{"title":"Competitive and Equitable Compensation: Can You Have Both?","authors":"R. Greene","doi":"10.1177/0886368719852200","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0886368719852200","url":null,"abstract":"Ensuring compensation policies and programs are viewed by employees as equitable, competitive and appropriate enables an organization to make their value proposition attractive to the talent it needs to succeed. There is significant controversy today related to the wage and wealth gap, and wage inequality is widely viewed as unfair and unwarranted. Each compensation strategist must reconcile business needs with the needs of the workforce, and altering the manner in which available resources are allocated can work toward that reconciliation. Alternative approaches for doing so are presented.","PeriodicalId":79838,"journal":{"name":"Compensation and benefits review","volume":"130 1","pages":"196 - 200"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84650254","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Exploring Increasing Income Inequality in the United States: A Public Choice Approach","authors":"Laura J. Ahlstrom, F. Mixon, K. Upadhyaya","doi":"10.1177/0886368719842726","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0886368719842726","url":null,"abstract":"In this article, we present some exploratory analysis of a common measure of income inequality in the United States. That measure is the Gini coefficient, and we explore how, and why, it has increased over the 50-year period in the United States from 1967 to 2017. Our hypothesis in doing so is that rising U.S. income inequality is due, at least in part, to growth in efforts by individuals, groups and even large companies in the United States to use government, with its power to compel, to bend the income distribution in their favor—an activity that public choice economists refer to as rent-seeking. When compared with some simple measures that proxy rent-seeking activity, such as the number of licensed lawyers and the number of registered political action committees, our analysis suggests that the U.S. Gini coefficient rises, a move that indicates increasing income inequality, over time with similar cycles in rent-seeking activity.","PeriodicalId":79838,"journal":{"name":"Compensation and benefits review","volume":"45 1","pages":"181 - 188"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80704492","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Preferred Stock Awards: A Novel Idea for Manager Compensation","authors":"Murad J. Antia","doi":"10.1177/0886368719844130","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0886368719844130","url":null,"abstract":"Congress should allow a unique class of preferred shares whose dividends are tax-deductible as long as a significant majority of senior management compensation is in the form of these shares. Tax-deductible interest should be further limited to compel firms to issue these shares because a lower tax liability will increase firm value. Managers will be discouraged from making high-variance and often losing bets with other peoples’ money because they will have skin in the game. Their compensation will be directly tied to corporate performance rather than the volatility of the stock market, which is the case with common stock and options awards.","PeriodicalId":79838,"journal":{"name":"Compensation and benefits review","volume":"12 1","pages":"167 - 172"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76449792","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Getting a Handle on Pay Equity","authors":"T. Flannery, T. McMullen","doi":"10.1177/0886368719851371","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0886368719851371","url":null,"abstract":"Pay equity is one of the most increasingly complex, sensitive and visible people issues facing organizations today. Understanding how to diagnose, quantify and address pay gaps, as defined by equal pay for equal work, has never been more important or more challenging. Today’s business, regulatory, political, and social climates are combining to place unprecedented levels of scrutiny on what organizations are doing—or not doing—to ensure they are fostering an inclusive environment in which all employees have equal opportunity to thrive and develop.","PeriodicalId":79838,"journal":{"name":"Compensation and benefits review","volume":"15 1","pages":"201 - 202"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73233924","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Closing the Gender Pay Gap: New Approaches to an Old Problem","authors":"Kurt Stanberry","doi":"10.1177/0886368719833212","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0886368719833212","url":null,"abstract":"This article addresses new approaches to address a long-standing employment compensation problem—the gender pay gap. Existing approaches, including the Equal Pay Act and Title VII, are more than 50 years old, and have only been marginally successful in resolving this problem. A pay gap based on gender remains a problem today. New approaches include the potential passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act at the federal level and a variety of laws at the state level. Some states have passed pay equity laws that are more successful than the federal law due to the use of the comparable work concept. Additionally, some states have passed laws regulating the asking of salary history questions, as well as the use of non-compete and no-poaching agreements, all of which have a chilling effect on pay equity. The result of the combination of these actions is a probable reduction of the gender pay