Executive Summary
Our recommendation for FastCat is a flexible structure that will assist in helping us attain our objectives. To achieve these objectives we suggest four job families: administration, project management, software, marketing and quality assurance. We suggest a job-based internal structure for all departments as it best suits the overall objectives of the company.
Recommend Strategy and Objectives
FastCat’s essential objectives include striving to constantly improve performance through generating revenue, maximizing profits, and achieving optimal customer satisfaction; reducing employment costs; providing motivation to employees; maintaining legal compliance; ensuring a competitive advantage in the industry with its compensation model. With these established goals, the internal structure is designed to support the objectives.
The structure will provide flexibility in terms of which each department reports to in the upper levels. This implies that broader roles are assigned to employees aligning with the objective of providing employees more discretion. Broader roles indicate that employees take on a variety of responsibilities and are trained in different aspects. This in turn will create increased versatility and productivity in each employee’s performance hence decreasing employment costs. This flexible structure will support autonomy and empowerment amongst employees to generate positive employees’ work ethic and innovation thus increasing motivation. Innovation is a central component to contributing to success shown through performance and customer satisfaction.
Creating a flexible structure enables employees to gain autonomous control over their work because they will be reporting to less layers of the organization to constantly gain approval for their performance. This will lead to more efficient processes in the company in hopes to provide customer satisfaction to increase profits. This loosely coupled structure will also allow for constant innovation and change in the company so it can keep up with industry trends and stay competitive.
Adaptation is crucial for achieving objectives. Complying with not only legal laws but offering justice in employees’ perception is important. Demonstrating procedural and distributive fairness in the treatment of employees and the compensational pay model is crucial. With a flexible job structure, it supports this because clear job descriptions are given but at the same time, innovation is valued and therefore rewarded.
The fact that the system is difficult to imitate establishes competitive advantage. To compliment this flexible layout is the flat organizational structure. It will aid in succession planning and provide a comprehensible overview of how FastCat is divided into departments to portray a flatter organizational structure. Embracing a less hierarchical structure values the differences in individual employee skills, responsibilities, and contributions to FastCat.
Internal alignment defines the relationships between the jobs within FastCat. This is the most crucial component to support the organization’s strategy and workflow to achieve objectives. Employees need to view the compensation as fair in order to be motivated to translate their performance into positive outcomes. Integrating a flatter organizational structure supports FastCat’s strategy of continuously maintaining employee motivation through innovation and adaptability.
Each layer of the organization is compensated accordingly by observing the required knowledge and skills an employee is expected to possess. This ensures fairness while maintaining individual creativity and innovation. The flatter organization is to encourage an innovating mentality across the whole organization. Striving to meet all the objectives through establishing a less tailored and hierarchical structure will help achieve the overall internal alignment strategy.
Recommend Internal Structure
When designing and developing a compensation system, in order to ensure success the compensation plan must align with company objectives. Fast cat is an innovative company that relies on critical thinkers, analytical personal, problem solvers, and are successful based on the overall organizational commitment of their employees. The process used to design a successful plan for Fast cat started with aligning the organizational objectives with a compensation strategy.
The final outcome of the compensation plan is a job- based structure using key elements of both job value and job content to determine compensable factors, weights, and degrees for the point method of evaluation. By analyzing the job descriptions a final decision could be made to determine overall weights of compensable factors based on value and importance to the company. The levels of degrees were formulated to allow for possible pay grades to be established depending upon certain skills, responsibilities, internal/external communication levels, and duties and tasks that are required for the employee to perform.
Fast cats success depends on maintaining a single plan to encourage internal alignment and employee satisfaction with the evaluation process. In a single plan all jobs are evaluated at the same time and under the same requirements. This promotes and boosts employee morale because of a fair process.
Many of the jobs have common skills and are not very diversified in terms of duties, working conditions, and responsibilities therefore making a single structure a suitable fit under a job based evaluation using the point method. The compensation plan best aligned with FastCat’s strategic direction applies a job-based internal structure. This recommendation is based on sound compensation, job evaluation and organizational design principles. These principles have been applied in the context of FastCat’s business strategy in the current and future economic and regulatory environment, its guiding mission statement, and on the views of its key stakeholders (Executives, Employees and Customers).
