Research Paper on:
Position Paper on Merit Pay

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fair manner. For example, some organizations may rationalize their preference for white, male employees by seeing their job performance in a more positive light then that of women or minority  members. Nevertheless, merit pay is already the standard in the private sector. The term "merit pay" generally refers to a policy that links "annual wage and salary increases  to employee performance over the prior year" and employee performance has become a widely accepted rationale for determining the pay increases that employees are granted (Risher 9). This rationale is  predicated on the concept that merit pay increases can be used as a management tool to focus more sharply on employee performance and, thereby, influence or change employee behavior (Risher  9). The following discussion will encompass both the "pros" and "cons" of employing merit pay systems extensively in the public sectors. While the literature on the subject definitely indicates  that the "pros" outweigh the "cons," endorsement of merit-pay systems has to be done within the limiting proviso that such systems are instituted fairly and justly. Paying for the  job is the "traditional" model with which most people are familiar. In this model of payment, each position is slotted into a grade level and salary is formulated based on  education, experience and the number of staff reporting directly to the person in the position (Shimko 31). One of the positive features of this model is that it has  the appearance of objectivity, and is not perceived by employees as being arbitrary in monetary compensation, which is a frequent problem with merit-based systems (Shimko 31). On the  other hand, the traditional model also rewards the "wrong behavior" (Shimko 31) This is because the traditional model of payment gives employees more money simply for taking on new responsibilities,