gap, although eliminating it remains a distant goal.","PeriodicalId":79838,"journal":{"name":"Compensation and benefits review","volume":"1 1","pages":"189 - 195"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"91289463","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The 401(k) Student Loan Repayment Benefit Program","authors":"J. Kilgour","doi":"10.1177/0886368718822249","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0886368718822249","url":null,"abstract":"In recent years, student loan repayment programs have emerged as the hot new employee benefit. However, their growth has been restricted by their lack of favored tax status. On August 17, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service issued a private letter ruling approving a proposal to create such a program within a 401(k) plan. In a deft piece of reasoning, the private letter ruling provides relief from the so-called “contingent benefit prohibition.” This article examines student loan borrowing, the private letter ruling and its likely consequences and limitations.","PeriodicalId":79838,"journal":{"name":"Compensation and benefits review","volume":"19 1","pages":"173 - 180"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89051470","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Social Security Program and Its Funding Problems","authors":"J. Kilgour","doi":"10.1177/0886368719831873","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0886368719831873","url":null,"abstract":"2018 was a pivotal year for the Social Security program. It was the first year since the 1983 amendments that the Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI) trust funds spent more than they took in. This will continue until they are depleted in 2034. This article examines the operation of the OASDI program with particular attention to its funding. It concludes by questioning the myth that, until 2018, the OASDI trust funds held large amounts of surpluses. There has never been any real money there. It was spent by the Treasury Department as fast as it came in. The OASDI program has always been a pay-as-you-go system. That should be recognized by anyone involved in crafting a solution to the problem.","PeriodicalId":79838,"journal":{"name":"Compensation and benefits review","volume":"654 1","pages":"149 - 159"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77678861","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Power of Workplace Rewards: Using Self-Determination Theory to Understand Why Reward Satisfaction Matters for Workers Around the World","authors":"Anaïs Thibault Landry, Ashley V. Whillans","doi":"10.1177/0886368719840515","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0886368719840515","url":null,"abstract":"How can workplace rewards promote employee well-being and engagement? To answer these questions, we utilized self-determination theory to examine whether reward satisfaction predicted employee well-being, job satisfaction, intrinsic motivation and affective commitment, as well as valuable organizational outcomes, such as workplace contribution and loyalty. Specifically, we investigated the role of three universal psychological needs—autonomy, competence and relatedness—in explaining whether and why reward satisfaction matters for employees’ well-being. We tested our model in a large, cross-sectional study with full-time employees working for multinational corporations in six main world regions: Asia, Europe, India, Latin America, North America and Oceania (N = 5,852). Consistent with our theorizing, we found cross-cultural evidence that reward satisfaction promoted greater employee functioning through psychological need satisfaction, contributing to better organizational outcomes. Critically, our results were consistent regardless of geographic location. As such, this study provides some of the strongest evidence to date for the power of understanding psychological mechanisms in the workplace: Regardless of the actual rewards that employees received, how workplace rewards made employees feel significantly predicted their optimal functioning.","PeriodicalId":79838,"journal":{"name":"Compensation and benefits review","volume":"115 1","pages":"123 - 148"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79251542","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Ensuring Compensation Committees Understand the Impact of the Excise Tax on Provider and Executive Compensation","authors":"J. Otto, T. Flannery","doi":"10.1177/0886368719850016","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/0886368719850016","url":null,"abstract":"The tax law changes that Congress enacted and the President signed into law in late December 2017 included a new employer-paid excise tax that applies to annual compensation above $1 million provided to certain of the highest paid employees of most tax-exempt organizations. The excise tax may also apply to severance paid to a broader group of employees. The law requires these organizations—and as a result, their boards or compensation committees—to understand the basics of the law as well as the process by which executives and employees are identified and their compensation and severance is reviewed. This article discusses the key concepts of the excise tax and helps guide committees on the steps in the process that committees should take, so that they are in a position to understand if—and when—the excise tax could apply.","PeriodicalId":79838,"journal":{"name":"Compensation and benefits review","volume":"3 1","pages":"160 - 163"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87725341","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}