Motivation: Reward System and the Role of Compensation :: Papers Management Business Essays

Motivation: Reward System and the Role of Compensation The design and management of reward systems present the general manager with one of the most difficult HRM tasks. This HRM policy area contains the greatest contradictions between the promise of theory and the reality of implementation. Consequently, organizations sometimes go through cycles of innovation and hope as reward systems are developed, followed by disillusionment as these reward systems fail to deliver. Rewards and employee satisfaction Gaining an employee's satisfaction with the rewards given is not a simple matter. Rather, it is a function of several factors that organizations must learn to manage: 1. The individual's satisfaction with rewards is, in part, related to what is expected and how much is received. Feelings of satisfaction or dissatisfaction arise when individuals compare their input - job skills, education, effort, and performance - to output - the mix of extrinsic and intrinsic rewards they receive. 2. Employee satisfaction is also affected by comparisons with other people in similar jobs and organizations. In effect, employees compare their own input/output ratio with that of others. People vary considerably in how they weigh various inputs in that comparison. They tend to weigh their strong points more heavily, such as certain skills or a recent incident of effective performance. Individuals also tend to overrate their own performance compared with the rating they receive from their supervisors. The problem of unrealistic self-rating exists partly because supervisors in most organizations do not communicate a candid evaluation of their subordinates' performance to them. Such candid communication to subordinates, unless done skillfully, seriously risks damaging their self-esteem. The bigger dilemma, however, is that failure by managers to communicate a candid appraisal of performance makes it difficult for employees to develop a realistic view of their own performance, thus increasing the possibility of dissatisfaction with the pay they are receiving. 3. Employees often misperceive the rewards of others; their misperception can cause the employees to become dissatisfied. Evidence shows that individuals tend to overestimate the pay of fellow workers