3 page paper

 
Strategic compensation is a component of the human resource system. Organizations must determine the importance of many factors when choosing compensation and benefits. Write a three-to-five page essay (not including the title and reference pages) that summarizes the impact and effect of compensation within an organization. Your paper should be written in a scholarly third-person tone; it should be in APA format. In addition to the introduction and conclusion, your paper should address the following:

Examine how organizations determine the relative importance of compensable factors. 
Evaluate how compensation strategies tie into underlying corporate values.
Analyze an example which demonstrates how an organization’s compensation and benefits programs have been utilized to obtain corporate strategic goals.

In addition to the text, cite at least two scholarly references to support your discussion.
Carefully review the Grading Rubric  (Links to an external site.)for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.

Week one Notes:
 
Compensation & Benefits. Throughout this course, you will gain an in-depth knowledge into compensation theories, policies, systems and practices with emphasis directed towards designing effective compensation programs. Overall, this course will provide knowledge of the art of compensation practice and its role in promoting companies competitive advantage. Additionally, this course will examine the context of compensation, the criteria used to compensate employees, compensation design systems, employee benefits, and the contemporary challenges organizations will face in the future. In Week 1, this course will provide an overview of compensation systems as well as assess compensation strategies and their impact on an organization. 
Strategic compensation is a human resource management approach employers use to attract, retain, motivate and grow talented employees as organization’s goals and objectives are maintained. The importance of a strategic compensation approach is to meet the organizations goals but to also obtain a competitive advantage. Since the early “1980s, there has been increased recognition in the business field that human resources contribute to the competitive advantage of an organization” (Martocchio, 2017). A competitive advantage results from having the right employee working in the organization. Therefore, to have the best employees, they need to recruit and maintain said employees via a competitive compensation package.
When HR professionals are deciding on a strategic compensation policy there are a few questions that need to be asked including:

Is compensation strategy suitable for the overall objectives of the competitive business and HR strategies;
Is the choice and design of the compensation practice suitable for the compensation strategy; and
Does the implementation of the compensation practices effectively increase employee job performance?

(Martocchio, 2017).   
Additionally, organizations should understand the workforce they’re looking to attract, have a realistic budget in mind and be able to implement the compensation plan in a way for all employees to understand regardless of learning style. 
The total compensation package is made up of both extrinsic and intrinsic rewards.  An intrinsic reward includes personal achievement, professional growth, sense of pleasure and accomplishment.  An example of this will be training and considerations the organization would make to improve the self of an employee. Overall, it is the value employees receive from doing their job. While extrinsic compensation is a tangible reward such raises, or other mandatory or discretionary benefits. Most employees are more familiar with the extrinsic rewards are it may deal with retirement plans, health insurance, and/or bonuses. 
Overall, for an organization to retain the right employees, it is important to pay the employee a competitive wage and compensation package. Accordingly, an organization shall have a competitive strategy which includes a competitive compensation and benefits package when it comes to retaining and motivating their employees. However, not all employees will be interested in the same compensation and benefits package. For example, an employee who is more focused on retirement may be more interested in a retirement plan as opposed to an employee who is more interested in their wages to pay off student debt. Therefore, the organization will not have a one stop shop when it comes to compensation packages for all employees. This is also true from organization to organization; as each will have a compensation and benefits package that will not be the same as a similar organization. Overall, an organization will strategically develop a compensation and benefits package that will best suit the needs of the organization and the employees. It’s important to be creative during the process to ensure they’re meeting the intrinsic and extrinsic need of the employee as well as organizational goals. Every organization wants to recruit and maintain the best employees for its business and doing so requires a competitive compensation package as employees will compare packages while considering a potential place of employment.
Please review the HR Basics: Employee Benefits (Links to an external site.) video which will provide an overview of employee benefits.
References
Gregg Learning. (2017). HR basics: Employee benefits (Links to an external site.) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fX9eQubzEE
Martocchio, J. (2017). Strategic compensation: A human resource management approach (9th ed.). New York, New York: Pearson.

