Managers generating meaning for pay

Abstract

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The aim of this study is to find out whether managers can facilitate employee understanding of the pay system through a goal-setting process. The paper draws from Thierry's largely untested Reflection Theory to study employee pay satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach -Based on the theory, it is posited that managerial goal setting improves employee pay satisfaction through increased employee knowledge and perceived meanings of pay. The hypotheses are tested with survey data from one municipal health care organization. Findings -The results of the study show that both knowledge and meanings of pay mediate the effects of goal setting on pay satisfaction. The paper finds support for the somewhat distinguishable roles of instrumental and symbolic meanings of pay. The regression analyses show that the former fully mediates the effect of pay level and the latter fully mediates the effect of goal setting on pay satisfaction. Even though the analyses do not provide evidence that common method variance would explain the results, it remains a potential issue. Research limitations/implications -Future research is needed to establish the dimensionality of meanings -positive as well as negative -a pay system can convey, and to explore the degree to which they can be managed. Practical implications -The results of the study suggest that organizations can promote their ROI of pay systems by paying attention to the employees' interpretations of messages conveyed by the pay system implementation process. More specifically, the results demonstrate that managers can contribute to employee pay satisfaction via a goal-setting process that informs employees about the functions of the pay system and use the system to give feedback on the job. Originality/value -The study provides a unique but preliminary test for Reflection Theory.

How Leaders Generate Meanings For Monetary Rewards

“…These findings provided direct empirical evidence for the core idea of the compensation theory of pay, which states that the salience of pay is determined by the meanings of pay, such as motivational properties, relative position, and control (Thierry, 1992). In addition, these findings also supported the theorization of Salimäki et al (2009), which argues that pay could imbue meanings to one's self-identity.…”

“…Research provides empirical support for the positive impact of the symbolic meanings of monetary rewards. For instance, the symbolic meanings of pay, including relative position and control, have been found to be positively related to pay satisfaction (Salimäki et al 2009) and performance (Hakonen et al 2006). In addition, Mitchell and Mickel (1999) concluded that achievement, recognition, status and respect are associated with the symbolic meanings of pay.…”

“…Child (2015) highlighted that reward can have greater symbolic meanings that depends on "who distributes the monetary reward, why it is given, how it is awarded, and who receives it" (p. 192). When leaders set up clear goals, align individual goals with the organizational strategies, and clearly deliver organizational goals, employees positively interpret the organizational reward system and enhance their satisfaction of the pay (Salimäki et al 2009). Moreover, Nelms and Maurer (2014) proposed that money can have strong symbolic value and the meaning of money is likely to be re-interpreted by people in certain situations, for e.g., after receiving money, after spending money, and after being exposed to money.…”

“…To untangle the complexity of the impact of monetary rewards, some scholars suggested that their effects might be contingent on how the individual recipients interpret the meanings of monetary rewards provided (Mickel & Barron, 2008;Thierry, 1992). Symbolic meanings of monetary rewards have been found to exert a positive impact on recipients' job performance (Hakonen, Hulkko & Maaniemi, 2006) and pay satisfaction (Salimäki, Hakonen & Heneman, 2009). Therefore, monetary rewards received not only have economic or instrumental meanings but also carry important symbolic meanings for assessing one's self-worth and status.…”

Merit‐based Rewards, Job Satisfaction and Voluntary Turnover: Moderating Effects of Employee Demographic Characteristics

“…Reflection theory states that these four categories of meanings have implications for employee work attitudes and behaviors, such as job satisfaction, depending on the extent to which these meanings are relevant to, maintain and enhance one's identity (Thierry, ). As Salimäki, Hakonen and Heneman (, p. 162) stated: ‘Employees hold differential perceptions regarding the meaning of money.’…”