Author: Lesli Alvarado-Diosdado

Below is list of things that could change my outlook on living internationally.

• Place to live, car, 
• Health insurance policy
• More upfront of what benefits 
• Test period
• Language barrier. 
• Cultural differences
• Spousal duel placement
• Mentor

To go more in-depth, I will start with a place to live/transportation and spousal duel placement. Now in terms of housing, it doesn’t have to be subsidized, but information on where to live would be beneficial. When moving to a new location, you often don’t know where to live and the best site. Having guidance on this would help employees’ transition into their new surroundings. This to hand with transportation. Some cities’ cars are not even needed, so having access to information will help the potential employee know the area more. Another thing that s very important is spousal duel placement. Moving to another country doesn’t only impact one person but can also affect any partners involved.

Having a mentor and a guide to cultural differences will help with the transition to the new country. Having someone who can help me transition into the new lifestyle is a pretty big deal. When you’re in a new country, you don’t know the traditions and customs that affect everyday life.  The mentor can also help with any language barriers that may come up. I could not move to a country that I did not understand the language. I’m someone who doesn’t step out of my comfort zone often. All of these things would also line up with the need for a test period. Whether that’s three months or a year, giving employees a test period will help them not feel overwhelmed.

Two things that are probably the most important are health care and any other benefits the company offers. Each country has its health insurance, so it’s hard for any new employees to understand. Health care is probably one of the most important factors when picking an employer. Overall, these are only some of the few things I would need to consider moving internationally. However, I would not move internationally for a job because I wouldn’t say I like taking risks. The only time I would is if I was being transferred

Before watching any of the videos or lectures, I always viewed executive compensation as extreme for multiple reasons, and the video “Executive Pay: The Issues” further solidified that. It came down to the fact that CEOs (in 2007) were making 500 times more than their employees. The video also captures some of the issues perfectly. For example, when a company has a bad year/quarter, the employees pay for it, not the CEO.

In the jamb board, I said, “having how companies perform part of their pay. If the company isn’t doing well, it affects the CEO. And has employees rate the CEO’s performance”. This can also apply to stocks. For example, when a company has a bad quarter, a CEO’s stocks can take away before the CEO has a chance to sell.

However, there are multiple issues when thinking about decreasing an executive’s pay. “Corporate America” has gotten used to always trying to one-up each other when paying their CEOs. In “Executive Pay: The Issues” talks about how 2/3 of the corporations want to pay above market pay while 1/3 of the corporations want to be 25%. This comes to be a game to see who can all one-up each other. If the board of directors decides to decrease a CEO’s compensation, they’ll just move onto another company that can offer them more and not be punished. Thus, creating a market that favors any working CEO.

When looking at how to recruit CEOs, there are multiple things you consider. I believe one thing CEOs look into is stock options. Since, in most, they’re not reported, it’s easier to skate by. While a base salary works for some, CEOs are more interested in the perks and benefits that come along with it. That could be retirement/life insurance plans, health care, and free use of company property. It’s important to know where you stand in the compensation pay with your competitors. While you can compare yourself with other industries, your competitors are the ones you want to beat. If you believe your CEOs are the best in the industry, you will want to pay them however they want to keep the talent where it is.

Executive Pay: The Issues: December 2, 2002. Anonymous NewsHour Productions, 2002. https://video.alexanderstreet.com/watch/executive-pay-the-issues-december-2-2002.

In our group discussion, we all agree that health insurance was the one benefit that takes top priority over anything else. This would also include dental, and eye care since these are usually add ons to a health care plan. Below I attached the group’s top five.

1. Health, Dental, Vision
2. Vacation time & paid time off
3. Retirement benefits
   1. 401K
   2. 403b
4. Company perks
5. Paid maternity/paternity leave

When looking at this list, it seems pretty basic to the human eye. However, each employee has preferences on what they think is the most important. I personally agree with this list of five since it fits my current lifestyle. Vacation time & paid time off gives employees the chance to relax and recharge to perform the best. Vacation and paid time off are usually more prominent in younger generations than millennials. Millennials grew up in an era that praised working as many days as possible to please your employer. When generations start working together, it creates a divide in what they want.

By giving employees the best health care, employees are less stressed about unpredictable injuries/surgeries accruing. This can also be true for retirement benefits. Retirement benefits are usually more prominent in individuals who plan on staying with a certain company for an extended period of time. For example, a resort I interned for had an amazing retirement package; however, it was only useful if you were there for a minimum of 5 years to start getting the real benefits.

Company perks and paid parental leave are both things that may be rare to companies. Company perks are usually when companies partner with other companies to give their employees more perks. For example, there is companies that partner with Nike and in return they get to go to the employee store. Paid parental leave however is more prominent for female workers. By ensuring that they can spend time with their newborn and not feel pressured to go back to work is a benefit many would like to have.

Pay structures are important for companies in multiple ways. A job-based pay structure is a salary structure that is determined by the job itself. That can be responsibilities or work conditions. Another pay structure is person-focused pay. A person-focused pay structure is based on what the individual brings to the company and what they produce while they’re there.

After researching Microsoft, I believe most of their employees will do better with a person-focused pay structure. To be more specific, a person-focused program Microsoft can use is Technological Innovation. In the book, technological innovation is adapting to the new changes and using them to the best of their ability to help their team. A person-focused pay structure gives employees the ability to develop new skills without going through normal job responsibilities. Employees can also be rewarded when they gain new horizontal and vertical skills.

A summary of Microsoft’s mission statement is that they want to empower people to achieve more. Giving their employees the ability to create their own path helps them determine how they want to spend their time at Microsoft. Microsoft must create a person-focused pay plan that is fair for all pay levels. Each employee at Microsoft is grouped into pay ranges that are currently based on their title. Having a person-focused pay structure gives Microsoft an increased edge when it comes to global competition. Employees will like they control their pay and help them push to be a greater employee.

During my junior year of high school, I was looking for a job when my ASB advisor offered me a position at her husband’s veterinary clinic. When I first started, I would do kennels and occasionally help out the receptionist. Soon, I would become the business manager’s assistant and help her keep the books and paperwork organized. I continued to work at this clinic for roughly three years and became close to the clinic owners. During my freshman year of college, the owners asked me if I could come back the next summer and work for them. However, I had already accepted an internship position at a Resort in Bend.

I wanted to get more experience in other industries to see what I wanted to do post-graduation. The problem was the internship was a minimum wage position, where most of the money would end up going to gas. I lived at home and would have to drive an hour to the resort and an hour back. If I kept the internship position alone, I wouldn’t have saved enough money for the following school year. I decided to go back to the veterinary clinic and keep my internship position. As a result, I worked approximately 60+ hours a week. I believe money factored into this tremendously. If it weren’t for the second job, I wouldn’t have been able to pay for college the following term.

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