Paying based upon the job rather than the individual is risky because it does not reward
for skill, worth, and actual work (Lawler, 2000). Human capital is key to organizations, as
organizations now consist of more professional people with greater education, experience, and
skill than in years past. Companies will be better able to retain those with the greatest talent if
they can pay based upon the individual and his market value. Pay needs to move from a
determination based upon job descriptions to being based upon a person’s professional
development activities. Lawler (2000) suggests that organizations use personal descriptions, not
just position descriptions. A better reward system is individualized. A more contemporary
suggestion is a two-tiered pay system (Bergmann and Scarpello, 2008). This incorporates an
individual-based base pay, plus additional pay for the accomplishments of the whole team.