COLLEGE OF BUSINESS

DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT, MARKETING & INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

SYLLABUS: MGT 484 - COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
FALL 2011

SECTION: 001

PREREQUISITES: Senior Standing and MGT 373

MEETING TIME: 11:00am – 12:15pm Tuesday and Thursday

MEETING PLACE: McGee 127

INSTRUCTOR: Dr. David E. Gundersen

OFFICE: McGee F OFFICE TELEPHONE: (936)468-1580

EMAIL: DGUNDERSEN@SFASU.EDU

OFFICE HOURS: 8:00am – Noon Monday, 7:30am - 8:00am and 9:15am-10:45am

Tues. & Thurs., 2:00pm - 4:00pm Wednesday, and by appointment

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Wage and salary administration in private and public

organizations; total compensation systems; interrelationship among
employee performance, intrinsic and extrinsic rewards, perceived
equitable payments, and employee satisfaction; employee benefits;
employee incentive programs.

STUDENT LEARNING
OUTCOMES: To increase student knowledge and comprehension about the
compensation function. Upon completion, the student should be
able to recognize how pay decisions help the organization achieve
a competitive advantage. Specifically, the student will be able to
analyze, integrate, and apply the knowledge to solve compensation
related problems in organizations. Additionally, the student will
demonstrate comprehension by constructing a compensation
system encompassing; 1) internal consistency, 2) external
competitiveness 3) employee contributions, 4) organizational
benefit systems, and 5) administration issues.

REQUIRED TEXTS: Milkovich, G.T., and Newman, J.M. (2011). Compensation, 10th
ed. (Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin, Inc.)

Milkovich, G.T., Newman, J.M., and Milkovich, C. (2009). Cases

in Compensation, 10th ed. (Homewood, IL: Irwin ). Provided at
cost to students by instructor.
COURSE:
REQUIREMENTS: Three examinations will be given during the semester to provide a
sound basis for the evaluation of student performance. The exams will be
in a variety of formats including multiple choice, essay and short answer.
Additionally, student performance will be assessed through a
comprehensive compensation project. Quizzes will be given and added to
following exam scores.

GRADING: Grades are derived from three exams and a major project. See the grade
items below for more information.

EXAMS: Three exams will be given during the semester covering the selected
chapters, lecture material, and other assigned readings. Each of these
exams will be worth 20% of the course grade. Exams will consist of a
variety of formats but will primarily be essay. You will need to a BRING
BLUE BOOK for the exams.

PROJECTS: A team project will be completed during the semester using the Cases in
Compensation book. Teams will be assigned by the instructor with no
exceptions. The projects will contain three distinct phases which will be
further discussed by the instructor in class. At the completion of the
projects, students will have learned to design and manage a pay system at
a hypothetical organization. Teams will turn in a comprehensive report
detailing their compensation system. Additionally, teams will be required
to make a formal presentation on the completed project as if they are
presenting to the top management of the company. The dates for these
presentations are identified on the tentative schedule. Projects will be peer
evaluated. Each individual student will grade the contributions of other
team members. More details on each of the projects will be given in class.
The project is worth 40% of the course grade.

QUIZZES: Unannounced quizzes will be given during the semester. These quizzes
will be added as extra credit to exams that follow the quiz.

GRADING:
WEIGHTS: EXAM I 20% GRADING: A = 90% +
EXAM II 20% B = 80% +
EXAM III 20% C = 70% +
PROJECT 40% D = 60% +
QUIZZES EC% F = BELOW 60%
TOTAL GRADE 100%

ATTENDANCE
POLICY: No formal attendance policy will be enforced, however, missed quizzes
will be forfeited for absences that are not approved. It is highly
recommended that you attend every class. Class time will be used for
project work.
 TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
WEEK OF TOPIC CHAPTERS

29 Aug What is compensation? Assign compensation teams; Lay out ground rules for team
actions; the pay model. ………………………...……......…………. 1

05 Sept Strategic Issues, Internal Alignment, job analysis and job descriptions…2, 3 and 4

12 Sept Job Evaluation and person-based structures …………………………… 5 & 6

Study guide available in class and on Blackboard.

19 Sept Tuesday: PRELIMINARY PHASE I COMPLETE (Peer Evaluations accessed on

Blackboard need to be completed and turned in. Team meetings with instructor on
Phase 1 internal alignment).

Thursday: EXAM I (Chapters 1-6) on Thursday.

26 Sept External Competitiveness/Salary Surveys/Market-based pay/Pay Structures/

Pay Grades and Ranges ……………………………………..…….…….... 7 & 8

03 Oct Continue to build pay structure/ work in class/lab

10 Oct Tuesday: PRELIMINARY PHASE II COMPLETE (Peer Evaluations accessed on

Blackboard need to be completed and turned in. Team meetings with instructor on
Phase 2 external competitiveness issues).

