Instructor Resource
Kavanagh and Johnson, Human Resource Information Systems: Basics, Applications, and Future Directions, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Sample Answers to Discussion Questions
Chapter 12: Performance Management, Compensation,
Benefits, Payroll, and the HRIS
1. Discuss how a manager might make sure that the performance plan for each of her
direct reports was driven by organizational strategy and the business plan. How can
information systems support this goal?
The manager must first define what performance means in the case of a specific
direct report. Ideally, this definition is based on a cascade of goals, beginning
with the organizational strategy and operating plan, with the immediate source
2. Merit increases require a single “performance” number while most incentive plans
have multiple and varying performance measures. How can the performance
management system meet both needs?
Instructor Resource
Kavanagh and Johnson, Human Resource Information Systems: Basics, Applications, and Future Directions, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
In the most common form of job evaluation, a set of factors is developed that
reflect characteristics that add value to work in the specific organization (e.g.,
education required). Each factor is weighted by importance, and scales are
There are many forms of short-term incentive pay. Unlike merit pay, short-term
incentive pay is rarely added to base pay and must be re-earned every year.
Typical short-term incentive programs include bonuses, gain sharing, goals
sharing, small-group incentives, and profit sharing. With the exception of profit
3. Compensation strategy includes how competitive the organization wants to be, the
number of different compensation systems the organization wants to have, the mix
of various reward and benefit components, and the basis of increases. Discuss the
data inflows an organization that wanted to automate the compensation design and
administration processes would have to do.
Compensation data inputs include internal, external, and generated data. Internal
data include information about jobs (descriptions and specifications), people
Instructor Resource
Kavanagh and Johnson, Human Resource Information Systems: Basics, Applications, and Future Directions, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Compensation for special employee groups usually requires data specific to that
group. Executive compensation is likely to require organization-wide sales,
productivity, profit, share price, market share, and other financial, market, and
4. Both performance management and benefits information systems make provision
for employee access and input. What access would you provide in each of these
systems and what leeway would you provide employees in reading, entering, and
changing data?
Contemporary systems allow both employees and managers to enter comments
and observations at any time during the review period with the option to have
the system automatically sweep all those comments into the final review in a
Instructor Resource
Kavanagh and Johnson, Human Resource Information Systems: Basics, Applications, and Future Directions, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
5. A lot of compensation information is available to employees today on the Web
(e.g., Salary.com), and much of it is inaccurate. How can an organization assure
employees they are fairly compensated (assume they are) when public data suggest
otherwise?
In order to assure employees they are fairly compensated, companies that
market price jobs may find it helpful to share their job market information with
their employees. A company that market prices jobs will collect as much market
data on wages as possible. Even so, it is unlikely that market data can be found
6. Flexible benefit plans are common today. Discuss ways employers can ensure that
employees make good choices about the benefits and benefit levels they choose
within the benefits information system itself.
Instructor Resource
Kavanagh and Johnson, Human Resource Information Systems: Basics, Applications, and Future Directions, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
When organizations offer flexible benefit plans it is common to track choices
made by employees to guide plan development. Web-based services can offer
7. Payroll and benefits are commonly outsourced. Discuss which parts of performance
management, compensation, benefits, and payroll you would consider outsourcing,
justifying your views.
This is a good question for students to break up into small groups and
discuss. Once groups have had time to work on this question, the groups
outsourcing while justifying their answers
Benefits
• Cost savings
Demerits
Instructor Resource
Kavanagh and Johnson, Human Resource Information Systems: Basics, Applications, and Future Directions, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2018