It has been structured to maintain the integrity of critical and core job profiles required to deliver against this strategy while focusing on factors which significantly differentiate FastCat from its competitors. This new plan comprises four key compensable factors: the tradition factor of skills/knowledge plus the introduction of three new factors: innovation/creativity; collaboration/teamwork; and customer focus in terms of sales, service and quality. Together, the four factors are further segmented into thirteen associated sub-factors (See Appendix A: List of Compensable Factors at FastCat).
This new plan is designed to reduce overall salary costs while enabling FastCat to introduce market competitive, pay-for-performance practices and refocus its workforce on the values that matter most to FastCat and its stakeholders. This plan will be instrumental in the improvement of employee retention. Traditionally, FastCat has always valued the skills and knowledge of its workforce, compensating its employees almost solely on knowledge, problem solving, interpersonal and communication skills, analytical decision making and people and operational management.
Regulatory changes resulting from the introduction of the HiTech Act, part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, have created a major boom opportunity for the industry; however it has also introduced a substantial risk to FastCat. As a consequence of these changes, the war for top talent will escalate as new entrants emerge and the big players begin to diversify their customer base and invade what has formally been considered a niche customer market for FastCat. However, skilled talent has become table stakes across the industry and no longer is sufficient to set FastCat apart from its competition. As a result, this plan has reduced its weighting to 30%. Innovation is FastCat’s single greatest competitive differentiator.
It has traditionally enabled FastCat to offer custom solutions to its customers thereby creating a niche market. Feedback from customers, interviews with Executives and employee opinion feedback have all stressed the importance of innovative solutions to the mutual success of the customers’ and FastCat business success. Innovation and creativity is a source of pride for all FastCat employees. To accelerate the required cultural shift, align with the business strategy and mission statement and to focus the workforce on this strength, innovation has been given the highest weighting at 40%. Without innovation, FastCat revenue stream will continue to erode.
The remaining two compensable factors, collaboration/teamwork and customer focus (sales, service and quality) are equally weighted at 15%. Both are fundamental job requirements, strongly support the strategic direction, are emphasized in the mission statement and highly valued by our customers. Given their importance to the future success of FastCat, alignment with employee compensation is highly recommended. Cultural change will not occur without this alignment. Each sub-factor has been divided into four unique degrees, based on an Enterprise standard we have established for job evaluation.
On two occasions, two roles were so close in job point value and accountabilities they have been merged into single roles. Quality Assurance Analyst (35.75) and Quality Assurance Analyst A (37.75) have been merged. Administrative Aide (31.25) and Administrative Aide II (35.75) have been merged. Results of the job-point evaluation for each FastCat job are available in the (Appendix C– Job Points. See job structure chart on next page.
The resulting 5 level structure, which includes the Senior Fellow, is a much flatter organization. This will enable management to minimize overall salary costs. This is important given the increased financial pressure we have been put under by our customers to lower costs and prove our pricing offer is better than our competitors. It will also free up dollars to increase the salaries of the high demand, senior hot-skill talent and to buy new talent/skills from the market, for example, contracting and legal contract development. This in turn should stabilize retention of this hard to replace talent. In addition, the 5 level structure falls within the 7 level industry best practice standard.
This flat structure will better enable FastCat to retain its nimble execution capabilities, seen as a strength by our Executives and a competitive advantage against the big players targeting our existing customer base and competing with new customer opportunities. This new compensation plan will better position the newly engaged FastCat workforce to drive market expansion and achieve greater share of wallet from existing customers.
Description of Characteristics
Minimal to Basic knowledge of office procedures, applications and support tools. Learns on the job but has a significant learning curve to progress in role. High School Diploma is minimum educational requirement. Learning is mostly experiential or education based but minimal exposure.
Has specific skills and knowledge to carry out the specific accountabilities of the role. Has basic Company knowledge on how things work and how to make things happen. Is often expected to train others and ensure cross-training has been effective. Is expected to independently continue to learn how to improve performance on the job and to better understand how work related to that in other functional areas. Learning is mostly experiential, some exposure or education based. Related University Bachelor’s Degree is minimum educational requirement.
