulas; just picture yourself providing an overview of newly created incentive plans to employees.

Deliverables

? Narrative addressing above

Part VII: Summary

Your end result is not as detailed as a large-scale compensation plan that you would tend to find in practice. However, any change, whether big or small, tends to foster resistance among at least some of the stakeholders in the organization. In your summary please address the following areas regarding the entire compensation plan you created above:
Discuss how your recommended changes to the compensation system may impact others within and outside the organization, if at all (e.g., stockholders, managers, employees, society).
Outline a plan for implementation. Stay brief! Remember the importance of communication, perceptions of fairness, etc.

------------
Instructions for Regression Analysis (Excel 2007 and 2010/MHR 413)

These instructions will help you practice using the example from class, the Excel file entitled Sample Regression Results located on the Group Project folder in the Course Documents section of Blackboard.

1. Once you open the workbook, choose the worksheet entitled Sheet 1. Right click on the words "Sheet 1" and click delete. Then save the workbook under a new name like "Practice."

2. At the top of the screen, click on Data.
a. If you dont see Data Analysis as an option then:
For Excel 2007
Click on the Microsoft Office icon at the very top of left hand corner of the screen; then click Excel Options
For Excel 2010
Click on the File tab in the top left hand corner; then click on Options
b. Then click on Add-Ins.
c. Highlight Analysis ToolPak not Analysis ToolPak ??" VBA
d. At the bottom of the screen theres a drop down menu next to Manage. Be sure the Excel Add-ins is selected and then click Go.
e. A dialog box will pop up with a number of add-ins; select Analysis ToolPak and click Ok.
f. You will get a message that the feature is currently not install and it will ask you if you want to install it; click Yes. Data Analysis will appear under the Data tab; it will be the right most option on the tool bar.

3. Click Data Analysis

4. A window will appear that lists various analyses. Scroll down and click Regression. Click OK.

5. A new window will appear and you will see input and output options.
a. For Input Y Range enter the column of market data, including the label at the top. In the class example, you would choose from cell C1 to cell C36.
b. For Input X Range enter the column of job evaluation points. In the class example, you would choose D1 to D36.
c. Click labels box. This is telling the program that you included the data labels (e.g., Job Eval Points) in with the numerical data.
d. Under Residuals click the box next to Line Fit Plots.
e. Click OK.

6. A new worksheet will appear with your regression results.

7. Now you need to format your chart.
a. Orient your mouse over the chart and click. Small boxes will appear around the border of the chart.
b. Click on the box with words "Job Eval Points (X) Line Fit Plot" in it and simply delete it.
c. Click on the boxes and stretch out the chart where you see more numbers in the salary range.
d. If your chart does look like the sample one right click inside the chart and select Change Chart Type. Then select the first option next to the X Y (Scatter)
e. Left click on one of the Predicted Annual Salary data points in the chart and then right click. Click on Add Trendline; you will add a linear trend line. This is your Market Pay Line.
f. Left click on one of the "Predicted Annual Salary" data points in the chart and then right click. Click Add Data Labels. These are the salaries that created your Market Pay Line ??" they are what you should pay the three positions to be competitive with the market.
g. Left click on one of the "Predicted Annual Salary" data points in the chart and then right click. Click "Format Data Labels." Be sure the "X Value" and the "Y Value" boxes are checked. Then click on "Number" to the left. Select "Custom" from "Category." Copy and paste the following into the box that's titled "Format Code" #,##0;-#,##0. Then click "Add" next to the box.

8. Also expand the width of the cells on the chart with all of the regression statistics so you can them.

9. Now compare your "Practice" workbook with the one from Blackboard. Are the following items the same? If yes, then you got it!
a. Observations (to left where all the numbers are)
b. Y Intercept (to left where all the numbers are)
c. Job Evaluation Points (to left where all the numbers are)
d. Predicted Salaries (on the chart)

10. Now you're ready to do the same thing with your 3 positions and the 3 salaries you gathered for each of those positions.

Hello Jonsmom2,

I will be sending you all of the documents to get you started on the (3) page term paper shortly via fax. "Please write the (3) page paper based strictly on what the questions/tasks are asking" and ONLY add the references from the material that is provided.

Important! Please read everything on the first, second, and third page of the documents that are faxed to you. Do not deviate from what the first 3 pages are telling you to do.

Please provide a well written (3) page term paper TITLED: Job Evaluation, Market Pricing & Pay Structures

Also, I need an introduction, body, conclusion and at least (3) references.

Lastly, I really need the (3) page paper NLT: 6 November 2011. Thanks!

?REQUESTING WRITER
Assignment 2: Compensation Plan Outline On Merck Inc.

Using the same company (Merck Inc) you researched in Assignment 1, evaluate the company?s compensation plan to determine how it could be improved.


Write a six to eight (6-8) page paper in which you:
? Evaluate the existing compensation plan to determine if it is the most appropriate for your company. Explain your rationale.
?
? Determine the most beneficial ratio of internally consistent and market consistent compensations systems for the company you selected.
? Evaluate the current pay structure used by your company and assess the recognition of employee contributions.
? Make two (2) recommendations for improving the effectiveness of the discretionary benefits provided by the company you selected.
? Evaluate the types of employer-sponsored retirement plans and health insurance programs provided by the company you selected and compare them to that company?s major competitors.
? Use at least three (3) quality references. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not qualify as academic resources.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:
? Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
? Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student?s name, the professor?s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:
? Evaluate the effectiveness of traditional bases for pay (seniority and merit) against incentive-based and person-focused compensation approaches.
? Compare and contrast internally consistent and market-competitive compensation systems.
? Evaluate the role of benefits in strategic compensation.
? Use technology and information resources to research issues in compensation management.
? Write clearly and concisely about compensation management using proper writing mechanics.

Grading for this assignment will be based on answer quality, logic / organization of the paper, and language and writing skills, using the following rubric.

1. Using examples, explain how organizational culture can affect the reward system.

2. Discuss the factors that influence internal pay structures.

This assignment should be a maximum of 1500 words in length, and should include coherent analysis and argument, a clear and concise conclusion and the correct citation of sources.

Answer the following questions as you were being tested: No citing.

1. List and explain the compensation and noncompensation dimensions.




2. Explain and compare job-based, knowledge-based and competency-based pay structures.




3. Identify and describe the continuing influence of government on compensation practices.




4. Describe the Fair Labor Standards Act and its impact on compensation management administration.




5. Define and identify the differences between direct and indirect compensation.




6. Identify and explain short term incentives and long term incentives and the importance of each in a compensation strategy.




7. Explain and describe the importance of the 5 steps (Perform a job analysis, write job descriptions, evaluate jobs, design and perform a pay survey, develop a pay structure.) in how organizations determine the base pay for workers in all types of jobs.



8. Briefly explain the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and its impact on executive compensation management.


9. Describe various kinds of pay-for-performance programs and the situations in which such programs may be preferable.



10. Compare strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for various kinds of performance appraisal programs.




11. Please explain how to recognize differences in compensation opportunities for employees in different jobs and at different levels in the organization.



12. Describe the impact of legislation on the field of compensation management.




13. Identify the impact of incentives such as bonuses to a compensation program.




14. Explain how the global market affects US-based companies' compensation.



15. Describe salary/market surveys.



1. (11 points) Why is it necessary for an organization to appraise performance formally?

2. (11 points) Identify and describe the different reasons for implementing a short-term bonus.


