Compensation and Benefits


The third pillar of the Minnesota Model of HRIR is compensation and benefits. Students who specialize in this area study the mechanisms by which people are rewarded and the benefit systems engineered to protect them from the risks associated with work.


Important topics in this area include:

  • The strategic role of compensation in the organization's objectives
  • Pay systems and their impact on employee behavior and performance
  • The mix of pay and benefits in compensation systems
  • The legal environment regulating pay and benefit systems


CoreCourse

PhD students who specialize in this area will take 2 semesters of HRIR 8850. Seminars provide readings and discussions about the latest academic research and methodologies in compensation.


HRIR 8850
FACULTY

Areasof Study

Academic research in compensation and benefits spans a broad range of questions and subjects. Current and recent research topics of faculty and PhD students include:

  • Executive pay
  • Pay for performance
  • Pay satisfaction
  • Individual and organizational performance patterns, pay programs
  • Pay for performance and efficiency wages
  • Pay, prestige, and organizational citizenship: alternative explanations
  • Structure and motivation
  • Demographics and pay
  • The effect of benefits on employee and employer behavior

FurtherReading

To become more familiar with the topics currently being studied in this area, we highly recommend that students read articles in the top tier journals in this field:

Industrial Relations
Personnel Psychology
Academy of Management
Journal of Applied Psychology
Journal of Labor Economics
Journal of Human Resources
Labour Economics Industrial and Labor Relations Review