Self Reflection Blog Post

  • What am I good at?

I am good at building connections with people and listening to what they are saying. I think that everyone wants to be heard and if you are nice and engaged in whichever type of conversation you are having, you will be able to build a connection with anyone.

  • What do I value?

I value my family and friends most because they are there for me no matter what stage I am at and are always there to support me. I also value honesty, humility, teamwork, and empathy. I appreciate when people are honest with me and when I am able to be honest with myself. I also think being able to laugh at yourself is very important when going through life.

  • How did I get here?

I got here thanks to my family, friends, and my hard work and determination. My parents have always pushed me to try my hardest and reach for my goals. Growing up with that attitude has also forced myself to set high standards for myself to meet which has caused me to always work hard for what I want. Having my friends to support me along the way has made it even better.

  • Where am I going?

I will be going to Spain in September to teach English which has been a goal for a few years now and I am so excited to finally go. Once I get back and in the future I hope to ultimately work in some part of Human Resources or Corporate Social Responsibility for a company that I am very interested in.

Would you work abroad?

I have always wanted to live and work abroad for an extended amount of time, but I am also 21 and do not have many things tying me down to a certain location. Considering the different factors that go into working in a new country are very different for me now than they would be in about 10 years. Whether or not I have a family and children to consider would impact my decision greatly.

A few things that I would consider before working abroad are what a particular country’s culture is like, their language, and what they tend to value. If I don’t agree with their values and culture, I do not think I would enjoy living there, regardless of what point I am at in my life. Some other factors I would consider would be how long the position would be, if the relocation package is sufficient enough, and if the salary in that particular country is substantial and will allow me to live comfortably. Moving across the world can be expensive and finding housing in a new country can be extremely difficult as well. Making sure I would be provided with relocation assistance is very important. Additionally, I would also consider what the country’s healthcare system is like and what package my company would be offering me. If I had children at the time I was offered an international position, I would also consider the educational systems and spousal assistance in that specific country.

Ultimately, many of my main considerations would be the same regardless of my age, but I know that I am much more willing to take the risk of working abroad now than I would be once I am deeply rooted in one location.

CEO Compensation? Is it excessive or appropriate?

CEO compensation began to rise after the 1990s stock boom when CEOs were given the option to buy stock of their company at bargain prices. Executive compensation soon became a pay system that spiraled out of control, paying CEOs an average of 17.2 million dollars a year as of 2018. I feel that executive pay is excessive and should have limitations put in place to control how much they are paid annually. Although CEO decisions often take time to show benefits, I don’t think one single person can influence an organization that greatly and should not be paid almost 50 times the amount of some other employees within their company.

Some of the ways I would change executive compensation would be to first put a maximum cap on executive compensation. Making companies have a cap on CEO pay packages forces them to not continue creeping up on each other and increasing the average salary. Because they want to stay competitive with each other and recruit the best CEOs they continue to increase their executive compensation causing other companies to continue increasing theirs as well. Second, I would also make CEO pay based off of the performance of the company. If the company had a bad year the CEO should also be paid accordingly. Lastly, I would diversify the board of directors that determines and analyzes CEO compensation because often times they are also all CEOs who sit on these boards and decide to increase pay for one company, which then increases the pay for each of their companies as well.  

I think if executive compensation was limited or decreased many people would be very upset. Many of these CEOs have spent most of their professional lives working to get to these positions and feel that the current compensation is justified due to their hard work. The components I feel are most essential to recruit executives and motivate them to lead companies toward a competitive advantage would be offering long term incentives and perquisites. Offering to pay out CEOs through stock options not only gives them a nice long-term incentive but also motivates them to work hard. I also feel that offering competitive perquisites is very important because many CEOs have worked very hard to get to this position and providing them competitive perks will set them apart from other companies.

Benefits: What’s important?