3. (12 points) Define the differences between skill, knowledge and competencies.


4. (10 points) Describe the difference between trait-oriented and results oriented performance appraisal instruments.


5. (10 points) What are the principal differences between defined benefits plans and defined contribution plans?


6. (10 points) What is reverse discrimination and how does it influence the design of an executive compensation plan?


7. (11 points) Describe opportunities available for an organization to relate pay to job worth, seniority, merit, cost of living adjustments and geographic differentials.

I need short answers to the following 10 questions. I will provide a powerpoint presentation for reference material. Thank you.

1. What is the difference between direct and indirect financial compensation?
2. Pay for each individual in the United States is set relative to 3 groups. Name them and explain why each is important.
3. What is pay satisfaction? Why is it so difficult to measure it and to relate it to a compensation system?
4. Linking pay and productivity has been around since the days of the Babylonians. How much do we really know about the relationship?
5. What is the difference between equal pay and comparable worth? Why are these concepts so important?
6. In locating a new office that would employ about 300 employees how would compensation play a role in making the decision for where the new office should be located?
7. How would you go about deciding if a pay survey you want to buy had the necessary characteristics to be useful in your organization?
8. Define the pay-structure decision. What is job evaluation, and how does it help managers build a pay structure?
9. Do you believe that outsourcing is here to stay or is it a passing fad? Explain.
10. Define the term broad-banding. How does it relate to traditional job evaluation outcomes like pay ranges and classes?

Using the same company you researched in Assignment 1, evaluate the company?s compensation plan to determine how it could be improved.

Write a six (6) page paper in which you:

1. Evaluate the existing compensation plan to determine if it is the most appropriate for your company. Explain your rationale.

2. Determine the most beneficial ratio of internally consistent and market consistent compensations systems for the company you selected.

3. Evaluate the current pay structure used by your company and assess the recognition of employee contributions.

4. Make two (2) recommendations for improving the effectiveness of the discretionary benefits provided by the company you selected.

5. Evaluate the types of employer-sponsored retirement plans and health insurance programs provided by the company you selected and compare them to that company?s major competitors.

6. Use at least three (3) quality references. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not qualify as academic resources.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

? Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; references must follow APA or school-specific format. Include the Questions above in your paper.

? Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student?s name, the professor?s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:
? Evaluate the effectiveness of traditional bases for pay (seniority and merit) against incentive- based and person-focused compensation approaches.
? Compare and contrast internally consistent and market-competitive compensation systems.
? Evaluate the role of benefits in strategic compensation.
? Use technology and information resources to research issues in compensation management.
? Write clearly and concisely about compensation management using proper writing mechanics.

The assignment is as follows:
Select one company (Use www.ATK.com) which is Alliant Techsystems, Inc. which is an Aerospace and Defense Company.

I will provide powerpoint presentations that were used during the course of this class, a resume of an HR Director that will be the individuals that is "interviewed" for this paper.

The assignment:
Select one company and interview the HR manager or search HR administration information online for the company you use.


Introduction: a one paragraph intro of the company selected. This should introduce the company, explain what type of business the company is in. The HR Manager interviewed, introduce the person, (position, job responsibilities) (I will provide the resume and a job description of the job) and discuss how she was interviewed (in person). Roughly 1/2 page.

Main Body:
1. An overview of the recruitment and selection practices reported by the person interviewed or a situation you found as a source. This should include a description of relevant observations as well as related information on powerpoint information provided. 1-2 pages.
2. An overview of employee development administration of the company you investigated. This should include a description of relevant observations as well as related textbook section on employee development. 1-2 pages.
3. An overview of the employee benefits and pay structure decisions implemented in the company you studied (ATK). This should include a description of relevant observations as well as info that may be found in the powerpoint presentations. 1-2 pages
4. You can discuss above HR practices by analyzing what specific techniques are used by the company? What are the advantages vs disadvantages of those approaches the company adopted? Are these HR practices integrated with the business strategies of the company? How? Are there any problems you identified? Imagine you are the HR manager of the company, what you would do differently?

Conclusion:
This section is to provide a review of the entire paper, highlighting those elements that were discussed earlier which are unique and important. This is also the place to bring all important arguments to bear. Thus, it is critical to recap all arguments and summarize the situation showing the value of the paper. 1/2 to1 page

Appendix:
Any charts, tables and figures referenced in the body of the paper
Works Cited Section containing any APA citations for sources used.

This paper is an attempt to link concepts on the company/interview and what is found in the powerpoints.

Double Spaced
APA Style

Broadbanding:Practice of using fewer pay grades having broader ranges than traditional compensation systems.

Souce 1:Human Resouce Management 9th Edition Robert L. Mathis/John H. Jackson pgs. 422-424

DRIVING FORCES:
reasons why it is beneficial/non-beneficial to reduce the number of pay grades and broaden pay ranges

multidimensional jobs

unnecessary requests for promotions and payraises

employee career development can be enhanced when pay grades are removed

control mechanisms enforced by Human Resource Dept. are removed

employees can move to other job areas and broaden their knowledge, skills, and abilities

cross-functional development is/isn''t beneficial

RESTRAINING FORCES:
Broadbanding is not appropriate for every organization:

many still operate under the traditional hierarchial culture

another problem with broadbanding is many employees become "conditioned" that a promotion is followed by a pay raise. As a result the organization may be seen as having fewer upward promotion opportunities

many employees do not want to move accross the organization into other areas

discuss the Driving and Restraining forces of Broadbanding and the impact it has on organizations that utilize this "pay structure"

Broadbanding will continue to grow in usage. As more and more organizations face changes due to competition and other strategic factors, the flexibility of broadbanding may be needed.

Sears



Read the following scenario.



Having been in business for over 100 years, Sears has experienced highs and lows in organizational performance. In the past decade the firm has faced a dramatically changing retail environment from competitors such as Target, Wal-Mart, the Gap, and others. As a result, Sears was increasingly viewed by customers and analysts of the retail industry as lagging in its merchandising strategies.



Even the compensation system at Sears was viewed as traditional and paternalistic in nature because it emphasized rewarding employees primarily for their length of service. Also, most promotions were made internally, which created a more static organizational culture. The traditional pay structure at the firm contained many pay grades and was based on job evaluations to establish those grades. Its performance review system emphasized employee tenure and effort to a greater degree than performance results.



To respond to the competitive environment, the firms executives decided that Sears had to become more dynamic and able to change more quickly. One of the changes identified was that a new compensation system was needed. The restructured compensation system that was developed and implemented focused heavily on market value, using pay survey data that specifically matched job responsibilities. The greatest change was the development of career bands. These career bands grouped jobs together based on survey data and job responsibilities and resulted in fewer grades with wider ranges. The career bands represented a broadbanding approach that was based on benchmark jobs for which market pricing data were available. Jobs for which market data could not be found were analyzed using a job evaluation system.



Use of the career bands was designed to identify career paths for employees throughout the company and to better link compensation to all of the jobs. By having career bands, greater flexibility was provided for employees to be rewarded for both current performance and continuing career growth. To support this new compensation system, a revised performance management system was developed. This system used performance goals and measures more closely tied to business strategies and objectives. Important to implementing the new performance management system was managerial training. This training was needed so that the managers could use the new system effectively and to describe to employees the importance of performance and its link to compensation.



