Week 8 Assignment 2 SubmissionIf you are using the Blackboard Mo.docx

Week 8 Assignment 2 Submission
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Assignment 2: Compensation Plan Outline
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:
· 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.
The assignment will be graded using the following rubric:
Points: 300
Assignment 2: Compensation Plan Outline
Criteria
Unacceptable
Below 60% F
Meets Minimum Expectations

60-69% D
Fair
70-79% C
Proficient
80-89% B
Exemplary
90-100% A
1. Evaluate the existing compensation plan to determine if it is
the most appropriate for your company. Explain your rationale.
Weight: 15%
Did not submit or incompletely evaluated the existing
compensation plan to determine if it is the most appropriate for
your company. Did not submit or incompletely explained your
rationale.
Insufficiently evaluated the existing compensation plan to
determine if it is the most appropriate for your company.
Insufficiently explained your rationale.
Partially evaluated the existing compensation plan to determine
if it is the most appropriate for your company. Partially
explained your rationale.
Satisfactorily evaluated the existing compensation plan to
Satisfactorily explained your rationale.
Thoroughly evaluated the existing compensation plan to
Thoroughly explained your rationale.
2. Determine the most beneficial ratio of internally consistent
and market consistent compensations systems for the company
you selected.
Weight: 15%
Did not submit or incompletely determined the most beneficial
ratio of internally consistent and market consistent
compensations systems for the company you selected.
Insufficiently determined the most beneficial ratio of internally
consistent and market consistent compensations systems for the

Partially determined the most beneficial ratio of internally
Satisfactorily determined the most beneficial ratio of internally
Thoroughly determined the most beneficial ratio of internally
3. Evaluate the current pay structure used by your company and
assess the recognition of employee contributions.
Weight: 20%
Did not submit or incompletely evaluated the current pay
structure used by your company and did not submit or
incompletely assessed the recognition of employee
contributions.
Insufficiently evaluated the current pay structure used by your
company and insufficiently assessed the recognition of
employee contributions.
Partially evaluated the current pay structure used by your
company and partially assessed the recognition of employee
contributions.
Satisfactorily evaluated the current pay structure used by your
company and satisfactorily assessed the recognition of
employee contributions.
Thoroughly evaluated the current pay structure used by your
company and thoroughly assessed the recognition of employee
contributions.
4. Make two (2) recommendations for improving the
Weight: 20%
Did not submit or incompletely made two (2) recommendations
for improving the effectiveness of the discretionary benefits
provided by the company you selected.
Insufficiently made two (2) recommendations for improving the

Partially made two (2) recommendations for improving the
Satisfactorily made two (2) recommendations for improving the
Thoroughly made two (2) recommendations for improving the
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.
Weight: 15%
Did not submit or incompletely evaluated the types of
employer-sponsored retirement plans and health insurance
programs provided by the company you selected. Did not submit
or incompletely compared them to that company’s major
competitors.
Insufficiently evaluated the types of employer-sponsored
retirement plans and health insurance programs provided by the
company you selected and insufficiently compared them to that
company’s major competitors.
Partially evaluated the types of employer-sponsored retirement
plans and health insurance programs provided by the company
you selected and partially compared them to that company’s
major competitors.
Satisfactorily evaluated the types of employer-sponsored
company you selected and satisfactorily compared them to that
Thoroughly evaluated the types of employer-sponsored
company you selected and thoroughly compared them to that

6. 3 references
Weight: 5%
No references provided
Does not meet the required number of references; all references
poor quality choices.
Does not meet the required number of references; some
references poor quality choices.
Meets number of required references; all references high quality
choices.
Exceeds number of required references; all references high
quality choices.
7. Clarity, writing mechanics, and formatting requirements
Weight: 10%
More than 8 errors present
7-8 errors present
5-6 errors present
3-4 errors present
0-2 errors present
Running Head: COMPENSATION PRACTICE 1
COMPENSATION PRACTICE
9
William E. Thomas III
Professor R. Jarrett
BUS409 Cmpnstn Mgmt

