‘Test‐bed’ for Lupton‐Gowler Pay Selection Procedure
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb055203 |
| Published date | 01 February 1972 |
| Pages | 77-78 |
| Date | 01 February 1972 |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour |
new
personnel
practice
Test-bed' for
Lupton-Gowler
Pay Selection
Procedure
It is now over two years since the Engineering Employers'
Federation published a research paper by Tom Lupton and
Dan Gowler entitled Selecting a Wage Payment System.
When first published, many managers considered it too
difficult and complex to read, which in part might have
been due to the authors' attempts to digest their procedure
to its 'bare bones' (and consequently scant explanation is
given).
However, a major difficulty might well have been
the radically different approach to selecting and evaluating
payment systems and for many the 'new' dimensions
presented for consideration, compared with the approach
and factors traditionally considered by many firms.
To assess the utility of the Lupton-Gowler procedure the
Federation sponsored further work which the author
recently undertook in a number of firms (the findings and
examples of which will soon be published entitled, The
Management of Payment Systems). In addition to exempli-
fying the use made of it by firms and explicitly revealing the
Lupton-Gowler logic, it also revealed several shortcomings
in the procedure.
Basis of Decisions on Pay
In essence, Lupton and Gowler argue that decisions about
payment usually involve:
(a) a set of aims defining what a payment system ought
to do (increase output, reduce labour/turnover, etc);
(b) consideration of different methods of payment and
the implications of adopting each;
(c) a knowledge of the circumstances to which the
payment scheme will apply; and finally,
(d) a procedure for deciding which of the alternative
payment methods available best 'fits' the circum-
stances, given the stated objectives.
To meet these requirements for decision-making on pay-
ment, Lupton and Gowler 'tease out' of their own
experience on payment and that of others a logical grid of
payment systems which they claim include all the commonly
known elements that comprise the structure of the wage
packet. Further, they identify and devise measures for
variables relevant to the operation of payment systems,
which they formulate into what they call 'a profile', and
finally devise a method of relating the appropriate payment
method to given circumstances. The authors do not deny
that managers have objectives, values and assumptions
about payment and that these should or do in fact play a
part in the selection of payment methods.
It
is
possible to take account of these managerial preferences
and assumptions as an integral part of the procedure. The
final step of the procedure is the framework for evaluation
that follows diagnosis. In this they stress the possibility of
improving the 'fit' of incongruent pay rules and payment
situation by either changing the method of payment or
changing the situation. Though the steps in the procedure
are outlined in the book in practice, it is not necessary to
stick rigidly to the sequence of steps.
Ten Firms Analysed in Depth
To test out the procedure, a total of ten firms were
analysed in depth and, as the 'test-bed' for the Lupton-
Gowler procedure included firms that were subject to major
industrial disputes during
1970-71,
there can be little
doubt that it dealt with 'real-life' problems. In each firm
the Lupton-Gowler procedure was presented as a way of
analysing managerially-defined problems about payment
77
To continue reading
Request your trial