Running head: COMPENSATION AND 1
Compensation and Benefits Program
Name
BUS681: Compensations and Benefits
Professor
May 12, 2018
COMPENSATION AND 2
Compensation and Benefits Program
A company is only as strong as the employees performing the jobs and employees are
seeking employment from a place that will provide overall job satisfaction. This includes
receiving a competitive and fair compensations package. Compensation and benefits are vital
components of any organization. Compensation can be either intrinsic or extrinsic where workers
are rewarded for doing their jobs (Martocchio, 2017). The compensation package of a company
should always align with the overall business strategy and must help their mission to attract and
retain skilled workers such as: workers, managers and executives. When employees are seeking
employment they are looking for somewhere that will provide both a good, fair compensation
and benefits/ incentive package as well. Unfortunately, every organization in the business world
is not paying their employee’s equal wages, but the dispute is really obvious when renowned
fortune 500 organizations like Walmart are acknowledged on the list of employers that undercut
employees on fair wages and benefits. Constantly, for many years Walmart has been scrutinized
because of its compensation policy. At the same time, it has damaged Walmart’s facsimile and
reputation, but the organization does not seem to be too concerned about employee’s condition in
the workplace.
As stated above, the purpose of compensation is to attract top talent, retain skilled
workers and motivate them (Corbridge, 2013). The organization must develop compensation
guidelines that are both reasonable for the organization to accomplish individual and both
internal and external fairness. Compensation policies will help to maintain a balance between
direct and indirect methods of compensation. Organizations that do not have a compensation and
benefits policies in place can experience a negative impact from not having them. This case
study will explain Walmart’s benefits and compensation policies to determine the organization
COMPENSATION AND 3
present challenges and compare them with the organization’s biggest competitor (Target). The
case study will also explain strategies and methods that will address the problems and suggest
the right course of action to remedy the present issues.
History of the Organization
Sam Walton was the founder of the organization and he firmly believed on the process of
leadership by providing service (Our Story, n.d.). He had opened his first store in Rogers,
Arkansas in 1962 to provide quality service and products to his customers. His strategy was to
offer everyday low prices while providing an exceptional customer experience. In 1970, the
company used all the earnings over the years to expand the business. Walton understood that the
success of the stores did not depend solely on everyday low prices. If the business was going to
be an ongoing success he needed to focus on empowering the employees and make sure that it
