Compensation
information is now widely available. Click on the website www.salary.com . This site provides free data on jobs, including job
description, annual salary by zip code, distribution by quartiles of salary
amounts, info on benefits, and so forth. The basic information that an
organization would get if it bought a salary survey from a consultant or
conducted its own salary survey can be found here.
This site provides pay data on hundreds of jobs in cities all
over the U.S. in many different industries. Identify several jobs (at least
three) of interest to you, such as accountant, financial analyst, product
manager, stockbroker, or manager compensation. Select specific cities or use
the national average. Obtain the median, the 25th and 75th percentile base
wage, and the total cash compensation rates for each job.
Using 10 pages of contents, respond to the following questions. (Any diagrams, graphs, cover page and references does not count to the page length)
1.
Which jobs are paid
more or less? Is this what you would have expected? Why, or why not? What
factors could explain the differences in the salaries?
2.
Do the jobs have
different bonuses as a percentage of their base salaries? Why, or why not? What
could explain these differences?
3.
Do the data include
the value of the stock options? What are the implications of this?
4.
Read the job
descriptions. Are they accurate descriptions for jobs that you would be
applying for? Why, or why not? Are there jobs for which you cannot find an
appropriate match? Why do you think this is the case?
5.
Check out pay levels
for these types of jobs in your school’s career office or other local or
regional source. How does the pay for jobs advertised in your career office or
other local or regional source differ from pay levels from other sources? Why
do you think these differences exist?
6.
How do you use this
information while negotiating your salary in your job after graduation or when
you apply for a different job? What data would you provide to support your
asking price? What factors will influence whether or not you get what you ask
for?
7.
What is the relevant
labor market for these jobs? How big are the differences between salaries in
different locations?
8.
For each job, compare
the median salary to the low and high averages. How much variation exists? What
factors might explain this variation in pay rates for the same job?
9.
Look for a description
of how the salary data are developed. Do you think it provides enough
information? Why, or why not? Discuss some of the factors that might impair the
accuracy of the data. What are the implications of using inaccurate salary data
for individuals or companies?
10.
With this information
available for free, why would you bother with consultants’ surveys?
11.
If you were a manager,
how would you justify paying one of your employees, either higher or lower,
than the results shown on this website? Attached is the already submitted assignment of someone’s else .Please look
at it and do the assignment as per instructions attached .I need
original work ,wanna better grades in this , its worth for me .ThanksCompensation information is now widely available. Click on the website www.salary.com . This
site provides free data on jobs, including job description, annual salary by zip code, distribution
by quartiles of salary amounts, info on benefits, and so forth. The basic information that an
organization would get if it bought a salary survey from a consultant or conducted its own salary
survey can be found here.
This site provides pay data on hundreds of jobs in cities all over the U.S. in many different
industries. Identify several jobs (at least three) of interest to you, such as accountant, financial
analyst, product manager, stockbroker, or manager compensation. Select specific cities or use
the national average. Obtain the median, the 25th and 75th percentile base wage, and the total
cash compensation rates for each job.
Respond to the following questions.
1. Which jobs are paid more or less? Is this what you would have expected? Why, or why not?
What factors could explain the differences in the salaries?
2. Do the jobs have different bonuses as a percentage of their base salaries? Why, or why not?
What could explain these differences?
3. Do the data include the value of the stock options? What are the implications of this?
4. Read the job descriptions. Are they accurate descriptions for jobs that you would be applying
for? Why, or why not? Are there jobs for which you cannot find an appropriate match? Why do
you think this is the case?
5. Check out pay levels for these types of jobs in your school’s career office or other local or
regional source. How does the pay for jobs advertised in your career office or other local or
regional source differ from pay levels from other sources? Why do you think these differences
exist?
6. How do you use this information while negotiating your salary in your job after graduation or
when you apply for a different job? What data would you provide to support your asking price?
What factors will influence whether or not you get what you ask for?
7. What is the relevant labor market for these jobs? How big are the differences between salaries
in different locations?
8. For each job, compare the median salary to the low and high averages. How much variation
exists? What factors might explain this variation in pay rates for the same job?
