1

FastCat Phase I Assignment

Names of participating* team members: Aaron Kelly, James Earl, Bryson Macconnachie, Jason
Feamster, Daniel Baldy & Chad Kosten
*Only team members who actively contribute to this assignment should be listed here.
This is an excerpt from the casebook that should be reiterated before you begin your work on this
assignment:
At first you may ask, What does my instructor want? Many students are uneasy because
the steps are not laid out in detail for each decision. This is deliberate. You are not being
asked to feed back what is in the textbook. Instead, think about what you have read and the
situation FastCat faces, and then apply your knowledge. As your experience and
understanding increase, so will your ability to achieve the results you want with your
decisions. Read the related chapters in your textbook before you begin each phase to get a
better sense of how the decisions in each phase fit the overall compensation plan. (casebook,
p. 2)
Finally, an answer is not complete if it does not include justification. Be sure to provide the
logic (based on course instruction) that would lead me to your conclusion. Strong rationale is
essential!
Question 1:

Assess Implications
See Textbook Chapter 2. Provide a brief overview of FCs business strategy, along with highly
salient internal and external factors that have implications for the reward system.
Fastcat's business strategy is to drill deeper, expand sideways and expand territory. This means
that the company wants to offer current customers more services, develop more offerings and
branch out who they service.
Internal factors: Employees uninformed about pay structure, recent expansion, retain the best
talent, increase interdepartmental collaboration, improve retention, increase worker productivity
External factors: HITECH legislation, increased competition from larger firms, Non-profitable
contracts

2
Recommend Specific Reward System Objectives
See examples from Textbook Chapter 2 and in-class example(s). Based on information you have
learned about FastCat, recommend reward system objectives. Complete the chart Ive provided
on the next page, and walk through the rationale in this section.
Question 2:

Specifically, list each objective you set.

1) Focus on delivering new products to old and new consumers through bonus pay
2) Comply with current legislation for wage laws
3) Offer a competitive base pay/ benefits
4) Offer incentives to all employees based on eligibility (Gain sharing)

Question 3:

For each one separately, explain how that objective supports the business strategy, addresses the
compensation implications of their environment, and/or reflects FastCats values.
1) Aid in the effort to expand deeper in wider with new products and customers.
Implication: employees are more motivated to develop new products and attract new
customers. Reflection: rewards high performing employees, adds value to consumers
2) Allows for Fastcat to continue providing services, keeps market share
3) Recruit and retain the best talent. Reflect: rewards effort and ability
4) Supports interdepartmental collaboration. Reflects: fairness and equality
Question 4:

Explain how your objectives are strategic (not generic). That is, are your objectives aligned? Do
they add value? Are they difficult for competitors to copy? Are they different from what others
are doing?
Our pay objectives are strategic because they encourage employees to perform to the best of their
ability, which maintains FastCat's high quality customer experience. With these objectives,
FastCat will be able to retain their employees and entice new talented workers to join their ranks
to deliver a better product. Unfortunately these objectives could be easily imitated by
competitors, however FastCat's smaller size lends itself better to a pay for performance or gain
sharing system than a larger organization would.

3
Table 1: Reward System Objectives & Strategies

Objectives:
How will the reward system help you
implement your business strategy and adapt to
environmental pressures? How will it help you
in terms of efficiency, fairness, compliance,
and ethics?

Alignment:
How differently should different types and
levels of skills and work be paid in the
organization?

Competitiveness:
How should compensation be positioned
relative to competitors?

Employee Contributions:
What will be the basis for recognizing individual
contributions? (e.g., performance, seniority,
skill development, cost of living)

Management:
How should the system be administered?

Question 5:

To support the business strategy of

expansion and innovation. This will be
accomplished in the following pay
objectives:
1) Focus on delivering new products to old
and new consumers through bonus pay
2) Comply with current legislation for
wage laws
3) Offer a competitive base pay/ benefits
4) Offer incentives to all employees based
on eligibility (Gain sharing)
Question 6:

[For each strategy, indicate by number the

corresponding compensation objective.]
1) efficiency
2) compliance
3) fairness
4) ethics
[For each strategy, indicate by number the
corresponding compensation objective.]

[For each strategy, indicate by number the

corresponding compensation objective.]

[For each strategy, indicate by number the

corresponding compensation objective.]