Fall Quarter 2015
(Apple Tech Company)
Company description
Apple Inc is an American multinational technology company
whose headquarter is located in Cupertino, California. The
company deals with designing, manufacturing and develops
mobile devices, personal computers as well as other technology
devices. It also sales a variety of computer application software,
peripherals, services, provision of networking solutions as well
as other third party digital applications and contents. Some of
the products produced by the company includes iPad, iPhone,
iPod, Mac, Apple TV, professional software applications, iOS
operating system, iCloud with a wide range of accessories and
support services (Bohlander, & Snell, 2010). Apple Company
was founded by Steve Jobs and Ronald Wayne in April 1976.
Currently, this is the world’s second largest information
technology company with reference to the company’s revenue,
and the leading in total assets as well as world’s third largest in
mobile phone manufacturing company.
Apple’s compensation strategies
Apple’s employees are well compensated when compared to
other related companies. This has been the reason as to why
there is high employee performance, who are highly motivated
to do their work. Some special compensation strategies are
being used at Apple Company as a way of motivating the
employees. The company has pays an average basic salary of
$108,483 per annum for its employees (Denning, 2012). This is
the best package when compared to what other companies pay
their employees.
Other than a high basic salary, Apple Company rewards its
employees with a recognition bonus of the salary which ranges
from 3 to 5%. This bonus package is awarded to those
employees who have completed their work effectively
(Bohlander, & Snell, 2010). In addition to bonuses, they are
also offered gifts in form of free iPhone which also accounts to

employee’s compensation strategies that are put in place by the
Apple Company as their compensation strategies that attract top
skilled employees and is able to retain these employees.
Other than bonuses, Apple Company offers opportunities to the
employees to take up additional education as well as
development programs. This is being offered in line with Steve
Job’s mission which required the employees to be innovative,
creative and focused towards growth by coming up with devices
that will be highly liked by the people.
Best practices being applied at Apple Company
Employee motivation is the key factor that that has contributed
to the growth and expansion of Apple Company. This has also
been aided by some of the best selective practices that the
company engages in to ensure that employees are well
compensated and satisfied with their work.
One of the best practices that are applied in this company is
benefits to the employees. The common benefit is discounted
prices of the products that they buy from the store (Carter, &
Goldsmith, 2005). This is a motivation to employees as they
feel recognized as the employees of the company and also feel a
sense of belonging which every employee would want to get.
Employees are allowed to buy items from the company at a
reduced discount of about 30 to 50 % of the original buying
price of that item.
Another best practice that is applied at Apple Company to the
employees is ensuring that they have a better working
condition. This came in after the company faced a controversial
corporate social responsibility issue at one of its international
stores in China. It was allegedly reported that the employees
faced a problem with working environment (Denning, 2012).
Following this scandal, the company has ensured that there is
good working conditions for its employees. This includes
offering spacious laboratories and workshops as well as
providing sufficient training to all of the employees so that they
may not easily cause accidents that may harm the company’s
employees in a devastating way.

In addition to this, the company also provides health care
insurance package to all of its employees. This is also
considered as a best practice as through such offers, employees
are more motivated to work extra mile so that to ensure that the
company’s goals are achieved easily as they are planned and
executed.
Compensation related challenges faced by Apple
Despite a good record in compensation strategies used by the
company, there are other compensation related challenges that
are being experienced. The most common one is the complains
from the marketing employees who have raised concerns about
the volume of work they engage in the amount of payment they
receive (Carter, & Goldsmith, 2005). Most of them claim that
they are being underpaid, since they do numerous amount of
work which is not consistent with the amount that they receive
at the end of the month.
How Apple applied compensation practice to determine positive
or negative impact to the company and its stakeholders
Some of the compensation strategies that are developed by the
Apple Company have had both positive and negative impact to
the company as well as its stakeholders. For instance, the
company has been paying huge amount of salary to its top
executives as well as the software engineers as a way of
motivating them to work extra hard in the innovation as well as
other responsibilities. Because of this compensation practice,
the company has enjoyed high employee retention. It is by this
that the company consider these individuals as the most
important part of the company as they are the key drivers of
innovation that the company is currently enjoying (Bohlander,
& Snell, 2010). Due to this practice, the company has been able
to benefit positively in terms of its improved quality of
products. The high levels of innovation that has been facilitated
by the company’s top management has as well improved the
company’s ability in coming up with unique designs and also
manufacturing some the products that meets the needs of the
consumer. This has ensured the company high revenue from the