In-depth knowledge on the company’s product offering, strong knowledge on business priorities, organization and people across the organization. In-depth knowledge within functional area of the organization. Is known industry wide as an expert and is often engaged internally and externally for thought leadership. Frequently engages in knowledge transfer activities to help others accelerate their learning curve and are a mentor and coach to high performers within the company. Learning is experience and exposure related. Related University Bachelor’s Degree is minimum educational requirement and more often than not, especially in highly technical areas,
requires post-secondary education. Is dedicated to continuous learning.
In-depth knowledge on most functional areas within the organization. Is known industry wide as an expert and is often engaged internally and externally for thought leadership. Is able to leverage a network of SMEs and experts internally and externally. Is often requested to participant in or lead external thought forums or conferences and has a global reputation within the industry. Shares expertise and wisdom with senior customer Executives. Exposure is one of the most critical types of learning styles. Post-secondary University Degree is minimum educational requirement. Is dedicated to continuous learning. Is passionate about continuous learning and create a learning culture.
Factor: Skills
Sub-factor: Problem Solving
Degree
Point
Value
Description of Characteristics
1
25
Has basic problem solving skills but does not conduct work independently. Must raise all issues and problems to more senior individual on team for investigation and resolution. Any issues involved in are short term is nature and present little risk to the organization if not addressed in a timely fashion. 2
50
Frequently confronts problems in day to day work, including those not covered by job routines. Identifies issues independently, investigates simple to semi-complex problems and takes to resolutions. Go in for consultation with manager when large problems are discovered and may need assistance to solve them. Helps others address their issues and problems and work on teams and collaborates with others on more complex, higher risks problems. 3
75
Addresses large complex problems frequently, many of them involving the expertise of subject matter experts from across the organization. Often required to attend cross function sessions to discuss implications of high risk, high reward problems and issues. Often represents interests of functional area on cross-functional committees. Uses independent judgment to make decisions where alternatives are limited that is subject to review only in the final stages.
Is brought in to solve complex, whole system and strategic issues having a potential significant impact on the organization. Often makes the final decision with and without the counsel of others. Takes an end-to-end approach when addressing issues and alternatives. Delegates highly technical problems to those with specialized expertise and works closely with senior management team to plan cost effective solutions that align to the strategic direction of the company.
Odyssey’s Main Character Traits
Odyssey Essay
Odysseus, the classic epic hero from The Odyssey written by Homer, possesses both admirable qualities and faults like any other human being. His cleverness and leadership abilities make him heroic, despite his imperfections. One of his notable flaws is his incredibly curious nature.
Firstly, Odysseus possesses a truly valuable trait of cleverness, crucial in his many difficult situations. During the Trojan War, he employs his cunning by devising the plan of infiltrating and conquering the city of Troy with the infamous “Wooden Horse” trick. This entails concealing his men within a colossal wooden horse and successfully annihilating the city, thereby securing victory in the war. Following the war, Odysseus and his crew set sail for Ithaca but find themselves ensnared on the island inhabited by the menacing Cyclops. Imprisoned by this merciless one-eyed creature, Odysseus ingeniously formulates an escape plan. In Odysseus’ own words, “Now I chopped out a six foot section of this pole and set it down before my men, who scraped it; and when they had it smooth, I hewed again to make a stake with pointed end” (lines 271-275). With this stake, the courageous Odysseus strategically blinds the Cyclops. Subsequently, he exploits the Cyclops’ flock of sheep to facilitate his men’s departure from the beastly creature’s cavern. “Three abreast I tied them silently together, twinning cords of willow from the ogre’s bed; then slung a man under each middle one to ride there safely, shielded left and right” (lines 378-381). Undoubtedly, without Odysseus’ cleverness, his men would have succumbed to becoming the Cyclops’ meal.
