AMU Compensation and Benefits and Foundation of Financial Management Discussion

1: Defining Compensation and Benefits

How would you define employee compensation and benefits (also known as Total Rewards)? Describe the total rewards you receive at your organization and discuss which are the most important or valuable to you. What influence does total rewards have on an organization’s performance?

2: Legal Environment of Total Rewards

Select and identify a law, executive order, or regulation that provides organizations with guidance in the administration of their compensation programs? How does this law protect the organization and the employees? Do believe that this law needs to be modified? If so, how? Are there areas that are currently not address that need to be?

3: Internally Consistent and Externally Competitive

Identify and describe some ways an organization ensures internal consistent and externally competitive pay systems? What recommendations would you have for said organization?

4: Discretionary Benefits

What roles do discretionary benefits have within the organization? What factors and steps should organizations take in developing their discretionary benefits? How does this compare to what your organization does currently?

5: Health Care Coverage

How important is obtaining health care insurance from your employer? What do you suppose the future of health care insurance looks like from an employer’s perspective? From an employee’s perspective? Are you optimistic or pessimistic about the future of health care insurance? Explain.

6: Retirement Planning

1. (no direct quotes), clarify the difference between qualified and non qualified retirement benefit plans.
2. (no direct quotes), clarify the difference between defined benefit and defined contribution plans.
3. Does one retirement plan serve to protect the retirement interests of participants than the others? Why?
4. Would you prefer a defined benefit plan or a defined contribution plan? Why?

7: Total Rewards in the Global Marketplace

Select a country other than the United States, and based upon your research for that country, how do employee compensation and benefits compared to what is offered in the United States? Provide some specific examples? Are there any benefits offered that are not offered here in the U.S.; if so, do you think the American employee would be interested?

8: The Future of Total Rewards

Identify and discuss at least 3 factors or trends that you anticipate will impact your compensation and benefits in the future? Is there anything you, the employee, can do to minimize any risk that may result? What can the employer do?