5
Developing an Internally Aligned Structure
An Elaboration of Our Strategy for Internal Alignment
You gave some indication of this on your chart, but now discuss this more fully. Refer to
Textbook Chapter 3 and the road map in your Casebook page 14 to help you answer Question 7.
Question 7:

What criteria will you use to establish a hierarchy of work? How tightly should you tailor? How
hierarchical v. egalitarian should your structure be? How will this strategy support compensation
objectives?
Egalitarian, loosely tailored 75:25
This strategy supports the company objective of increasing teamwork and interdepartmental
collaboration.

Jobs to be Covered in this Report

Top management has directed us to roll out the new compensation plan for the company in
stages. At this time, our assignment is to only consider the following jobs in the reward system:
Administrative Aide
Administrative Assistant II
Administrative Leader
Graphics Designer
Project Support Assistant
Travel Coordinator
Establishing a Job-Based Structure
The basic steps for this appear in the Casebook, beginning on page 17. They are also in your
Textbook and were discussed in class.

Question 8:

Use the manual I provided to create a job-based structure.

a. What kind of job evaluation method have you been assigned to use?
Point system
b. If your manual was correctly developed, how should the factors have been derived?
What types of jobs should have been used in deriving these factors?
Job relevance/importance
Use benchmarks
Ex: Admin Aide (lower), Project support assistant (Middle), and Administrative leader (top)
c. How many pay plans are being used? Will this be suitable when the rest of FastCat
jobs are added?
Currently there is one pay plan which will not be a suitable system when all FastCat
positions are added.
Question 9:

Only apply your plan to FastCat jobs you were assigned. Based on the manual I provided, attach
a completed job evaluation form showing the evaluation and points for each assigned job. Briefly
describe below the procedure your team used to ensure the reliability and validity of job
evaluation results.
We referenced the rating scale and came to a consensus on criteria ratings to ensure reliability.

Question 10:

Based on the job descriptions and job evaluation manual provided, did you encounter any
difficulties in rating jobs? Briefly explain.
We ran into an issue when weighing prior experience versus the degree required for the
education scale. Also the jobs we evaluated didn't have a high focus on customer orientation so
that pay objective was mostly irrelevant.

Question 11:

7
In the space below, create a chart showing your resulting structure with total point values for
each job included (see casebook Exhibits 10 and 11 for examples, and p. 25 of your casebook).
You are not to combine jobs.
Admin Leader 320
Graphic Designer 320
P.S.A. 200
Travel Coordinator 180
Administrative Assistant II 180
Administrative Aide 140

Question 12:

Dont forget to double-check the results of your proposed internal structure. See page 21, Item E
of your casebook. If you detect any reasons for concern, explain how you might correct them.
Are the factors in the manual suitable, or does the manual omit factors you believe should be
captured? Are the relative weights and number of degrees appropriate for your chosen internal
alignment strategy?
While the factors could be changed to better represent the jobs we are evaluating the level of
difference between pay grades is suitable for our egalitarian structure.

Question 13:

Briefly describe the Implementation of your plan (casebook p. 24).

Develop and reevaluate job descriptions. Clearly communicate new pay structure to employees.
Allocate resources to cover costs of implementation and development of new structure and added
payment to employees evaluated higher than they are currently rated. The plan offers room for
implementation of new job structures or skills due to our egalitarian structure. Amendment of
the plan will be an all inclusive process. Provide proper implementation guidelines to
management. Follow up and evaluate the effectiveness of the plan.