When ranking my list of benefits from least likely to give up to most likely to give up, it was an obvious choice for my top three most valued benefits. I felt that health insurance, retirement benefits, and paid time off were all things that should be offered by all employers. After discussing with our groups, we found that we all had similar responses and valued the same benefits. Regardless of the demographic composition of the company’s workforce, I still feel that these benefits are a must for every company. And due to many different government legislations, my top three benefits are legally required benefits that employers must have.

My last three benefits that I would be most willing to give up would be transportation services, tuition reimbursement, and gym memberships. These three benefits fell on the bottom end of my list because although they would be nice to have, I could easily do without them. I think these benefits could have more value dependent on the company that is providing them and where the location is. For example, if someone is working in a rural area and needs to commute often, I think transportation services would be ranked much higher on the list. 

Overall, many of the very important benefits that I have high on my list are often offered by many organizations due to legal requirements passed by the government. I feel that no matter the situation, people should be given access to these benefits and after discussing in class, our group felt the same. When deciding about other benefits to offer, I think it is dependent on the general workforce, the amount of money the company has to offer additional programs, and the location of the organization and what programs would be most beneficial. In conclusion, the benefits offered by a company have a great impact on the overall employee commitment, productivity, and motivation and employers should take time to consider what would be best for their organization.

Condé Nast’s Pay Structure

Making sure employees are compensated accordingly is a very important role for a business. Understanding how to accurately create a pay structure dependent on an employee’s individual skills, or the skills needed for a specific job is up to the business to decide. According to the text, a person-based job structure is when a company “rewards employees for acquiring job-related, knowledge, skills, or competencies rather than for demonstrating successful job performance” (pg. 101). Whereas a job-based pay structure is when a company “compensates employees for jobs they currently perform, which include seniority pay, merit pay, and incentive pay” (pg. 111).

The company I chose to research and decide whether or not they would be best off with a job-based or person-based pay structure was Condé Nast. Condé Nast is a “global media group that produces some of the world’s leading print, digital, video, and social brands”; some of their brands include Vogue, Bon Appetit, The New Yorker, and more (condenast.com). They are an international company with headquarters in in New York City and London.

After closely looking at the values and mission statement of Condé Nast, I’ve decided that a person-based pay structure would be the best and most accurate pay structure for their company. Many of their jobs require an employee’s personal knowledge on specific topics, as well proficient experience within different fields, emphasizing that their pay structure should be built on individual knowledge, skills, or competencies. Condé Nast also takes pride in valuing their employees’ diverse backgrounds, views, and cultures, while also showing a great appreciation for the personal qualities, skills, and contributions provided by each employee (condenast.com). Although some of their entry level positions seem as though they could be paid based on a job-based pay structure, these positions still require an employee to use their own personal knowledge of the industry, experiences, and expertise which ultimately means they should be compensated based on a person-based pay structure.  

Overall, I believe that given the type of company that Condé Nast is and the values that they hold, they would benefit greatly by providing a person-based pay structure.

Compensation Management: Blog Post #1

A few years ago, my dad worked for an automotive company that was close to our house, paid well, but did not have a great company culture or many opportunities for growth. After a few years of working there, the owners decided to sell their company and lay off many of their employees, my dad included. He immediately reached out to his coworkers from previous jobs and started using his connections to find a new job.

A few months later, he interviewed and received an offer for a position in the public health sector, a completely different industry, and had to decide whether or not to accept. This new job did not offer him the same salary as his last job but was able to provide him with a pension, opportunities for raises/promotions, the option to work from home, a 9/80 work schedule, a free gym membership, and an active, competitive, and friendly company culture.

While still unemployed, he continued to interview for other positions and had the option to decline this offer. After considering his different opportunities, he decided that the benefits offered by this company, and the ability to work with old coworkers were extremely important to him and outweighed the lack of pay that he would initially be receiving.

I believe that benefits present a certain value to people and if employers are able to compensate the lack of salary payment with great benefits, people are often willing to accept those offers.