The contents of this book center around the management of strategic reward systems. In particular, the book focuses in on the following elements of managing a reward system: design, implementation, and evaluation. It is my belief that too much time is spent on the administration of strategic reward systems at the expense of these other activities that add more value than does administration to the organization.
Moreover, it is very important to remember that the management of reward systems takes place in a larger context that must be accommodated when designing, implementing, and evaluating strategic reward systems. This larger context includes the business environment, business strategy, and compensation strategy. Elements of the environment include the internal environment (organizational structure, business processes, HR systems) and external environment (laws and regulations, labor markets, and unions).
The collection of articles presented throughout the book is very concerned with the fit of strategic reward management with the business environment, business strategy, and compensation strategy. Research has clearly documented the importance of this "fit" to organizational effectiveness (Gomez-Mejia & Balkin, 1992). A practical illustration makes the point as well. Taco Bell was found guilty in a class action suit by current and former employees. In order to keep the number of labor hours low in a productivity formula used to grant bonuses to managers, employee time sheets failed to account for overtime hours by employees. Failure to pay attention to the legal context in designing, implementing, and evaluating a strategic reward program cost Taco Bell millions of dollars (Gatewood, 2001).
Although all of the readings in the book focus in on the management of strategic rewards in the larger business context, the readings are organized by topical area. The selection of topics is simply based on my writing interests and do not reflect the entire domain of important topics in strategic reward management.
Rob Heneman is a Professor of Management and Human Resources and Director of Graduate Programs in Labor and Human Resources in the Max M. Fisher College of Business at the Ohio State University. Rob has a Ph.D. in Labor and Industrial Relations from Michigan State University, a M.A. in Labor and Industrial Relations from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a B.A. in Economics and Psychology from Lake Forest College. Prior to joining the Ohio State University, Rob worked as a Human Resource Specialist for Pacific Gas and Electric Company. Rob's primary areas of research, teaching, and consulting are in performance management, compensation, staffing, and work design. He has over 50 publications. He has received over $1 million in funds for his research from the Work in America Institute, AT&T Foundation, Ford Motor Company, World at Work, State of Ohio, Society for Human Resource Management, and the Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership.
He is on the editorial boards of Human Resource Management Journal, Human Resource Management Review, Human Resource Planning, Compensation and Benefits Review, and SAM Advanced Management Journal. He has been awarded the AOutstanding Teacher Award@ in the Masters in Labor and Human Resources Program numerous times by the students at Ohio State University and is recipient of the WorldatWork Distinguished Total Rewards Educator Award. He has written five books including, Merit Pay: Linking Pay Increases to Performance Ratings, Staffing Organizations (3ed), and Business-Driven Compensation Policies: Integrating Compensation Systems With Corporate Business Strategies. Currently, he is editing two new books: Human Resource Management in Virtual Organizations and Strategic Reward Management: Design, Implementation, and Evaluation. He is also writing two new books: Managing People in Emerging Companies and Linking Pay to Performance. He has consulted with over 60 public and private sector organizations including IBM, Owens-Corning, BancOne, Time Warner, American Electric Power, Whirlpool, Quantum, AFL-CIO, Nationwide Insurance, the Limited, Borden, ABB, POSCO, U.S. Government Office of Personnel Management, and the states of Ohio and Michigan. Rob is past Division Chair, Program Chair, and Executive Committee member for the Human Resources Division of the Academy of Management. He is also a member of the certification program faculty of the World at Work and has served on the research, education, and academic partnership network advisory boards of the World at Work. He has made over 50 presentations to universities, professional associations, and civic organizations. He has worked with business organizations and universities in North America, Europe, Russia, Asia, and Africa. His work has been reported in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Money Magazine, ABCNEWS.COM, and he is listed in Who=s Who in the World, Who=s Who in America, and Outstanding People in the 20th Century.