Thursday: Pay and performance …………………….……………………9 & 10

17 Oct Performance Appraisal Systems: Incentive pay systems………………………11

24 Oct Build Incentive Pay Process

31 Oct Tuesday: PRELIMINARY PHASE III COMPLETE (Peer Evaluations accessed on

Blackboard need to be completed and turned in. Tentative Guest Speaker).

Thursday: EXAM I (Chapters 7 - 11) on Thursday.

07 Nov Introduction to Benefits ……………………………………………… 12 & 13

14 Nov In class work on organizational benefits, other topics……………….…..14 - 17

21 Nov Tuesday: PROJECTS DUE TUESDAY AT CLASS TIME (10% GRADE

DEDUCTION FOR EACH CALENDAR DAY LATE). Presentation order
determined.
Thursday: No Class

28 Nov PRESENTATIONS; One Team will present each day and students not attending will
miss a guaranteed quiz each day.

05 Dec PRESENTATIONS

12 Dec EXAM III, CHAPTERS 12-17

NOTE: If you need course adaptations or accommodations, please make an appointment
with me as soon as possible. My office location and telephone number are on
page one of this syllabus. See the Rusche College of Business Syllabus
Addendum for more information on the following page.

NOTE: Blackboard will be used for the following purposes:

As a record of exam scores for students to use
Posting the semester syllabus
Posting outlines on course topics
Posting study guides for exams
Other possible communications as needed
 Rusche College of Business
Syllabus Addendum

Program Learning Outcomes:

Program learning outcomes define the knowledge, skills, and abilities students are expected to demonstrate upon
completion of an academic program. These learning outcomes are regularly assessed to determine student learning
and to evaluate overall program effectiveness. You may access the program learning outcomes for your major and
particular courses at http://cobweb.sfasu.edu/plo.html.
General Student Policies:
Academic Integrity (A-9.1)
Academic integrity is a responsibility of all university faculty and students. Faculty members promote academic
integrity in multiple ways including instruction on the components of academic honesty, as well as abiding by
university policy on penalties for cheating and plagiarism.
Definition of Academic Dishonesty
Academic dishonesty includes both cheating and plagiarism. Cheating includes but is not limited to (1) using or
attempting to use unauthorized materials to aid in achieving a better grade on a component of a class; (2) the
falsification or invention of any information, including citations, on an assigned exercise; and/or (3) helping or
attempting to help another in an act of cheating or plagiarism. Plagiarism is presenting the words or ideas of another
person as if they were your own. Examples of plagiarism are (1) submitting an assignment as if it were one's own
work when, in fact, it is at least partly the work of another; (2) submitting a work that has been purchased or
otherwise obtained from an Internet source or another source; and (3) incorporating the words or ideas of an author
into one's paper without giving the author due credit. Please read the complete policy at
http://www.sfasu.edu/policies/academic_integrity.asp.
Withheld Grades Semester Grades Policy (A-54)
Ordinarily, at the discretion of the instructor of record and with the approval of the academic chair/director, a grade
of WH will be assigned only if the student cannot complete the course work because of unavoidable circumstances.
Students must complete the work within one calendar year from the end of the semester in which they receive a WH,
or the grade automatically becomes an F. If students register for the same course in future terms the WH will
automatically become an F and will be counted as a repeated course for the purpose of computing the grade point
average.
Students with Disabilities
To obtain disability related accommodations, alternate formats and/or auxiliary aids, students with disabilities must
contact the Office of Disability Services (ODS), Human Services Building, and Room 325, 468-3004 / 468-1004
(TDD) as early as possible in the semester. Once verified, ODS will notify the course instructor and outline the
accommodation and/or auxiliary aids to be provided. Failure to request services in a timely manner may delay your
accommodations. For additional information, go to http://www.sfasu.edu/disabilityservices/.
Acceptable Student Behavior
Classroom behavior should not interfere with the instructor’s ability to conduct the class or the ability of other
students to learn from the instructional program (see the Student Conduct Code, policy D -34.1). Unacceptable
or disruptive behavior will not be tolerated. Students who disrupt the learning environment may be asked to leave
class and may be subject to judicial, academic, or other penalties. This prohibition applies to all instructional forums,
including electronic, classroom, labs, discussion groups, field trips, etc. The instructor shall have full discretion over
what behavior is appropriate/inappropriate in the classroom. Students who do not attend class regularly or who
perform poorly on class projects/exams may be referred to the Early Alert Program. This program provides students
with recommendations for resources or other assistance that is available to help SFA students succeed.
December 20, 2010