Grading Rubric:  
Examines How Organizations Determine Relative Importance of Compensable Factors
Total: 1.50
Distinguished – Provides an accurate and thorough examination of the importance of the relationship of compensable factors to corporate success. 
Proficient – Provides an examination of the importance of the relationship of compensable factors to corporate success. Minor details are missing or inaccurate. 
Basic – Provides a limited examination of the importance of the relationship of compensable factors to corporate success. Relevant details are missing and/or inaccurate.
Below Expectations – Attempts to examine the importance of the relationship of compensable factors to corporate success; however, significant details are missing and/or inaccurate. 
Non-Performance – The examination of the importance of the relationship of compensable factors to corporate success is either nonexistent or lacks the components described in the assignment instructions.
Evaluates How Compensation Strategies Tie Into Underlying Corporate Values
Total: 1.50
Distinguished – Comprehensively and accurately evaluates how compensation strategies tie into underlying corporate values. Utilizes scholarly sources to support the evaluation. 
Proficient – Evaluates how compensation strategies tie into underlying corporate values. Utilizes scholarly sources to support the evaluation. Minor details are missing or inaccurate.
Basic – Partially evaluates how compensation strategies tie into underlying corporate values. Utilizes some scholarly sources to support the evaluation. Relevant details are missing and/or inaccurate.
Below Expectations – Attempts to evaluate how compensation strategies tie into underlying corporate values; however, does not adequately utilize scholarly sources to support the evaluation and significant details are missing and/or inaccurate.
Non-Performance – The evaluation of how compensation strategies tie into underlying corporate values is either nonexistent or lacks the components described in the assignment instructions.
Analyzes an Example Which Demonstrates How an Organization’s Compensation and Benefits Programs Have Been Utilized to Obtain Corporate Strategic Goals
Total: 2.00
Distinguished – Thoroughly and accurately analyzes an example which demonstrates how an organization’s compensation and benefits programs have been utilized to obtain corporate strategic goals.
Proficient – Analyzes an example which demonstrates how an organization’s compensation and benefits programs have been utilized to obtain corporate strategic goals. Minor details are missing or inaccurate. 
Basic – Somewhat analyzes an example which demonstrates how an organization’s compensation and benefits programs have been utilized to obtain corporate strategic goals. Relevant details are missing and/or inaccurate.
Below Expectations – Attempts to analyze an example which demonstrates how an organization’s compensation and benefits programs have been utilized to obtain corporate strategic goals; however, significant details are missing and/or inaccurate.
Non-Performance – The analysis of an example which demonstrates how an organization’s compensation and benefits programs have been utilized to obtain corporate strategic goals is either nonexistent or lacks the components described in the assignment instructions.
Written Communication: Control of Syntax and Mechanics
Total: 0.25
Distinguished – Displays meticulous comprehension and organization of syntax and mechanics, such as spelling and grammar. Written work contains no errors and is very easy to understand.
Proficient – Displays comprehension and organization of syntax and mechanics, such as spelling and grammar. Written work contains only a few minor errors and is mostly easy to understand.
Basic – Displays basic comprehension of syntax and mechanics, such as spelling and grammar. Written work contains a few errors which may slightly distract the reader.
Below Expectations – Fails to display basic comprehension of syntax or mechanics, such as spelling and grammar. Written work contains major errors which distract the reader.
Non-Performance – The assignment is either nonexistent or lacks the components described in the instructions.
Written Communication: APA Formatting
Total: 0.25
Distinguished – Accurately uses APA formatting consistently throughout the paper, title page, and reference page.
Proficient – Exhibits APA formatting throughout the paper. However, layout contains a few minor errors. 
Basic – Exhibits limited knowledge of APA formatting throughout the paper. However, layout does not meet all APA requirements. 
Below Expectations – Fails to exhibit basic knowledge of APA formatting. There are frequent errors, making the layout difficult to distinguish as APA.
Non-Performance – The assignment is either nonexistent or lacks the components described in the instructions.
Written Communication: Page Requirement
Total: 0.25
Distinguished – The length of the paper is equivalent to the required number of correctly formatted pages. 
Proficient – The length of the paper is nearly equivalent to the required number of correctly formatted pages. 
Basic – The length of the paper is equivalent to at least three quarters of the required number of correctly formatted pages.
Below Expectations – The length of the paper is equivalent to at least one half of the required number of correctly formatted pages.   
Non-Performance – The assignment is either nonexistent or lacks the components described in the instructions.
Written Communication: Resource Requirement
Total: 0.25
Distinguished – Uses more than the required number of scholarly sources, providing compelling evidence to support ideas. All sources on the reference page are used and cited correctly within the body of the assignment.
Proficient – Uses the required number of scholarly sources to support ideas. All sources on the reference page are used and cited correctly within the body of the assignment.
Basic – Uses less than the required number of sources to support ideas. Some sources may not be scholarly. Most sources on the reference page are used within the body of the assignment. Citations may not be formatted correctly.
Below Expectations – Uses an inadequate number of sources that provide little or no support for ideas. Sources used may not be scholarly. Most sources on the reference page are not used within the body of the assignment. Citations are not formatted correctly.
Non-Performance – The assignment is either nonexistent or lacks the components described in the instructions.