Implementation of the new compensation system required extensive communication. Newsletters were prepared for all managers explaining the new compensation system. Then departmental and store meetings were held with managers and employees to describe the new system. A number of printed materials and videos discussing the importance of the new compensation plan were prepared and utilized. A final part of communications was to prepare letters for individual employees that informed them about their job band and market pay range.



These questions need to be answered:

1. How do the Sears changes reflect a total rewards approach?

2. Discuss why Sears shift to a more performance-oriented compensation system had to be linked to market pricing.

3. Does using a job evaluation system for jobs that do not have market pricing data affect the relationship of these jobs to jobs that do have market pricing data? If so, explain how.

4. What should Sears do if the market pricing data for a specific job goes down from the previous year? Explain your answer.

Multiple Chapter Questions

Human Resource Management 10th edition John Ivancevich


1. In your company who usually evaluates employees? Who should do so? Under what circumstances? List the criteria that should be used to evaluate employees. How often should formal performance evaluations take place? How about informal ones?


2. It is said that training in conducting performance evaluations is an important issue for organizations to consider, why? What should an organization do in order to help make sure that its performance eval system is legal? What is the role of job analysis in this process?


3. How would you go about deciding if a survey on pay that you wanted to purchase had the necessary characteristics to be useful to your organization? How does job evaluations help you build a pay structure?


4. What determines if employers are to pay out the pension benefits they have promised? If they can not what should be done for retirees who are left without their pension benefits?


5. Why is training an important requirement for organizations to undertake? In the future, do you think e-learning or online training will replace classroom training, Why?

6. How does one determine a career choice?


7. In John Holland's system, skills are divided into six clusters of families. Which cluster best describes you?


8. If you are a director of a company, how might you view the bargaining unit? How does the NLRB determine if a bargain is appropriate? Describe the current trends in union membership and union organizing?


9. Do you think a company can eliminate violence in the work place? Why? The substance abusing employee is said to be a serious problem at work. If it is true, how would you handle such a problem?


10. How would you deal with difficult employees if you are the HR manager? Examples are ineffective, alcoholic employees and employees who commit fraud? provide some examples you have experienced or seen and give comments on how you handled or would have handled them.

Assignment 2: Compensation Plan Outline

Due Week 8 and worth 300 points
Continue from : Topic: compensation
Order ID: 2124056
Writer?s
Using the same company you researched in Assignment 1, evaluate the company?s compensation plan to determine how it could be improved.
Write a six to eight (6-8) page paper in which you:
1. Evaluate the existing compensation plan to determine if it is the most appropriate for your company. Explain your rationale.
2. Determine the most beneficial ratio of internally consistent and market consistent compensations systems for the company you selected.
3. Evaluate the current pay structure used by your company and assess the recognition of employee contributions.
4. Make two (2) recommendations for improving the effectiveness of the discretionary benefits provided by the company you selected.
5. Evaluate the types of employer-sponsored retirement plans and health insurance programs provided by the company you selected and compare them to that company?s major competitors.
6. Use at least three (3) quality references. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not qualify as academic resources.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:
Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student?s name, the professor?s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:
Evaluate the effectiveness of traditional bases for pay (seniority and merit) against incentive-based and person-focused compensation approaches.
Compare and contrast internally consistent and market-competitive compensation systems.
Evaluate the role of benefits in strategic compensation.
Use technology and information resources to research issues in compensation management.
Write clearly and concisely about compensation management using proper writing mechanics.

Grading for this assignment will be based on answer quality, logic / organization of the paper

Assign to Warcraft - Alan


Compensation

Based on your knowledge and analysis of the readings in this unit,
write a 2 page paper assessing the key compensation-related components that build a sound total rewards program for an organization.
In addition, compare your own (I will accept any ) experiences with the key compensation components from the units readings.
Readings
Use your Strategic Compensation: An HRM Approach text to complete the following:
Read Chapter 7, Building Internally Consistent Compensation Systems, pages 146??"177.
Read Chapter 8, Building Market Competitive Compensation Systems, pages 178??"202.
Read Chapter 9, Building Pay Structures that Recognize Employee Contributions, pages 210??"240. As you read the assigned material, pay attention to pay-related components that build effective compensation and benefits programs.

Martocchio, J. J. (2008). Strategic compensation: A human resource management approach. New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN: 9780073381299.
Articles
Reserved PDF Readings
The following reserved readings are provided for your use in this course.
Avalos, A. (2007). Recognition: A critical component of the total rewards mix. Workspan, July, 33??"35.
Brown, D., & Perkins, S. (2007). Reward strategy: The reality of making it happen. WorkatWork Journal, second quarter, 82??"93.
Burton, J., & Pollak, S. (2006). The ROI of human capital: The United States and Europe. Workspan, November, 25??"27.
Christofferson, J. (2007). Total rewards: Breaking down barriers, part 1.Workspan, September, 21??"26.
Christofferson, J. (2007). Total rewards: Breaking down the barriers, part 2. Workspan, October, 47??"49.
Christofferson, J., & King, B. (2006). The it factor: A new total rewards model leads the way. Workspan, February, 19, 22, 24, 26??"27.
Giancola, F. (2008). Linking rewards with organizational culture. WorldatWork Journal, first quarter, 55??"65.
Gonzalez, J. (2008). Maximizing return on investment in total rewards. Workspan, February, 65??"69.
Graham, M., & Meyer, P. (2005). The rewards of total rewards. Workspan, November, 32, 34??"35.
Gross, S., & OMalley, P. (2007). High priority: European firms focus on talent development. Workspan, May, 61??"64.
Hill, B., & Tande, C. (2006). Total rewards: The employment value proposition. Workspan, October, 19??"22.
McMullen, T., & Stark, M. (2008). The role of line managers and HR in reward program effectiveness. WorldatWork Journal, second quarter, 30??"43.
Mercer. (2004). Striking the right balance: Total rewards that work. New York: Author.
ONeal, S., & Gebauer, J. (2006). Talent management in the 21st century: Attracting, retaining, and engaging employees of choice. WorkatWork Journal, first quarter, 6??"17.
Richman, A. (2006). Everyone wants an engaged workplace: How can you create it? Workspan, January, 36, 38??"39.
Scott, D., & McMullen, T. (2007). Reward programs: What works and what needs to be improved. WorldatWork Journal, third quarter, 6??"21.
Stotz, R. (2006). Targeting employee incentives for maximum performance. Workspan, June, 47??"48.
Williams, G. (2007). Total rewards and the global business perspective. Workspan, August, 59??"60, 62??"63.
Watson Wyatt Worldwide. (2006). Aligning rewards with the changing employment deal: 2006/2007 strategic rewards report

