DIVERSITY AND GENDER ISSSUES IN THE WORK PLACE NOTES
*7.1 The Issue of Equal Pay or Comparable Worth
One of the important compensation issues of the twenty-first century is
equal pay for comparable work. The issue stems from the fact that jobs
performed pre-dominantly by women receiving less pay for jobs that are
different from, but comparably worth to, those performed by men. The
issue of comparable worth goes beyond providing equal pay for jobs that
involve the same duties for women as for men. It is not only concerned
with whether a female secretary should receive the same pay a male
secretary. Rather the argument for comparable worth is that jobs held by
women should be compensated the same as those held by men, if both job
types contributes equally to organizational success. However, this is
continuing problem and will continue be an active issue as the
percentage of women in the workforce
continues to climb.
*7.2 Two Tier Pay
Two-tier pay rates are recent innovation as businesses attempt to cut
their labor costs. There are actually two different pay systems for the
employees. Some plans continue this difference for long time periods and
others set a limit – such 90 days or longer before they become equal.
*7.3 Fair and Square
What can HRM professionals do to make their compensation program achieve
wage parity while avoiding federal scrutiny for a defective
gender-neutral system? Although employee’s use different techniques to
keep salaries fair and square, equitable compensations have several
common features such as salaries based primarily on the industry market
pay rates, not on some
employee’s value to the firm based on an arbitrary
evaluation system.
Another common feature is system in which skills, performance, and
tenure are objectively evaluated and measured. This allows HRM to
monitor the process and control adherence to the approved procedures.
The results should be accepted as not deviating from the process. The
last common feature of a gender-neutral compensation system is a regular
review for any irregularities caused by cutbacks, transfers, mergers, or
sudden increases in recruiting. When irregularities are uncovered, they
are immediately corrected.
The corners of all companies fair and square compensation system
requires continuous adjustments. The gender system goal is to be able to
highlight any unfair treatment for all employees, even between two white
male employees.
*7.4 Variable Pay
The twenty-first century is witnessing the hottest trends in HRM. It is
the redesign of compensation, packages to support organizational goals
and objectives. This is the result of helter skelter compensation plans
with not coherence policies. The answer to these problems is the total
compensation plan. In such a plan, employees receive a base pay for core
duties, individual and small group achievement pay, and variable pay
that is based on the company’s success
Total compensation plans are not uniformly successful. The reason is
poor implementation of the variable pay segment of the plan. The correct
implementation requires careful attainable performance goals and
techniques to objectively measure those goals. This requires knowledge
of the company’s rent performance results in key areas and comparative
industry data. The variable pay program success requires establishing
employee’s trust. If employees don’t trust their management to tell them
the truth or fairly considered their suggestions without ridicule or
punishment, variable any programs will not work. To make variable pay
work, companies should do the following:-
- Do not make the program complicated. Goals must clear and
straightforward. One way to accomplish is follow the example of a
major national food manufacture. Employees were asked to set
specific variable pay goals for each plant. Representative group
developed very specific goals for manufacturing have the final
approval employees were told the implementation would be immediate. - Never underestimate the ability of employee to understand. They are
at least as sharp as the managers who created the original
compensation program. When the subject is pay-related, they listen
carefully and are away of inequities, which will then share with
other employees. - Avoid compensation legal terms and unnecessary details. All employee
communications containing excessive financial and legal terms are
very ineffective. A more effective method is quarterly posters to
update employees
on the two main goals of variable pay; operating margins and customer satisfaction. An effective poster tells what is needed and is understood in seconds. - Management must acknowledge present deficiencies in the current
compensation plan. The current deficiencies are the reason for
implementing variable plan. The real success is whether margins and
customer satisfaction improves as a result of employee recommending
improvement strategies. - The variable pay program is whether the employees perceive it a
being fair and equitable. The employees must buy-it that the
variable pay plan is in their and the company’s best interest.