9. Look for a description of how the salary data are developed. Do you think it provides enough
information? Why, or why not? Discuss some of the factors that might impair the accuracy of the
data. What are the implications of using inaccurate salary data for individuals or companies?
10. With this information available for free, why would you bother with consultants’ surveys?
11. If you were a manager, how would you justify paying one of your employees, either higher or
lower, than the results shown on this website?
12. In your conclusion, highlight one thing you learned that would help you in the future. Your paper
should respond with one or two paragraphs for each question, and one brief paragraph each for
an introduction and conclusion. You will need to follow APA style and format and have a title
page, centered headings for each major part of the paper or question answered, page
numbering and page headers, and a reference page.
The assignment will be reviewed using the following criteria.
Criteria
Possible
Points
Which jobs are paid more or less? Is this what you
would have expected? Why, or why not? What
factors could explain the differences in the salaries?
7
Do the jobs have different bonuses as a percentage
of their base salaries? Why, or why not? What
could explain these differences?
7
Do the data include the value of the stock options?
What are the implications of this?
7
Read the job descriptions. Are they accurate
descriptions for jobs that you would be applying
for? Why, or why not? Are there jobs for which you
cannot find an appropriate match? Why do you
think this is the case?
7
Check out pay levels for these types of jobs in your
school’s career office or other local or regional
source. How does the pay for jobs advertised in
your career office or other local or regional source
differ from pay levels from other sources? Why do
you think these differences exist?
7
How do you use this information while negotiating
your salary in your job after graduation or when
you apply for a different job? What data would you
provide to support your asking price? What factors
7
Earned
Points
Comments
will influence whether or not you get what you ask
for?
What is the relevant labor market for these jobs?
How big are the differences between salaries in
different locations?
7
For each job, compare the median salary to the low
and high averages. How much variation exists?
What factors might explain this variation in pay
rates for the same job?
7
Look for a description of how these salary data are
developed. Do you think it provides enough
information? Why, or why not? Discuss some of the
factors that might impair the accuracy of these data.
What are the implications of using inaccurate salary
data for individuals or companies?
7
With this information available for free, why would
you bother with consultants’ surveys?
7
If you were a manager, how would you justify
paying one of your employees, either higher or
lower, than the results shown on this website?
7
In your conclusion, highlight one thing you learned
that would help you in the future.
7
Use APA style and format for citations
and reference section, and appropriate title page,
headings, and so forth. Grammar and spelling are
ok.
16
100
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Compensation
Introduction
A review of jobs utilizing www.Salary.com web site was performed on three jobs; Accountant II,
Project Manager Sr. and HR Manager. I have selected Houston, TX as the city and state to focus the
salary data and analysis on. For comparisons I compared San Diego, CA and New York, NY to the data
from Houston, TX. Data compared was on wages, wage ratios, area ratios and descriptions. I conducted
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a detailed review for the three titles, which included a review of the job descriptions, base salaries,
geographic areas, and additional compensation mediums. Additional compensation mediums, such as
bonuses, retirement, and 401K matching provided a complete benefit comparison of the United States
from the east coast to west coast markets.
Refer to Table 1 of base salary statistics of the job titles from Houston, TX as a starting point of
the comparison made throughout this paper.
Table 1. Base Salary StatisticsHouston, TX
Earnings
Base Salary Statistics
Houston, TX
$200,000
$180,000
$160,000
$140,000
$120,000
$100,000
$80,000
$60,000
$40,000
$20,000
$0
Accountant II
25th
Percentile
Median
75th
Percentile
$51,718
$57,473
$63,706
Total Cash
Compensatio
n Rate
$84,090
HR Manager
$78,759
$90,730
$104,850
$131,677
Project Manager Sr
$108,576
$130,138
$146,385
$190,979
Pay Expectancy Factors
From the data collected Accountants were paid the least, while Project Managers were paid the
highest. I would have expected to see Accountants paid higher than they were and didn’t realize Project
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Managers were compensated so highly. My first impression is that Accountants are regulated and
required to obtain a CPA. Since Accountants have high expectations placed on their positions, I would
have expected a higher rate of pay. In contrast I understand that HR professionals are gaining recognition
for their skills base and continued education requirements. The HR profession has gained recognition
from the start of SHRM the Society of Human Resource Management. As a result HR professionals have
been able to prove their body of knowledge through an examination process much like the CPA. I was
aware Project Managers have been assigned a great deal of responsibilityto manage an entire project
from start to finish and all daily details. Often Engineers gravitate to hold positions as Project Managers
which may be why earnings levels are greater than those of the Accountant II and HR Manager. I didn’t
realize was the level of compensation that was assigned to Project Managers.