A Novice Managers Tale of Woe
Now what do I do? Tricia Monet, the store director at
Personal Reflections, was sitting in her kitchen wondering
what happened. Once I was made store director
things began so well. We all got along well together; in
fact, we even met the store sales quota on more than one
occasion. I dont know what happened. All of us got
along, but once they knew I might leave, everyone was
fighting. I hadnt decided to leave; I was just exploring the
option of returning to college. Now Lori wont speak to
me except when absolutely necessary. What am I going
to do now? How can I get things to run smoothly again?
Integrating Cases 541
Background Personal Reflections, a national chain of
personal care and household products, had a store in a
mall in Sioux City, Iowa. Tricia, who was 23, had recently
moved to Sioux City with her fianc who was
transferred by his firm. Before looking for a job, Tricia
did some soul searching and decided that she wanted to
try something other than accounting for a career.
Tricia had completed a bachelors degree in accounting
a year before. After graduation, she worked in
an accounting firm for just under a year. Tricia determined
she liked interacting with people, but her accounting
job kept her working primarily with numbers.
She had originally been attracted to accounting because
she liked the structure, organization, and neatness of
accounting. Other than the accounting job, her work
experience was limited to jobs to work her way through
school. She had no supervisory or managerial experience.
Tricia was from a large, very close-knit family in an
Illinois city near St. Louis, Missouri. The family enjoyed
being together and spent as much time as they could
with each other even though several members no longer
lived in the immediate area. Tricia has both older and
younger sisters and brothers.
Tricia saw an ad in the Sioux City newspaper in mid-
June and applied for an assistant director position at the
Personal Reflections store in the mall. Three weeks
later, she interviewed with the district manager, was
offered the job within two hours, and accepted the job
two days later. A week later, Tricia attended a two-week
training class in another city. The company seemed
great, the benefits were good, the people were helpful,
and Tricia believed the training taught her a lot. However,
once the initial training was completed, Personal
Reflections provided little additional information or
support for their store directors.
Setup of the Store Most Personal Reflections stores in
the district had one store director and two assistant directors.
However, this district manager had hired a third
assistant director in one of her other stores, and that
store had seen marked improvements. Productivity and
efficiency had increased by 20 percent, and the turnover
for assistant store directors decreased by 33 percent.
Because it was so successful in the other store, the district
manager decided to try three assistant directors in
the Sioux City store as well.
Throughout the year, the assistant store directors
were scheduled in 9-hour shifts and on many days the
shifts overlapped by several hours. On weekends and
other busy days, the shifts for assistant store directors
were 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M., 10:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M., and
1:00 P.M. to 10:00 P.M. Even with lunch and dinner
breaks as well as scheduled meetings, there were periods
when all three assistant directors were working at the
same time. The assistant store directors shifts varied;
they did not always get the same shift time. The store
director developed the work schedule for two weeks at a
time. The store directors work schedule varied so that
she was there during each shift several times each week.
Initially, the Sioux City store had a store director,
Heather Munson, and two assistant directors, including
Tricia. The district manager was still recruiting one
more assistant director. All the other employees were
part-timers. During the fall and winter holiday season,
there were 30 or more part-time employees. During
times other than the holiday season, there were generally
10 to 12 part-timers. While Personal Reflections
considered current employees for promotion, in the
Sioux City store no part-time employee was interested
in becoming a full-time employee or being promoted. In
the Sioux City store, only four of the part-time employees
had worked at the store for two years or more.
One employee had worked in the store seven years,
while another employee had worked in the store for four
years. Two employees had been with the Sioux City
store for two years.
Personal Reflections ranked its stores based on sales.
There were four levels. Level 1 stores had the largest
sales volume; the Sioux City store was a level 3. The
corporation ran contests periodically. There were
monetary bonuses for the stores with the largest sales
volume. The sales quotas during those contests were set
so high that it was virtually impossible for the smaller
stores to meet the quota and receive the bonus. The
company believed that active competition between
stores, directors, and district managers was good.
Practically, what this meant was that only the largest
stores, their directors, and district managers achieved
the rewards. Separate contests were not held for the
smaller stores. Following is an example of a companywide
contest. During December, if a store in the district
made its weekly sales quota, then the district manager
won a trip to Florida and the store manager won a
computer. The assistant managers would receive a
monetary gift of $1,000. However, the sales quotas were
rarely ever achieved, and many districts included a
combination of store levels, so smaller stores had a hard
time keeping up with the larger volume stores.
Tricias First Three Months Tricias first day at the
Sioux City store was August 1. It was company policy
that once new assistant store directors were trained, they
were assigned to a store without the store director being
involved in the decision. Heather Munson resented
being excluded from hiring decisions. Tricia and
Munson clashed from the very beginning. Tricia felt like
she was being interrogated whenever she interacted with
Munson.
The store that Tricia was assigned to had consistently
failed to meet its sales goals. In addition, the store
542 P a r t 5 Integrating Cases
seemed cluttered and messy. The back room, which was
small, served as both break room and storeroom. Most
of the merchandise was jammed into the store area. It
was difficult for store employees to find merchandise on
the store floor, and the customers had an even more
difficult time finding what they wanted. When Tricia
tried to organize the merchandise on the floor, Munson
yelled at her for doing something Munson had not told
her to do.
Within a week, the other assistant director gave her
two-weeks notice. Once she was gone, the relationship
between Tricia and Munson became even more confrontational.
After only a month, Tricia was ready to
quit. She went home every day for a week thinking that
there was no way on earth that she could work with that
woman, Heather Munson. By September, Tricia was
ready to give her notice. Before she could quit, Munson
came to work and said she had back problems and would
be going on disability leave.
As a result, Tricia was required to act as the store
director with barely a month of experience. She was left
alone to open and close the store and make all the bank
deposits 7 days a week. Excited by the possibilities, she
took up the challenge. Within a week or two things began
to turn around and the store appeared neater and
uncluttered. At the end of September, the district manager
told Tricia that Munson would not be returning to
her position of store director at Personal Reflections.
Throughout September, the district manager was
recruiting and hiring assistant managers for the store. By
October 1, she had hired three assistant managers.
During te first two weeks of October, they were sent to
the training session. By the middle of October, the Sioux
City store had a complete complement of assistant store
directors??"Amy, Lori, and Tammy. Tricia was officially
offered the store director position at the end of October.
During the month of October, the three assistant store
directors and Tricia seemed to get along well together.
When the announcement was made that Tricia was
store director, the assistant store directors were excited
for Tricia. In return, Tricia was excited about having
assistant store directors to help run the store. Tricia
thought to herself, We have a team now and we can
really turn the store around. Tricia said that she could
not have imagined a better work environment. All four
seemed to share many of the same ideas and goals and
even went to dinner one night after work together.
Tricia knew the holiday season rush was coming, and it
was the busiest time of year. Since all the management
staff was relatively new, she wondered how they would
do. She knew the next months would be difficult.
The three assistant store directors had varying experiences.
Lori had only a high school degree. However,
she had prior experience in retail and had even been an
assistant manager in a retail store. Amy had an
associates degree and had been an assistant manager
before. Amy was from Sioux City, had never left her
hometown, and did not plan to in the future. Tammy
had a degree in social work and had a great deal of life
experience. When she was in social work, she had even
been in a supervisory position. She liked things to be
very structured and did not like tasks that required
creativity. All three were very interested in careers in
retail. All three were highly motivated as it related to
store goals and doing the best work they could, while
Lori and Tammy were also competitive with each other.
Getting Ready for the Holiday Rush As November
began, Tricia made judgments about the capabilities of
the three new assistant store directors, Lori, Amy, and
Tammy. Lori clearly had the highest motivation and
drive for success. She wanted to achieve everything she
could for herself. Tricia quickly made Lori her righthand
person and consulted her whenever there were
problems. Lori found it easy to do all the paperwork
and nevermade errors. Amy was themost amicable and
perhaps the easiest of all to get along with. She did not
have much self-confidence and was not at all assertive.
She wanted everything to run smoothly and wanted
everyone to like her. Amy rarely had any problems
with the paperwork and the job responsibilities.
Tammy was older than Lori and Amy and more resistant
to learning and trying new things. Tammy was
struggling with learning to do the forms and getting
along in a new environment. Just before working at
Personal Reflections, she had worked for six years in a
different national retail chain where she had had little
authority. As Tricia watched Tammy, she realized that
Tammy made frequent mathematical errors on the
paperwork she had to complete as part of her position,
and sometimes the paperwork was not completed on
time. Tammy did not seem to understand the importance
of completing the forms efficiently or accurately.
She did not understand that errors could mean the
store could run out of popular merchandise and thus
lose sales. Tricia tried to explain this to Tammy, who
said she understood but still made errors on the
paperwork.
The district manager made it clear that the individual
pay structure at Personal Reflections was strictly
