Fundamentals of Compensation Quantitative Methods

INTRODUCTION

Most Human Resources practitioners realize in an intuitive way that they are using a mathematical system when they apply quantitative methods, but most probably couldn't say what the actual system is.

A mathematical system depends on:

• a set of elements (such as rational numbers, whole numbers, etc.)
• operations that can be applied to the set of elements (such as addition, multiplication, etc.)
• one or more relationships (such as the equation: 1 + 1 = 2)
• axioms or accepted rules (such as the rule of identity, which is expressed in the equation a = a)

While any system can be used, and HR practitioners are generally accustomed to the simple rules and operations of the arithmetic system of real numbers, statistical practices often require the application of special rules and operations within the mathematical system.

Course Overview

This course teaches you the basic quantitative methods you will use in employee compensation and benefits administration. First, we'll cover mathematical operations, with a brief review of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. We review each with an eye for how they might be utilized in the day-to-day world of Human Resources salary administration and benefit planning.

Then we'll move on to the more advanced concept of measurements, be they nominal, ordinal, interval, or ratio. We'll consider how each is used in pay administration. After this, we'll review percentages, percentiles, and equations. You'll learn how to graph equations to better analyze survey data. We'll also look at the fundamentals of salary and benefit survey methodology. You'll learn about populations, sampling, and ranges. Finally, we'll look at the topics of inference and hypothesis when it comes to statistical testing.

Before proceeding with this course, we recommend that you take a moment to gather the following:

• Calculator
• Scratch paper
• Pencil

Let's begin...