2016 Job Evaluation Manual

Definitions and Scaling for Compensable Factors
Adapted from Instructor Resources: Cooley and Komposch
1. Teamwork
The degree to which the position entails collaboration with other positions to accomplish its
objectives.
1st degree: Seldom or never works with others outside of routine job description.
2nd degree: Regularly works in team situations. Required to interact with team members within
function.
3rd degree: Frequently works with other toward achieving objectives. Supports initiatives or
responds to issues raised by others.
4th degree: Actively participates in cross-functional teams. Works closely with others outside of
own area to better understand product/client needs. Combines expertise with that of others to
provide superior product/solution.
5th degree: Regularly leads cross-functional teams. Partners and shares knowledge across
functional areas (e.g., marketing and engineering). Clarifies roles and relationships within the
team.
2. Innovation
The degree to which the position is responsible for creating new products or services, or
processes related to generating or delivering those products/services.
1st degree: Executes tasks based on clearly defined instructions or processes. Never or seldom
creates new processes or products/services or develops new ideas.
2nd degree: Completes some tasks that do not have a routine solution. Sometimes applies new
approaches to work processes or products/services.
3rd degree: Frequently completes tasks that require out of the box thinking and problem
solving. Responsible for applying creative thinking to tasks at hand.
4th degree: Responsible for evaluating existing processes or products within department or
division to improve them in creative and innovative ways.
5th degree: Tasked with establishing FastCats reputation in the market as an innovator.
Leverages innovation in products or processes to achieve competitive advantage in the
marketplace.
3. Responsibility
The degree to which judgment is required to address problems, and the impact these decisions
will have on the business.

9
1st degree: Relies on instruction and pre-established guidelines to perform functions of the job.
Typically works under immediate supervision. Primary job functions do not require exercising
independent judgment or involve making suggestions/recommendations that will have an impact
on the business.
2nd degree: Relies on judgment to plan and accomplish goals while managing multiple
administrative tasks. Decision making and independent judgment will have minimal impact on
the business.
3rd degree: Oversees a specific functional area (e.g., budget, travel, etc.). Decision making and
independent judgment will have moderate impact on the business.
4th degree: Provides direction and focus of a FastCat department. Relies on judgment to plan and
accomplish goals, and ensure support across various departments. Decision making will
significantly impact the overall business.
5th degree: Provides the vision and executes the strategic goals of the organization. Relies
heavily on judgment to plan and accomplish goals. Decision making will heavily influence the
direction and impact of the overall business.
4. Education
The minimum level of education necessary to fulfill the position requirements.
1st degree: High school diploma or equivalent.
2nd degree: Associates degree in related field.
3rd degree: Bachelors degree in related field.
4th degree: Masters degree in related field.
5th degree: Doctoral degree in related field.
5. Customer Orientation
The degree to which the position is responsible for identifying, anticipating, and satisfying
customer needs and desires.
1st degree: Has no direct contact with customers. Collects customer information, analyzes
customer data, supports products for customers.
2nd degree: Regular interaction with customers, communicates information, answers routine
questions, assists prospective customers in resolving problems, addresses routine customer
needs.
3rd degree: Interacts with customers on a personal level, reviews plans with clients, leads client
meetings, gives presentations to new and existing customers. Works closely with internal groups
to understand client needs.
4th degree: Manages client implementations, manages client relations with assigned clients.
Promotes partnership among customers and employees, and supports inclusion of client as part
of the team.
5th degree: Defines key customer requirements. Focuses on customer as key business objective.
Establishes, implements, and maintains quality service standards that assure maximum customer
satisfaction. Supports customer-centered development teams.

10
Job Evaluation Forms
Job Title:
Administr
ative Aide
Compensable Factors
Teamwork
Innovation
Responsibility
Education
Customer
Orientation
Job Title:
Administr
ative
Assistant
II
Compensable Factors
Teamwork
Innovation
Responsibility
Education
Customer
Orientation
Job Title:
Administr
ative
Leader
Compensable Factors
Teamwork
Innovation
Responsibility
Education
Customer
Orientation

Degree x
1

Weight
2

20%
20%
20%
20%
20%

x
x
x
x

Degree x
1

Weight
2

x
x

20%
20%
20%
20%
20%

x
x
x

Degree x
1

Weight
2

5
x

x
x
x
x

20%
20%
20%
20%
20%

11
Job Title:
Graphics
Designer
Compensable Factors
Teamwork
Innovation
Responsibility
Education
Customer
Orientation
Job Title:
Project
Support
Assistant
Compensable Factors
Teamwork
Innovation
Responsibility
Education
Customer
Orientation
Job Title:
Travel
Coordinat
or
Compensable Factors
Teamwork
Innovation
Responsibility
Education
Customer
Orientation

Degree x
1

Weight
2

x
x
x
x
x

Degree x
1

20%
20%
20%
20%
20%

Weight
2

20%
20%
20%
20%
20%

x
x
x
x

Degree x
1

Weight
2

3
x

x
x
x
x

5
20%
20%
20%
20%
20%