There are many factors that could be associated with the differences in wage rates of each of
these jobs; Accountant II, HR Manager and Project Manager Sr. The level of education required to
qualify for job consideration, the volume of duties assigned and the number of people they have been
assigned to supervise. Another major factor that would influence the wage assigned is the size of the
budget that the position is responsible to manage.
Bonus Difference
There are large bonus differences between the three jobs compared see Table 2. As previously
framed in the salary expectancy, variation bonuses awarded reflect the same range of difference. The
Accountant received the lowest bonus award, followed by the HR Manager, with the greatest bonus
awarded to Project Managers.
Accountants would have the least amount of autonomy in their position and the HR Manager and
Project Manager Sr. have greater and greater levels of autonomy in his positions respectively. As the
level of autonomy, responsibility and budgetary influence increase so do the rewards.
Project Managers received the highest level of bonuses. One factor to support this would be the
ability to complete the project under the assigned budget. Project Managers have a great deal of job
control.
Table 2 Difference in Earnings Ratios
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Difference in Earnings Ratios
1.2
Percentage of Differnce
1.18
1.16
1.14
1.12
1.1
1.08
1.06
Accountant II
25% Percentile to Median
1.111276538
Median to 75% Percentile
1.108450925
HR Manager
1.151995328
1.155626584
Project Manager Sr
1.198589007
1.124844396
Stock Options and Retirement
The web site www.salary.com does not supply stock option data for the Accountant II, HR
Manager or the Project Manager Sr. The only data available that may have closely resembled stock
options are the retirement contribution levels. Unlike stock options the only level of control the employee
may have is to the level of contribution they wish to make to maximize the return. The retirement
contributions will provide a certain level of security on the earnings based on the type of diversification
selected. Stock options are dependent on the success of the company profits. The only influence
afforded to the employee is to the level of work performance they produce and influence with
corresponding management ability. Much like the other comparisons the Accountant II received the
lowest level of retirement contributions with the HR Manager remaining in the mid-point and the Project
Manager Sr. receiving the highest level of retirement contributions. Retirement contributions typically are
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rewarded as a percentage of earnings, so the statistical information found in Table 3 to remain similar to
previous comparisons found throughout this paper.
Table 3 Retirement Contributions
Retirement Contributions
$9,000
Retirement Earnings
$8,000
$7,000
$6,000
$5,000
$4,000
$3,000
$2,000
$1,000
$0
Retirement %
Accountant II
Retirement
Value
$2,134
Pension %
2.5%
Pension
Value
$3,734
HR Manager
$3,444
2.6%
$6,027
4.6%
Project Manager Sr.
$5,117
2.7%
$8,955
4.7%
4.4%
Job Description
In referencing specifically the HR Manager Job description, I feel it is accurate. I discovered that
job titles should not be focused on too strongly; rather the job description will offer a better identification
on how close of a match is made. Job titles differ depending on company size, how many layers the
company has within each department and area. Small companies may refer to the HR representative as
Generalist or as HR Manager, but the duties may be no different. A similar assumption can be made of
the comparison for the Accountant II and Project Manager Sr. job descriptions.
There are jobs that will not be a perfect match on title or description, because many companies
tailor the job descriptions to fit the specific company needs and demands. Titles are arbitrary in nature,
they are only a means to identify the specific job. Job descriptions are used to identify the duties and
functions needed and desired to successfully perform the job based on the company standards.