confidential. Even Tricia as the store director did not
know the salaries of the assistant store directors. However,
they all felt that they had a good idea about what
the others were making, based on comments each of
them had made. In a conversation the second week of
November, Tammy told Tricia what she was making
and that it was more than either Lori or Amy. Tammy,
Lori, and Amy had all told each other what they were
earning. Tammy was earning $2,000 more than Lori
and $4,000 more than Amy. Tricia realized that she
Integrating Cases 543
herself made only $2,000 more per year than Tammy.
She didnt feel that it was fair??"after all, she was in
charge of the store and was responsible for the bank
deposits and stock orders. In addition, Tricia felt that
Tammy was the weakest of the three assistant store
directors.
Tricias strategy as store director was to create an
atmosphere where they were all equals. Tricia always
valued their input and comments and used them whenever
possible. She set challenging goals for Lori, laughed
with Amy, and held Tammys hand. Tricia believed she
had established a congenial work environment while
actively working to change the image of the store. She
met daily with each assistant store director and weekly
with all three. She solicited ideas about how to improve
the performance of the store. There were no evident
interpersonal conflicts between any of the employees.
Tricia valued the assistant store directors input.
Tricia offered an example. At the beginning, there was
a problem with the props for the window display. We
were having difficulty fitting it into smaller window
space and were at a loss. Lori and I had put the unit
together, and we were very proud of ourselves. Tammy
brought it to our attention that it wasnt going to fit, and
Amy noticed that the cord would not reach the outlet.
In complete shock, Lori and Tricia did not want to see
their hard work go to waste. Tricia stepped back and
wondered how they were going to work together to
solve this issue. Lori was getting very defensive about
Tammys view of the project and time was running out.
So Tricia said, Tammy, Lori??"lets improvise. You two
work together to cut-and-paste the display so that it fits
in the area. Amy, lets find an extension cord and an
alternate route to the plug end. By the end of the night,
they had worked together to accomplish the task.
Tricias Leadership and Goals Before Tricia became
store director, the Sioux City store was messy and disorganized.
The store floor was cluttered and the back
room was a maze. There was no room to receive shipments.
With a back room the size of a large walk-in
closet and a loft above the bathroom, no one could ever
locate what they needed. Tricia had again involved the
assistant store directors in the process.
The store had a problem with running neatly. The
back room was not organized at all and no one cared. I
had condensed and straightened the back room so that
everyone could see what we had. However, the problem
was not organizing it, but keeping it that way. Therefore,
I assigned each assistant manager to a section of the
back room. Each was to label the products, put like items
together, and maintain her area. I even had bins brought
in to better organize the areas for the back room. Tricia
would inspect the back room weekly and determine
what needed to be addressed and who was accomplishing
this task. By the end, everyone knew each
others section and maintenance was no longer an issue.
Tricia also knew the organizing plan had been successful
because of the feedback from the part-time employees.
The appearance of the sales floor and the back room
amazed the four employees who had been at the store
the longest. Tricia gained confidence in her abilities.
She was proud of the success the store was attaining.
Tricia began running daily contests for things such
as highest sales for the day, most creative product display,
and most helpful associate. Only the part-time
employees were eligible for the contests. She involved
the assistant store directors in developing and administering
the contests. Tricia and her team developed a
Fishbowl contest, which was whenever any of the parttime
sales associates did a certain type of demonstration
on a customer, they were allowed to draw a fish on the
poster shaped like a fishbowl. Whoever had the most
fish in the bowl at the end of the day receivd some sort
of small prize such as a free pretzel from the local pretzel
store or a trial size of the stores product to take home.
Another type of contest was called the Zone. The store
was zoned into five sections, where part-timers were
variously assigned. Whenever a part-timer approached a
customer and demonstrated a product on her, and the
customer bought a product within that zone, the employees
name was written down and put into a hat. At
the end of the day, a member of management would
draw a name and a small prize would be awarded.
Tricia also was allowed to have special employee
parties. She could open the store early and the employees
could shop at ease. At these events, we would
always award door prizes, give special discounts, and
sometimes have snacks and beverages for the associates
to enjoy. One time right before the holidays, we opened
at 7:00 A.M. for our employees and had a morning buffet.
We bought donuts, bagels, fruit, and beverages for this
event, and all employees were given an additional 15
percent off their regular discount.
While enjoying the challenge, Tricia wanted to go
back to college. She commented to her district manager
that she was interested in going back to get her
MBA. Immediately before Thanksgiving, Tricia had a
management meeting to talk about the upcoming
holiday season in the store. At the end of the meeting,
Tricia told the assistant store directors that she was
thinking of going back to school in January but had not
made her decision yet. She was surprised that they
seemed sad and disgruntled by her statement. Amy and
Tammy both said that they did not want Tricia to leave.
Lori said that if she were Tricia, she would not make
the decision to leave, but that Tricia should do what
was best for her.
Once the three knew what Tricia was considering,
the collegial team atmosphere disappeared. Lori started
544 P a r t 5 Integrating Cases
ordering Tammy around and Tammy was ready to quit.
Tricia met with each of them about the problem and
told them to work it out between the two of them. Soon
after, they appeared to be getting along better than
before. When Tammy became upset about the benefits
program, Tricia directed her to call the companys
benefits coordinator.
These events occurred as they entered the holiday
season, which was the busiest time of the year. The average
non-holiday volume of shipments received was
from 50 to 100 boxes over six days. During the holiday
season, the store received 100 to 150 boxes over six days.
The stores sales increased from approximately $20,000
a week to $60,000 a week. The week before the holiday,
the stores sales were $130,000!
After the Announcement During the first weekly
meeting in December, the tone of the meeting changed.
Before the meeting, Lori and Amy had met to decide
what to say. They chose to tell Tricia about all the things
they did not like about her work. One example was that
she would not always take lunch and would then leave
early. Tricia reasoned that, as a salaried employee, she
was not required to take a lunch so when she put in her
hours, she could leave. In addition, if she had to work
late one day to cover for employees, then the next day
she would leave early. Tricia knew she was one level
above them in the hierarchy and therefore had more
privileges. The assistant store directors did not think
that was fair. Tricias frequent statements about all of
them being equals encouraged the women to feel justified
in watching Tricias activities and recording
whenever she did things differently than they did.
Tricias feelings were hurt and she reacted defensively.
She said, I would never have watched my boss
and confronted her about her quitting times, and, since I
am your boss, you dont supervise me??"I supervise you.
Tricia reminded the three women of the hierarchical
system at Personal Reflections. She reminded them that
directions flowed downward, not upward. By the time
the meeting ended, everyone left with feelings of animosity
and resentment.
Two days after the meeting, Tricia found out that
Tammy had gone over Tricias head and contacted the
district manager about the store director position. This
particularly upset Tricia because she had been very
sensitive to Tammys needs and protective of her in the
work environment. Tricia admitted to herself that she
was furious. Amy had told Tricia of Tammys actions,
and also that Lori and Tammy were already plotting to
get Tricias position since she was considering leaving.
Amy also told her that Tammy asked for Amys help in
getting the store director position whether or not Tricia
left in January. Amy said she refused because she would
not betray Tricia.
Throughout November and December, the district
manager was silent. She did not interact with Tricia at
all. However, she did not encourage Lori and Tammy to
talk directly to her. She spoke with Tammy, who had
called her complaining about Tricia. Tammy also lobbied
for the district manager to give her the store director
position when Tricia left. The district manager
never personally notified Tricia of the conversation.
Nor did the district manager come to the store or try to
help the individuals resolve their differences.
Each of the assistant store directors reacted differently
to Tricia after she told them of her thoughts about
returning to school. Lori and Tricia went from allies to
enemies. In one instance, Tricia had spent two days
developing the work schedule. It took two days because
of the 25 temporary, part-time employees hired for the
holiday season as well as the company forms that needed
to be completed to ensure optimum coverage. The
company forms frequently necessitated revisions to the
work schedule. The day after completing the schedule,
Tricia had a day off. Lori rewrote part of the schedule
because a part-timer wanted a change in her schedule.
Lori made the change and never told Tricia. The next
day Tricia did not recheck the schedule because it was
completed. On the day in question, they were one
employee short. The employee was scheduled to be a
front greeter, which was a very important position.
Tricia questioned all the assistant managers and finally
Lori admitted to changing it. Tricia reprimanded Lori
and explained to her that other forms were consulted
before changes to the schedule could be done and she
needed to be kept informed. Animosity between the two
heightened.
By this time, Tricia was no longer trying to interact
with Lori and Tammy except for necessary work issues.
She became authoritative in all her dealings with the
two. However, she gave Amy additional responsibilities
and, in effect, trained Amy to be store director. Tricia
even went to the extreme of ensuring that her shift in the
store overlapped with Loris as little as possible. Lori
spoke to Tricia only when absolutely necessary. Generally,
Lori completely ignored Tricia and acted as if she
were not even present.
At home, Tricia started asking herself questions.
What had happened to the team? Where do I go from
here? How do I get things back on track at the store?
What do I do about all this conflict? I dont want to leave
the store with things in such a mess. I want to resolve the
conflict.

