Page 182 - Bruce Ellig - The Complete Guide to Executive Compensation (2007)

168 The Complete Guide to Executive Compensation

Market Stage
Type Company Threshold Growth Maturity Decline

For profits
• Publicly traded Low Moderate High High
• Privately held Moderate High High High

Not-for-profits Moderate Moderate Moderate Moderate
Table 5-1. Importance of salary by type of company and market stage

because of the visibility of salaries, probably have them in the moderate importance category,
although that might shift to high importance in growth and beyond, again because of the lack
of incentives.

Job Analysis
The objective of job analysis is to obtain information about a job and summarize it in a man-
ner that sets it apart from other jobs within the organization. Typically, such information is
obtained through an interview with the executive, or the job incumbent completes a ques-
tionnaire. The focus at this point is on reporting relationships within the organizational
structure as well as on the principal responsibilities. Therefore, it is important to obtain
information on the extent of planning required, the degree of involvement and responsibili-
ty for specified tasks, and the type and extent of contacts within and outside the organization.

Job vs. Position
A task is a separate, definable portion of the job; it is the most basic, simplified portion—the
element. Following this analogy, the job is a compound consisting of various elements or tasks
existing in varying degrees.
The supervisor, the job incumbent, and/or the personnel representative will write the job
description. Technically, a distinction can be made between a job and a position. More than
one person performs a job, whereas only one person fills a position. This forms the distinc-
tion between a job description and a position description. However, in this book the two will be
used interchangeably.
Shown in Table 5-2 is a sample position description for a chief executive officer that may
of value in structuring a company-specific statement of duties and responsibilities. A similar
description for a chairman of the board is found in the board of directors section (Chapter 10).
Job Title

In writing the job description, tasks are listed either in a logical work sequence or in descend-
ing order of frequency of occurrence. If listed in work-flow sequence, typically, the percent-
age of time spent on each task is shown at the end of each statement. From these statements,
a summary of one or two sentences is constructed and placed at the beginning of the descrip-
tion to give the reader a quick synopsis. And finally, a job title is selected (if one does not
already exist). It should be only several words in length and indicate the basic nature of the
work as well as the organizational level (e.g., vice president, corporate human resources; or