sales of its products.
Another strategy that has had positive impact to operation of the
company is its strategy in hiring young, energetic and the most
talented people so as to join the company’s workforce. In
general, this practice has enabled the company to achieve the
most outstanding performance in the market as compared to
other related companies (Denning, 2012). In addition to this, the
employees who are the consumers have also positively benefited
from this practice as they are able to work at the company for a
longer period of time thus getting more dividends.
Other than the above practices that have had a positive impact
to the growth of the company as well as its stakeholders, Apple
Company has also engaged in some practices that has had
negative impact to the company itself as well as to the entire
stakeholders. For instance, the company’s compensation
strategy has not received positive feedback from all of the
company’s employees working in different departments. For
instance, the company does not put into consideration the
additional amount of work that is done and completed by some
of the employees just in case there is an increase in demand
from the consumers (Carter, & Goldsmith, 2005). For instance,
there was a period when the company experienced a high
demand of the iPhone devices. During this time, the employees
were forced to spend extra time at the workplace. Despite this,
the employees were not compensated for the extra time and
work that had done (Satariano, & Suzuki, 2013). Following this
incident, the families of the affected employees filed the case to
sue the company. During the court ruling, it was ruled that the
compensation strategy that was developed at Apple Company
was very unfair to the employees who were working there and
not being considered for the overtime work.
Following these complains among others, Apple Company’s
image was tainted. It has serious negative impacts to the
company as the company experienced a drastic drop in the total
level of revenue (Satariano, & Suzuki, 2013). Despite this, the
company can enhance its ability in order to meet all of the

desired performance objectives. This can be achieved through
adjusting its current compensation strategies as well as to
motivate the employees. At the same time, the company can also
encourage the employees to improve their productivity.
How labor laws, labor unions and market factors impact the
company’s compensation practices
It was reported that Apple Company violated some labor laws in
some regions where the company operates. For instance, in
China, the company had to force its employees to work overtime
due to increased demand of the products. When this information
was received by the public, the company was forced to respond
to this by adjusting the wage level of these employees so that its
image is not tinted.
At the other time, there were allegation that the company’s
workers union was not fully considered as legal. This was
because, the union did not address issues such as advocating for
the rights of the employees. This also affected the company so
considerably as it has to come up with a more precise
employee’s union meaning that there was an increase in the
salary to cater for the labor union of the employees.
In addition to this, market factors have also forced the company
to change its compensation practice. Some of these market
factors includes changes in consumer tastes and their
preferences. Other factors includes minimum wage levels in
different regions and industry rates. Because of these factor, the
company had to change its operations resulting to the
adjustments of compensation practices.
Effectiveness of traditional bases for pay at Apple Company
It is evident that Apple structured its pay base in a manner that
only its top executive are eligible to the bonuses. In addition to
this, there was a fixed system in Apple Company whereby those
who were on a long tenure could receive the benefits whereas
the rest had to follow a wide pay plan (Satariano, & Suzuki,
2013). After this, the company came up with another
compensation system which was a total reward approach. In this
approach, both the variable pay and the base pay were given

equal considerations.
Under the total reward approach, the company executives were
awarded annual incentives whereas the level of the skills as
well as knowledge was used to determine the grade of job as
well as its pay (Carter, & Goldsmith, 2005). This can be an
indicator that Apple Company had recorded an effective change
or rather improvement in its continued efforts to change from
the traditional pay system to a modern pay system.
To conclude, it is clear that Apple Company has significantly
tried to help people understand the effect of technological
changes. Since the beginning of the company, many people have
been able to interact with different technologies thus being able
to ascertain its significance (Bohlander, & Snell, 2010). The
growth of Apple Company can be attributed to its ability to
adopt the most effective compensation strategies as well as
better practices that has painted a good image for the company.
Despite this, the company is supposed to address some issues
that may hinder the company from realizing full potential
growth.
References
Bohlander, G. W., & Snell, S. (2010). Managing human
resources. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.
Carter, L., Ulrich, D., & Goldsmith, M. (2005). Best practices
in leadership development and organization change: How the
best companies ensure meaningful change and sustainable
leadership. San Francisco: Pfeiffer.
Denning, S. (2012, June 12). Apple's Employees Have A Hell
Of A Ride. Retrieved November 8, 2015, from
http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2012/06/25/apples-
employees-have-a-hell-of-a-ride/
Satariano, A., & Suzuki, H. (2013, April 15). Apple Dominates
Best-Paid as Board Retains Jobs Deputies. Retrieved November
8, 2015, from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-
04-15/apple-dominates-best-paid-as-board-retains-jobs-deputies

Week 8 Assignment 2 SubmissionIf you are using the Blackboard Mo.docx

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