Please answer these Questions:

1. Using organizational behavior modification, discuss how to change Tammy's behavior concerning paperwork.

2. Using equity theory, discuss the equity comparisons made by Tricia, Lori, and Tammy.

3. How does Tricia's attitude toward the situation, her coworkers, and herself influence her motivation? Use expectancy theory to determine what relationship would be most affected(effort-to-performance, performance-to-outcome, or reward valence).

4. Using the 5 different styles of reacting to conflicting (avoiding, forcing, accommodating, collaborating and compromising) analyze the behavior of Tricia, Lori, Tammy, and Amy.

5. Discuss if any team dysfunction was evident in this case.

Annotated bibliography based on research question: 'An examination of the pros and cons of Internet censorship on freedom of expression.'

Write 5 Annotated Bibliography entries, each around 150-200 words in length. The total word count for the Annotated Bibliography section should not total more than 1000 words. Try to keep your entries clear and concise.

Select texts which you think you will use as key sources within your essay. These sources should be selected thoughtfully and reflect your essay focus / line of inquiry. In effect, you are justifying why you will use (or not use) specific sources.

Each entry must be written on an academic source. Other sources such as personal blogs, unknown forums/websites, unpublished material, news stories, etc, are not acceptable and will not be assessed.

An annotated bibliography must include:
- All sources are related to the student?s essay question.
- The connection between the chosen sources and the topic is clear.
- Annotations provide a concise but effective evaluation of the texts strengths and weaknesses in relation to the student?s research topic.
- The student adequately justifies why each text is an appropriate source.
- The reference adheres to Harvard referencing.
- Assignment complies with word length requirements.

**please no plagiarizing websites or online content - original work only and please include page numbers for each reference used**

As a guide:

What does an annotated bibliography normally include?
Annotated bibliographies normally consist of an evaluation of the resource, considering the
following aspects:

? AUTHORITY- Who wrote it? What are their credentials? (i.e. PhD, Professor, unqualified
writer)
? AUDIENCE - Who are the intended audience ? eg. Researchers? Students? Consumers?
? USEFULNESS - How useful is it to your paper? eg. Is it a research article? Is it too
scientific for your needs? Is it too general?
? COMPARISON - Is it similar to another work or in contrast to another work/author?
? CONCLUSIONS - Have the author(s) made any conclusions? What methods were used for
evaluation?
? LIMITATIONS - Are there any limitations in the work/methods/conclusions?

Example Annotated Bibliography: using UOW Author- Date (Harvard) referencing style:

Trevor, CO, Lansford, B & Black, JW 2004, ?Employee turnover and job performance: monitoring the influences of salary growth and promotion?, Journal of Armchair Psychology, vol.113, no.1,pp56-64.

In this article Trevor et al. review the influences of pay and job opportunities in respect to job
performance, turnover rates and employee motivation. The authors use data gained through
organisational surveys of blue-chip companies in Vancouver, Canada to try to identify the main
causes of employee turnover and whether it is linked to salary growth. Their research focuses on assessing a range of pay structures such as pay for performance and organisational reward
schemes. The article is useful to my research topic, as Trevor et al. suggest that there are
numerous reasons for employee turnover and variances in employee motivation and performance. The main limitation of the article is that the survey sample was restricted to mid-level management, thus the authors indicate that further, more extensive, research needs to be undertaken to develop a more in-depth understanding of employee turnover and job performance. This article will not form the basis of my research; however it will be useful supplementary information for my research on pay structures.

JVA Corporation Simulation

Overview

After reviewing the simulation, choose one of these three strategies as a possible proposal for the CEO. Explain and justify your choice by including responses to the Learning Questions in your proposal.

Possible Strategies

1. Employees will receive absolutely no raises, and performance management is eliminated throughout the economic crises. Therefore, employee wages will remain the same regardless of position held; no performance reviews are given; and there will be no adjustments of missions, goals, and duties during this period.
2. Performance, as well as revenue, is reviewed every 6 months. This way it allows JVA Corp. to cut or increase pay every 6 months and review its bottom line. Employees can also benefit by having the opportunity to earn pay raises potentially twice a year, rather than the typical annual reviews.
3. Review and make any necessary changes to the guidelines for performance management within JVA Corp. First review the mission and goals for JVA Corp. Then review the requirement of each employee. A review of compensation packages is also necessary, so evaluate commission packages, expenses covered, perks, and necessity of onsite amenities that are currently covered.

Based on the costs that have been calculated, a net savings should be evident to allow for major or minor cost savings for JVA Corp. In the midst of calculating ways to save expenses for JVA Corp., don?t forget that your duty as an HR director is to also ensure the well-being of employees. It?s important to also represent the workers while looking out for the interest of the company.

Your paper should address the appraisal process, performance management systems, ways to make performance management systems more effective, various classifications of rewards, the goal of the compensation administration, and compensation programs.

JVA Corporation Simulation

View this simulation and read the simulation overview before working on this week's assignment.

Check this JVA Corporation Simulation to view it. You can replay this simulation by clicking the Replay button.