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Career Source Options
The pay levels are very different in the jobs listed in the school resources. I experienced a lower
than average pay scale of jobs offered from the college posting source at York College of Pennsylvania. I
feel that the pay scales of the jobs offered were lower than I found on www.salary.com because the
expected level of experience would be lower from college students or recent graduates. Employers may
focus recruitment agencies for entry level positions or positions that require no experience to college
posting boards knowing that this pool of applicants will not meet mid to upper level requirements. They
focus job vacancies to the pool of applicant abilities. If an employer was looking for seasoned applicants
with lengthy experience, college students or recent graduates would not be their focus. They may
advertise, utilized head hunters, target scholarly magazines and online web sources.
Career link is another local source for the unemployed or underemployed population to search for
job vacancies. High level careers will focus applicant searches on areas they feel these individuals will
frequent, be interested in reading or feel they will have the best success in locating a job match.
Salary Negotiation
As a recent graduate I would conduct research to determine market availability and demand. The
ideal position or field must be determined before a search may begin. Once the focus is determined a
location should be outlined. At this stage I will know what I want to do and what the desired work
locations will be. I will be able to search the market location to identify companies that meet my desires.
Of these desired companies I can narrow my search to those with the desired job function and/or with a
current vacancy. I would research the company to understand the goals and expand my knowledge of
the financial standings. Understanding the company and the financial limitations or abilities provides a
source to negotiate a starting salary.
I feel what would determine if my starting salary requested was approved is the level of
knowledge I demonstrate not only about the specific job I am being considered for, but also about the
company itself. I need to demonstrate I would desire to work for this company specifically and how I am
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able to add benefit to the company personally. The final factor in the wage determination is if I am asking
for a relevant wage for the market and the company. The market demand may allow for a higher salary
demand, but the company may historically hire below market wages.
Labor Market Comparison
I took a spot sample of the jobs from across the United States, which included West Coast~ San
Diego, CA, Mid-States~Houston, TX and East Coast~New York, NY and represented in Table 4. Texas
has the lowest earnings rates for all positions. California has a moderate level of earnings with New York
leading with the highest earnings. Each position increased proportionately from Texas to California to
New York. I was surprised to see New York was paid higher earnings than California. I thought
California would have paid higher, due to what I believed was a higher cost of living.
Table 4 Cross Country Earnings Comparison
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Cross Country Earnings Comparison
$160,000
$140,000
Earnings
$120,000
$100,000
$80,000
$60,000
$40,000
$20,000
$0
Accountant II
Houston, TX
$57,473
San Diego, CA
$60,781
New York, NY
$67,362
HR Manager
$90,730
$95,951
$112,122
Project Manager Sr
$130,138
$137,628
$152,531
Each of the jobs increased almost exactly the same with a percentage of 105% as compared
between Texas and California. The comparison between Texas and California yielded a rate increase
that is extremely close, but the Accountant IIsurpassed the HR Manager by a very slight amount.
While,Project Manager Sr. comparison between California and New York yielded an increase that was
between 110% and 116% with HR Manager experiencing the highest earnings ratio. When comparing the
span of increase between Texas and New York the ratio of increase was 117% for both the Accountant II
and the Project Manager Sr. although the HR Manager experienced the highest earnings jump once
again as demonstrated in Table 5.
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Table 5 Cross Country % of Increase Comparison
Cross Country % of Increase Comparison
125.0000%
% of Earnings Increase
120.0000%
115.0000%
110.0000%
105.0000%
100.0000%
95.0000%
Accountant II
HR Manager
Texas to California
105.7557%
105.7544%
Project
Manager Sr
105.7554%
California to New York
110.8274%
116.8534%
110.8285%
Texas to New York
117.2063%
123.5776%
117.2071%
Salary Ratio Comparison
The Accountant II had a 1.111% difference in earnings ratio in the 25% percentile range
compared to that of the Median earnings range. The Median earnings range compared to that of the 75%
percentile range only averaged a 1.108% increase over the median earnings range. There was a large
jump to the income ratio from the 25% percentile range to that of the Median range than there was from
the Median range to the 75% percentile range as can be seen in Table 6. The percentage of increase
lowered of .28% as the earnings levels grew.
The HR Manager had a 1.151% difference in earnings ratio from the 25% percentile range to the
Median earnings range. The Median range as compared to that in the 75% percentile range averaged
1.155% of an increase over the Median earnings range. There was continued growth in earnings at a rate
of .36% as earnings levels grew.