Odysseus, a renowned hero, demonstrates his exceptional leadership skills while sailing on the sea. He effectively guides his men through various challenges, such as encountering the Lotus Eaters and the Sirens. Upon reaching the Land of Scylla and Charybdis, Odysseus motivates his men, instructing them to heed his orders and face the turbulent seas. Notably, Odysseus refrains from mentioning that some of his men may perish during this ordeal, as he wishes to prevent panic among the others. This omission further establishes Odysseus’ prowess as a leader, as his men continue rowing without fear or distress.
Lastly, Odysseus is known as a classic epic hero in this tale by Homer. Despite the common belief that all heroes are flawless, Odysseus proves otherwise as he possesses faults just like any other ordinary human being. Among his many flaws is an intense curiosity. Upon arriving at the island of the Cyclops, Odysseus allows his curiosity to take over, leading him to venture into the cave of the one-eyed monster. “…So we looked round at everything inside: a drying rack that sagged with cheeses, pens crowded with lambs and kids, each in its class: firstlings apart from middlings, and the ‘dewdrops’ or newborn lambkins, penned apart from both.” (lines 159-163) While inside the cave of the formidable Cyclops, Odysseus finds himself and his men trapped in a difficult situation when his companions express their desire to steal the Cyclops’ sheep without being detected. However, Odysseus insists on remaining until he encounters this unique creature. “Ah, how sound that was! Yet I refused. I wished to see the cave man, what he had to offer- no pretty sight, it turned out, for my friends.” (lines 171-173).
Throughout all of these examples, Odysseus embodies various roles – he is the man who protected his men to the best of his abilities, the soldier who fought tirelessly until the very end, and the husband and father who embarked on a twenty-year journey to be reunited with his wife and son. Despite his flaws, notably an insatiable curiosity, Odysseus is revered as a classic epic hero due to his exceptional leadership skills and his remarkable cunning in protecting himself and his men. Although far from being flawless, Odysseus was destined to be a valiant soldier and relentlessly pursued what he believed to be right, yearning to return to his beloved family.
Slavery In The 1840s And 1850s
Why did the expansion of slavery become the most divisive political issue in the 1840s and 1850s? After the depression of 1837 in the South and the Indian removal, Americans had expanded their territory further in the West by the 1840s. The expansion in the land inspired the expansion of slavery. In the 1840s and 1850s, this expansion of slavery became the most divisive political issue since it caused the Texas revolt, made James K. Polk win the election of 1844, and brought disagreements over the Marxian War between Polk and politicians in the North. The expansion of slavery led to the Texas revolt, which resulted in the independence of Texas.
Texas was initially a part of Mexico. Since most of its residents owned slaves, Texas felt threatened when the governor of Mexico Santa Anna used his army to encourage the abolition of slavery in the region in 1835. In order to remain slaves, Texas built its provisional government to call for its separation from the Mexico. In April 1836, the army of Texas beat Santa Anna’s army to establish the Republic of Texas, which allowed the use of slaves in Texas. In addition, the expansion of slavery enabled James K. Polk, the supporter of Texas annexation, to win the election of 1844, which caused the resent among the Democrats in the North. After separating from Mexico, Texas requested to become a part of America.
By rejecting Texas to enter in the United States as a slave state, the candidate for president from Democratic partly, Van Buren lost his support in the slave states in the South. As a result, James K. Polk, who agreed on the Texas annexation, eventually won the election of 1844. Many Democrats in the South betrayed the Northern Democrats by voting for Polk to support Texas annexation, which caused the resent among the Northern Democrats. Furthermore, the expansion of slavery brought the criticisms of the Mexican War from some Northern politicians like Abraham Lincoln. In order to seize the land from Mexico, Polk declared the war on Mexico. Opposing Polk’s intent on the expansion of slavery in Mexico, some politicians in the North began to criticize the Mexican War. Ulysses S. Grant considered the war as an unfair one because of the unbalanced power between America and Mexico: America was too strong and Mexico was too weak. Abraham Lincoln also disagreed on the Polk’s power to invade Mexico by claiming that giving president the power to start the war would bring America endless wars. The expansion of slavery became the most divisive political issue in the 1840s and 1850s because it led to the Texas revolt that resulted in the independence of Texas, made Polk win the election, which caused the resent among the Democrats in the North, and brought Northern politicians’ disagreements over the Marxian War.