The fourth week chapters were interesting to me because compensation, both financial and non-financial, and safety are important to me in the workplace. Until this course, I had only considered these topics from the employee's perspective, not the employer's. I learned that it is important to look at issues from both perspectives in order to get a clear picture of the issues. This week, I have chosen several subthemes within these chapters that are the most profound for me. These include the determinants of direct financial compensation, non-financial compensation, and health and safety benefits. When it comes to compensation, HR managers have their hands full. Determining how much to pay for each job involves looking at several different factors. These factors include the job, the organization, the employee and the labor market. When reviewing the position, the human resources manager will review a job analysis, description, and evaluation to help set the salary. They will also examine the organization in terms of remuneration policies, organizational level and payment capacity. Human resources managers must also look to the employee. This includes employee performance, skills, competencies, seniority, experience, organizational membership, potential, political influence and luck. They can also examine the labor market using surveys on compensation, opportunity, cost of living, unions, the economy, and related legislation (Mondy and Noe, 2012). According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (2013), “the most important factor that influences an individual's pay rate is the type of work performed” (p. 1). However, a job is only worth what the market can bear. Some knowledge, skills, ...... middle of paper ......ng Association. (2013). In Factors involved in determining salary. Retrieved November 23, 2013 from http://www.asha.org/Careers/job/Factors-Involved-in-Determining-Salary/Hill, DC and Seabrook, KA (2013). Safety and Sustainability: Understanding Business Value. Professional Safety, 58(6), 81-92. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.arbor.edu:80/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1399698704?accountid=13998Life Application Study Bible: New International Version. (1997). Grand Rapids, MI: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. and Zondervan Publishing House. Mondy, RW and Noe, RM (2012). Human Resource Management (12th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2013). Professional employment and wages, May 2012. In Professional employment statistics. Accessed November 23, 2013 from http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes131023.htm