Overview
HRMT 326 is a three-credit, senior-level course examining strategic compensation management. This course explores the compensation process as well as issues and techniques involved in the development and administration of a compensation system. Specific topics include external competitiveness, pay structure design, performance systems and evaluation of employees, employee benefits, compliance issues, salary administration, and skill/competency plans.
Outline
Unit 1: Strategy, Rewards, and Behaviour
- Lesson 1: A Road Map to Effective Compensation
- Lesson 2: A Strategic Framework for Compensation
- Lesson 3: A Behavioural Framework for Compensation
Unit 2: Formulating Reward and Compensation Strategy
- Lesson 4: Components of Compensation Strategy
- Lesson 5: Performance Pay Choices
- Lesson 6: Formulating the Reward and Compensation Strategy
Unit 3: Determining Compensation Values
- Lesson 7: The Job Evaluation Process
- Lesson 8: The Point Method of Job Evaluation
- Lesson 9: Evaluating the Market
- Lesson 10: Evaluating Individuals
Unit 4: Designing, Implementing and Adapting Compensation Systems
- Lesson 11: Designing Performance Pay Plans
- Lesson 12: Designing Indirect Pay Plans
- Lesson 13: Activating and Maintaining an Effective Compensation System
Learning outcomes
After completing this course, you should be able to answer the following questions about compensation:
- Why do organizations develop reward and compensation systems?
- How do organizations develop reward and compensation systems?
- How do the three main managerial strategies affect compensation?
- What are the main ways employees can be compensated?
- How do employers formulate a compensation system, and what factors affect this decision?
- How do organizations set and adjust compensation to motivate and reward individual workers?
- When and why do organizations provide indirect compensation to employee groups?
- How does an organization implement and evaluate a compensation system?
Evaluation
To receive credit for HRMT 326, you must achieve an overall grade of D (50 percent) or better for the entire course and a grade of 50 percentor better on the final exam. The weightings for each assignment and the final exam are as follows:
| Activity | Weight |
| Assignments 1–3: Each assignment comprises four written response questions and is worth 12% | 36% |
| Assignment 4: Case study analysis (1500 words) | 34% |
| Final Online Exam exam: true/false, multiple-choice, short-answer, and essay questions | 30% |
| Total | 100% |
The final examination for this course must be requested in advance and written under the supervision of an AU-approved exam invigilator. Invigilators include either ProctorU or an approved in-person invigilation centre that can accommodate online exams. Students are responsible for payment of any invigilation fees. Information on exam request deadlines, invigilators, and other exam-related questions, can be found at the Exams and grades section of the Calendar.
To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University’s online Calendar.
Materials
Digital course materials
Links to the following course materials will be made available in the course:
Singh, P., & Long, R. (2022). Strategic compensation in Canada (7th ed.). Nelson Education Ltd. ISBN: 9781774128442
Other Resources
All other learning resources will be available online.