JVA Corporation
A""

JVA Corporation, established in 1995, is an international manufacturing firm based in Plano, Texas. JVA Corp. produces wireless technology devices such as cellular phones, walkie-talkies, intercoms, and GPS units. The JVA campus headquarters is an impressive 17-acre facility that includes manufacturing and office space. Employees enjoy the additional amenities of a break room lounge, fully equipped exercise room, kitchen, and cafeteria. In addition to the amenities onsite, employees are offered various discount tickets, discounts on various personal services such as cell phones, gym memberships, home and auto insurance, and JVA Corp. credit cards.

JVA Corp. is a private company owned by the founders and private equity investors. JVA boasts 185,000 worldwide employees. Of these, 3,500 are full-time salaried managers, which includes department managers, warehouse managers, logistics managers, human resource managers, security managers, facility managers, and shift supervisors. The rest of the employees are either full time or part time and paid an hourly wage with bonuses based on the number of goods produced and number of goods marketed.

Performance Management

As we begin this journey into benefits restructuring and employee performance management, let's also consider the various aspects it entails. Performance management is often misunderstood to only mean performance appraisals or performance reviews. In actuality, performance management is a continuous process that consists of three steps: defining acceptable employee performance; facilitating employee performance; and encouraging employee performance. Performance management is accomplished through consistent and timely feedback about employee performance focused on achieving strategic objectives and meeting goals and mission of the organization.

Compensation Packages

It is often the case that an employee becomes eligible for compensation increases after a certain length of service time. In doing so, more often than not, employees are reviewed based on performance. Thus when an employee's performance is rated highly, then they may be offered additional compensations or compensation in the form of other means rather than monetary. Ultimately, the balancing of these three areas?external market, internal organization, and the individual's profile? is what determines what pay structure is equitable.

Shortly after the terrorist attacks of 2001, JVA Corp.'s revenue soared by 60% for the next 5 years and stabilized for the last couple of years until the world faced sudden recession. As many industry businesses suffered and workers lost jobs, JVA Corp. is still in business and has been trying to achieve stability through the shakeup. Since the recent economic hardships, JVA Corp. has suffered from a net loss of $53 billion (17%) in the fiscal year.

You have been in the position of HR Director since 1999, so the chief executive officer has full trust in your suggestions and final decisions. The CEO, Katelyn Van Michelson, has entertained the possibility of closing the doors to a few of their international factories, but it is not the preferred course of action. Before JVA Corp. proceeds to make such drastic cuts, you have suggested making some cuts in the compensation area of the company costs and the structure in which performance management was previously conducted. Ms. Van Michelson was intrigued by this idea and asked that you to submit a proposal of the cuts to take place and how those cuts will affect JVA Corp.'s future, as well as its employees.

Using your education, expertise, and passion for making changes and improving the well-being of JVA Corp.'s employees, you will prepare a proposal to be reviewed by Ms. Van Michelson within 1 week. She will scrutinize it and thus make a final decision on how to save and preserve the overall profitability of this company. As an HR Director, you will review the cost of all additional compensation programs that JVA Corp. offers, exceeding the current base salaries for employees. The current package includes commissions, bonuses, profit sharing, and travel rewards. Based on the calculation of 150,000 employees within the United States and not counting international locations, JVA Corp. is currently spending 8% of its revenue for additional compensations or perks. Within the 150,000 employees, approximately 35% are eligible for all of those additional perks, and the rest are offered a base salary with no option for additional compensation. In order to cut costs, an alternate solution will be proposed with a goal of spending only 5% of revenue instead of the current 8%.

Learning Questions

In making your selection, be sure to consider the following concerns:

1. How permanent or temporary is the change?

2. How much will employees lose by the change?

3. How much will JVA Corp. save by the change?

4. How will it affect the employees?

5. How will it affect JVA Corp.?

6. How will it affect the community?

7. Should international employees be subject to the same changes?

8. Does it matter whether the employees are in its U.S. base or international locations?

Note!Don't think of these decisions with specific monetary costs but in opportunity costs (time, morale, dedication, etc.).

Your total report must be between 500 and 750 words (use MS Word?s Word Count feature on the Review tab to ensure that your answer is not too brief or too verbose). Be sure to use the questions above as your guide in selecting a recommended strategy. You are not required to answer each and every question specifically as long as your report addresses how you considered and evaluated each of these eight concerns to determine the appropriate strategy, meets the word count range, and employs one of the three strategies above. Use 1.5 line spacing. Please remember that you will be using information supporting your position from sources such as the textbook, articles, and the Internet. You MUST use proper APA citations and references. Also, do not rely too heavily on borrowed material. It should NOT dominate your work. Point deductions will occur if more than 15% of the answer is borrowed. I want to read YOUR thoughts.

Please title your assignment with your LAST NAME and week number (for example, SmithWeek1.docx).

For instructions on how to use the Dropbox, read these step-by-step instructions or watch this Dropbox tutorial. See the Syllabus section "Due Dates for Assignments & Exams" for due date information.

I will grade your assignment and post the grade and comments in the Gradebook. Please let me know if you have any questions!

Note! Please use APA formatting in your papers this term. There is an APA handbook and tutorial links in the syllabus. Our online librarians and Tutor Source are also good places for APA help. Or, try The APA guide video in THElHUB.

"Pay for Performance" has made inroads in business, but has remained a hard sell in public school systems. There are some successful examples where teacher pay has been linked to student test scores. In Minnesota some districts have stopped giving automatic raises for seniority and base 60% of all pay increases on performance. In Denver, unions and school districts designed an incentive program where teachers receive bonuses for student achievement and for earning national teaching certificates. However, some plans have not worked. For example, Cincinnati teachers voted against a merit pay proposal and Philadelphia teachers gave their bonus checks to charity rather than cashing them. It appears that having teachers involved in planning the incentive system is one key factor to success. The same can be said for all incentive plans - if employees don't buy into them, they will not work.

Questions to Research:
1. How could an organization measure the effectiveness of their pay-for-performance plans?

2. From an employee's perspective, what are the disadvantages of using a pay-for-performance plan?

3. From an employer's perspective, what are the disadvantages of using a pay-for-performance plan?

Research Paper Instructions:

Submit your work as an MS WORD ATTACHMENT in either an .doc, .docx, or .rtf format.

* APA format, double space*

STRUCTURE OF THE PAPER

Introduction - presentation of the research question What you are going to write about in the paper.

Main body ? the main bulk of the text. Here you are presenting research already done using the articles and books written about the topic.

Conclusion ? a summary of the paper and the conclusions drawn. Here you return to the research question and respond to the question ? ex. In this paper I have shown that ?.
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THESIS STATEMENT

A thesis statement is a brief summation (1-5 sentences) which states the purpose of the research paper and basic areas to be covered. A good thesis statement will narrow the direction of your research, and focuses the writing of your paper.

Develop a little more what you are going to investigate and what the purpose is with the study (your paper).

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EXAMPLE OF THESIS STATEMENT

Working title: Native Spirituality versus Catholic faith in the residential schools in Canada.

Research question: What are the effects of the indoctrination of Catholic faith in the residential schools for Aboriginal peoples of Canada?

Thesis statement:
The purpose of this research is to describe and explain the residential school system in Canada. In particular, the study investigates the effects of the Catholic faith taking over the native faith in residential schools for Aboriginal peoples. (Ravneet Mudhar revised version)
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The hole paper should be written in APA style.

http://www.apastyle.org/
In text in parentheses author, comma, and year (Keesing, 1994) write out the page number/s when direct quoting the text but also the same meaning but in a new wording.
NO page numbers except at direct quote
Keesing claims that there are no such thing as a culture acting in a certain way (1994).
Keesing (1994) claims that there are no such thing as a culture acting in a certain way.
He claims that there are no such thing as a culture acting in a certain way (Keesing, 1994).