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The Project Manager Sr. had a 1.19% difference in earnings ratio from the 25% percentile range
compared to that of the Median earnings range. The Median earnings range as compared to that of the
75% percentile range, only averaged 1.124% of an increase over that found in the Median earnings
range. The percentage of increase lowered by 7.37% as the earnings levels grew.
Factors that may affect the variation in pay rates for the same job include a comparison between
internal and external markets, skills gap, and supply/demand of the market (Milkovich 2014 pg. 289).
Table 6 Difference in Earnings Ratios
Difference in Earnings Ratios
1.2
1.18
1.16
1.14
1.12
1.1
1.08
1.06
25% Percentile to Median
Accountant II
Median to 75% Percentile
HR Manager
Project Manager Sr
Job Description Analysis
The salary data utilized an external market analysis, since there were no company names
supplied, no internal data analysis could have been factored in. A market pricing technique was
developed that emphasizes the use of external salary data which has been favored in recent years over
internal data when making a market comparison. (Milkovichpg. 289)
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The salary data comparison provided on www.salary.com provided a break out of the factors that
went into the calculation of the salary data collected. The ratio of information provided used data on the
years of education, education levels, company size and industry (while making the comparisons). The
comparison calculation took into account several different factors that are influenced by the market. I feel
that the comparison took into account an adequate number of factors when forming the ratios.
The data utilized is not infallible though. Differences in job titles, company descriptions and
relative time frame of the earnings data pulled may negatively influence the calculation outcome. The
information provided is free and may not have been subjected to an adequate level of scrutiny during the
collection process. Not all companies will require the same specific job functions to be performed, the
weighted valued of the earnings potential would not be proportionally assigned with a high level of
accuracy.
Free Data Sources
The integrity of information may be in question when it is free. The level of precision placed on
details collected, sources referenced and identification of specific job needs will be much greater from a
source that is paid to provide data. Free data may only be available from sources that are a few months
to years prior. The more up to date data can be collected from consultants’ that are willing to delve
deeper to obtain relevant and timely material.
With free sources some work is offered free to a certain level. As additional details are desired to
expand the supporting data and understanding, the web site demands a fee for the additional service. A
connection can be made that the additional information available will add a greater level of knowledge or
detail to be beneficial to support the pay demand.
A consulting firm will have specific knowledge, expertise and connections to enable them to
locate ideal data matching clients’ desires. The phrase “you get what you pay for” would be a good
representation of the data obtained.
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Salary Justification
Employers can justify a pay difference from that provided by the www.salary.com web site based
on several factors. The web site provides suggested wage and job description information. Job duties
may differ from company to company and industry to industry. What is expected of an Accountant II in a
Manufacturing plant may have extreme differences from that of a Fortune 500 company. Budgetary
limitations or expectations drive the company as well as individual jobs. The information supplied is
valued from a specific date in time. As demand and supply changes so may the wage details. The
information supplied by this web site is gathered through statistical data and survey details; so the
information is only as good as the data collected. Companies tend to align job descriptions to meet
specific needs. When these changes occur comparing like information may be skewed.
It is beneficial as a manager, to have an understanding that all of these factors may be used to
influence different salaries expected and offered for different jobs.
Conclusion
In conclusion I found that searching just one source or free data sources may yield subjective and
skewed results. The results may be skewed from the data sources utilized or the analyst that has
performed the comparison. Specific data may be collected with a greater accuracy if a salary survey
consultant is hired. The salary survey consultant will focus the research on the company’s specific
demands and market. Job titles vary considerably across industries, market demands and required skills
to perform jobs, and including a broad range of industries may skew the data results. Having an
understanding that advantages and disadvantages are present from where data is obtained, which
industries are included and what geographical areas are used in the comparison will allow me to focus
future search criteria with an enhanced level of knowledge expectation.
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References
Milkovich, G. (2014). Compensation, 11th Edition.[VitalSource Bookshelf version].
Retrieved from http://devry.vitalsource.com/books/0073531448
Salary dot com search engine. 2015 International Business Machines Corporation. Retrieved from
http://www.salary.com/category/salary/
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