Overview
This course examines the design, administration, and evaluation of compensation and performance management systems within contemporary organizations. Topics include total rewards, internal and external equity, job evaluation, market pricing, salary surveys, pay grades, broadbanding, variable pay, incentives, benefits, recognition, executive compensation, pay transparency, and compensation communication.
The course integrates performance management principles, including goal setting, competency frameworks, continuous feedback, coaching, formal appraisal methods, calibration, performance improvement plans, documentation, and strategic alignment. Students apply compensation and performance analytics to evaluate pay equity, identify bias and compliance risks, assess incentive plans, construct basic pay structures, and recommend evidence-based improvements while considering employment law, ethical decision-making, and cultural influences.
Learning Outcomes
- Evaluate compensation systems using principles of internal equity, external competitiveness, legal compliance, and strategic alignment.
- Conduct structured job evaluations using appropriate analytical methods and document defensible outcomes.
- Interpret salary survey data and apply market-pricing techniques to inform compensation decisions.
- Construct a basic pay structure incorporating grades, ranges, progression principles, and appropriate controls.
- Assess variable-pay and incentive plans for effectiveness, fairness, risk, and alignment with organizational objectives.
- Design an integrated performance management cycle incorporating goals, competencies, feedback, coaching, appraisal, calibration, and improvement planning.
- Analyze compensation and performance data to identify pay inequities, bias, discrimination risks, and compliance concerns.
- Recommend evidence-based improvements to compensation and performance management practices and communicate them to relevant stakeholders.
- Synthesize ethical, legal, cultural, and organizational considerations in compensation and performance decisions.
Timetable
| Type | Length | Frequency | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lecture | 2 hours | Weekly | All semester |
| Tutorial | 1 hour | Weekly | All semester |
| Workshop | 2 hours | Fortnightly | All semester |
| Practicum | 2 hours | Fortnightly | Second term |
Assessment Schedule
| Type | Description | Weighting |
|---|---|---|
| Assignment | Compensation benchmarking and salary survey analysis | 20.00% |
| Assignment | Job evaluation and basic pay structure | 20.00% |
| Deliverable | Pay equity analysis | 15.00% |
| Tutorial | Performance form design and manager coaching scenario | 10.00% |
| Test | Compensation and performance management test | 15.00% |
| Exam | Final examination | 20.00% |
Teaching Staff & Programs
This course is delivered jointly by faculty from the participating programs listed below. In line with the Douchewater Way, the University of Sexology tailors core instruction directly to each cohort's specific discipline — adapting curriculum to program needs rather than forcing students into a one-size-fits-all model. Learn more about our approach at The Douchewater Way.