Longer direct quotation:

Studying the discourse in media I must agree with following statement.

?Our esssentialist, reified conception of ?culture,? having passed into everyday Western discourse, has been adopted by Third World elites in their cultural, nationalistic rhetoric. ?(Keesing, 1994, p. 303)

Short quotation inside a sentence

Studying the discourse in media, it becomes obvious that ?[o]ur esssentialist, reified conception of ?culture,? having passed into everyday Western discourse? (Keesing, 1994, p 303).

WORKS CITED

PERIODICAL: SIGNED JOURNAL ARTICLE, MULTIPLE AUTHORS
Maggio, J.C., White, W.G., Molstad, S., & Kher, N. (2005, Winter). Prefreshman summer programs? impact on student achievement and retention. Journal of Developmental Education, 29(2), 2-33.

BOOK CHAPTER or ESSAY IN BOOK
Brooks, R. (1990). Streetwise. In R. Martin (Ed.), The new urban landscape (pp. 38-39). New York: Rizzoli.

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Topic : I decided to choose the Inuktitut (Inuit's language) in Northern Canada as my topic for the research essay.

Intended Research Essay Question : Does Inuktitut still have an importance among modern Inuit communities in Canada?
(The research question can slightly be modified but must concern the use of Inuktitut in modern Inuit culture in Northern Canada, its role among the modern Inuit culture...)

Intended Research Essay Thesis (It can differ from that) : In a large number of communities in Canada, Inuktitut is still the most spoken language and is a very important part of Inuit?s identity and culture. Many communities continue to preach the use of Inuktitut language. This language has survived and has evolved with bilingualism since the arrival of Europeans, as years past by.

***It would be important to discuss about bilingualism.***

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Academic sources (the ones I found, but other sources can be used):

1) Dorais, Louis-Jacques (1996) Language in Inuit Society. Iqaluit: Nunavut Arctic College, Nunatta Campus.

2) Dorais, Louis-Jacques (2010) The Language of the Inuit. Montreal; Ithaca: McGill-Queen's University Press.

Course material (must be used in the paper):

1) Dorais, Louis-Jacques (1997) Quaqtaq: Modernity and Identityin an Inuit Community. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, p.79-87.

2) Tulloch, S., Pilakapsi, Q., Shouldice, M., Crockatt, K., Chenier, C, & Onalik, J. (2009) ?Inuit perspectives on sustaining bilingualism in Nunavut? ?tudes/Inuit/Studies 2009, vol. 33, no 1-2, p. 133-152. http://id.erudit.org/iderudit/044964ar

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Research Essay

10-15 pages of lenght, not including the endnotes, or bibliography, on any topic relating to the Inuit Peoples in Canada. The essay is designed to examine both primary and secondary sources in a critical manner while exploring a topic of interest.

Sources/Research:
[1] Two sources must be academic articles outside the course material.
[2] No more than 2 web-sources are permitted (*.pdf documents and articles from databases on the library server do not count as web-sources).
[3] Sources such as assigned readings, survey texts, and encyclopaedias may be utilized sparingly, but they do not count towards the minimum required. Wikipedia is not an acceptable source.
[5] The paper must also integrate the course material.
[6] Bibliography must conform to the APA style.
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STRUCTURE

-you should structure your paper(s) as follows:

I. A brief introduction to the topic: What are you writing about? Why is the issue you are addressing so controversial?

II. An introduction to the main argumentative positions: Describe the two opposing sides of the debate

III. Identification of the arguments: What are the main arguments adduced by proponents of the two opposing positions? How do interlocutors from each side of the debate defend their position and argue against their opponent's position?

IV. Critical evaluation of the arguments: Are the arguments adduced sound or unsound? Persuasiveorunpersuasive? (This section should
constitute the bulk of your essay.

V. Summary/Conclusion: Having critically evaluated the arguments for each side, conclude with a brief summary of where you stand on the topic you have discussed.

familiarity with philosophical styles of argumentation.

Structure:
1. Brief Introduction

2.How and why has the Company been able to survive for more than 15
generations?

3.What governance would you as a shareholder (family member) design to ensure
your interests are protected?

4.Over time, some shareholders need liquidity. What can you do to provide
liquidity to shareholders that need it?

5.Is it critical for this Company to remain a family-owned company? What are the
benefits and detriments?
There are faxes for this order.

Structured Critical Reflection Paper #3: Oppression. Power & Diversity in My Social Work Practice

DEAL: A 3-STEP MODEL FOR REFLECTION*

Write a reflection paper in accordance with APA, 6th ed. (absolutely no more than 5 pages). Don?t begin a reflection activity by asking ?What did I learn?? The purpose of reflection is to generate learning?not simply a display of what was learned. Reflection is not the same as description although description is a good first step in reflection. A brief paragraph to get the reader acquainted with your focus and the context is helpful. Please use sub-headings for your paper.

(my focus was the video Slavery by Another Name. You can use one of the link below:
List four major things that stood out for you dealing with oppression, new slavery and the social work practice
http://video.pbs.org/video/2176766758/
Step 1: DESCRIBE: Describe your visceral reactions to the material. In fair detail, describe the who, what, where and when as objectively (honestly) as possible [this means to observe yourself] the experience, the activity, the reading, etc. Think about a class discussion, lecture, academic content, and focus on what stood out for you as a learning experience connected to professional social work values and ethics. Be sure to cite sources. You may choose to begin your reflection with ?In preparation for this reflection I?.?


Step 2: EXAMINE: Staying focused on the description and in accordance with the course learning objectives as well as past, current, or potential life experience (e.g., personal, service-learning, practicum, employment) examine a specific concept, theory, or issue related to professional social work values and ethics as related to your social work practice. EXAMINE is a closer focus for the purpose of analysis. The goal is to examine and integrate. Examine why you think you had the reaction that you did. What is it about your background or personal or professional experiences that might explain why you had the reaction that you did? You should consider beginning this section with a variation of the following sentence: ?After studying the course materials and reflecting after class discussion, I began to reflect on personal experiences.? Again, cite sources.

Step 3: ARTICULATE LEARNING. Answer all of the 4-part structure for written articulating learning?

What did I learn?

How did I learn it?

Why does it matter?

What will I do in the future, in light of it?
Consider including a sentence that begins with the following: ?In light of my learning, I will??

Critical thinking is expected through out the reflection. You must establish relevance, accuracy, precision, and clarity in order to build depth, breadth, logic, and significance.

Paul, R. & Elder, L. (2006). The miniature guide to critical thinking. Santa Rosa, CA: The Foundation for Critical Thinking. (See www.criticalthinking.org)
* Ash, S., Clayton, P., & Moses, M. (2006). Excerpts from teaching and learning through
critical reflection: An instructor?s guide. Raleigh, NC: Author.

Structure of Macroeconomic News Analysis:
? Brief summary (2-3 sentences)
? Analysis
? the main macroeconomic concepts used in the article and how they relate to the
textbook material
? implications of this news for the US and the world economy, alternatives, solutions,
? relevance the issues raised in the article to you, other students or your family.
? Key macroeconomic terms (10 max): first, underline the terms in the original article,
then, create a bullet list in your paper.