Job Structure: Phoenix NY Case Coursework

Exclusively available on Available only on IvyPanda® • No AI

Table of Contents

Introduction
Discussion
References

Introduction

Job structure refers to the various steps that are followed when classifying different jobs. The process starts from a wide category and narrows down to the specific job in question. Job structure is important since it helps categorise responsibilities and qualifications of a certain job, thus quantifying the correct amount of money someone is supposed to get. This is an important feature in all organisations since it helps in the recruitment and induction processes based on competence and academic qualifications (Feitelson, 1998). The duties and responsibilities are well spelt so that a new employee is well aware of the tasks ahead of him or her before taking up the job as well as accepting the terms and conditions including payment and other benefits.

A job structure is broken down as follows:

job field which refers to the wide range of work involving a general occupation;
family that denotes a narrower scope of the occupation.
category that refers to the type of job depending on the specific responsibilities held by those who are in the job. Categories are divided based on responsibilities such as operational or technical, professional and either as supervisors or managers.
levels meaning that the different personnel in the different categories as highlighted above are further stratified within the categories. Operational and technical categories are subdivided into the levels such as 1, 2, or 3. Professionals are given the level according to their experience such as entry, intermediate, experienced, advanced or expert. Supervisors and managers are given levels such as I, II, III etc.

Discussion

How does this information help you understand the concept of job structure? Relate your response directly back to the information retrieved from the Salary Wizard?

In the case of Phoenix NY software engineers, several differences distinguish the three levels of employment. First, the three engineers have different salaries. Software engineer I earns the least with the minimum being $45,903 and the maximum which is $65,283. The median earner gets $55,724 as his/her salary. The salary with bonus totals to $46747 for the lowest earners, $66,442 for the highest earners and $56,392 for the median earners in this category. Finally, the benefits of the median earner software engineer I result in $23,908 making his total compensation be $ 80300 (Salary.com).

Software engineer II gains between $56,465 and $85,741 with the median earning for the job in Phoenix NY being $70,655. Their salary added to the bonus amounts to $57,073 for the lowest earners and $ 88034 for the highest ones. The median earning in this category is $71678. Benefits for the median earners amount to $28626 making their total pay or compensation become $100,303.

Software engineers at level III earn between $66,713 and $99,596 with the median pay being $ 83,410 for their basic salaries. Salaries with bonuses have the lowest of $67416, the highest of $102,479 and a median of $85,074. For median earners, the benefits amount to $32,759. Therefore, the ultimate income of a median earner in the job at some specific location is $117, 833.

To develop an effective job structure, several factors need to be considered. Some of these include the level of education and the relevance of this education to the specific job. In the case of software engineers in Phoenix NY, the level of education for all the three levels was a bachelor’s degree in a related field (Salary.com).

Another important issue under consideration is the experience that an employee has. Engineer I needs only the degree, and no experience is acceptable for the job though with a 2-year experience, one would be better off. Software engineer II requires an experience in the field or a related area of 2-4 years. Finally, engineer III should be the most experienced having worked 4-6 years in the same or relative field. Another question taking into account is the levels of competence. Engineer I is not expected to make individual judgements and should rely on instructions, while engineer II requires a little creativity that will enable him/her to make some decisions on his/her own relying on a little experience they have already had. Software engineer III should be very competent and use his/her experience to accomplish the duties assigned to him/her. A high degree of creativity is needed since he/she will make decisions on his/her own. Finally, the three engineers report to different levels of managers with the engineer III reporting to the project lead while the others report to intermediate managers.

Though the descriptions of the tasks to be performed are similar, there is a sharp difference between the three personnel that results in the difference in salaries and compensations. In the above comparison, the job structure can include a wide sphere of activities, from the IT occupation to the software development family due to the tasks involved. However, it can be narrowed down to software engineering (professional) due to the specific tasks to be performed (Feitelson, 1998).

How would you use this information to help you begin to develop a pay structure?

The information obtained from the Salary.com would be important in classification of the salary structure of the company and the jobs. The analysis done in the study would be used in determining the amount of the compensations that a person would get from the jobs described. The pay structure would be based on the experience and exceptional competence such as creativity in decision-making and the engineer’s employee. If personal judgements are mostly applied, more compensation would be offered, and if one is guided throughout the tasks that he/she accomplishes, less compensations will be awarded (Galbraith, 1996).

Create a four-column table that outlines the benefits covered in your text:

Benefit	Description	Value to employees	Why the benefit is offered
Social security	It prevents the employees from harsh social conditions such as unemployment, old age and disabilities.	It protects the employees from poor livelihoods in case anything happens such as job-loss, disability, old age and others.	In the United States, every worker is entitled to this benefit, thus companies offer it as a legal requirement.
Disability	This is the benefit that an employee is accorded in case he/ she becomes disabled in the course of carrying out some responsibilities.	It helps the employee to remain at ease with himself without the worry of everything in case he/she can become disabled (Galbraith, 1996).	It is a way to attract employees for longer periods and better working conditions.
Healthcare	This includes the money set aside by the employer for the employee to pay the treatment bills if the person or his/her nuclear family member gets sick	It is beneficial to employees since it reduces the pressure on the earnings in case sudden diseases arise for them. The company one is working for pays for the treatment using the healthcare benefits of the employee.	This is in most cases offered by institutions as a bait for their employees and in some countries such as the US, it is a legal requirement for an employee to receive the benefit from the employer
Time off	It refers to the time that an employee does not report to work and still get paid. Also workers need annual leave that they are offered for recreation.	It gives the employees time to attend to family issues. It also gives the worker time off when he/she is sick as well as some time to relax during annual leaves	In most countries like the US, the benefit is demanded by the national law. And if not granted, the company could be sued depending on the grounds such as sickness, and maternity reasons.
Pension	This factor provides the employee with money when he/she quits working after retirement. Some organizations will offer disability pensions if the worker becomes disabled in the course of carrying out duties	Thus benefit helps the employee live a non-strenuous life once he/she is too old and frail to work or is disabled.	Some employers improve their reputation through this benefit while others grat it to keep their employees until they retire.

Provide a brief analysis of the effectiveness of employee’s benefits as a form of compensation

As discussed in the table above, the benefits are essential to the employees. They improve the working conditions by allowing healthy workers to go to work (Weihrich & Koontz, 2010). This also improves the output of the institution they are working for. The benefits also provide safety to the workers during their service. Millions of retirees and disabled people in the world rely on these benefits. If they were not there, the workers would live miserable and desperate lives.

References

Feitelson, D.G. (1998). Job scheduling strategies for parallel processing. Berlin: Springer Publishers

Galbraith, J.K. (1996). Unemployment, inflation and the job structure. New York: Jerome Levy Economics Institute.

Salary.com (2011). Web.

Weihrich, H., & Koontz, H. (2010). Essentials of management: an international perspective. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill

More related papers Related Essay Examples