Seeking Ideas for Dissertation on Emerging Trends in Compensation and Benefits

Hi all,

I am a new member of this forum and have been regularly following the various discussions. I think this is a great site and a good source of information for aspiring HR professionals wanting to know more about the HRM domain. I am planning on doing my dissertation in the area of Compensation and benefits. I will be really happy if I could receive any ideas 💡 or guidance regarding a good topic or any challenging aspects of compensation and benefits which I could research in some depth. Is there anything new emerging in this area that I could study?

Please help....

Many thanks,
Deepti

"The fastest way to make your dreams come true is to WAKE UP!" 🙂

You can try the topic "Dynamics of Compensation Factors in the IT industry." This can be one of the best choices considering the constantly changing (upward) compensation of software engineers and the additional benefits offered by various organizations to attract them.

Ajmal Mirza
Email: mirza_ajmal@yahoo.com

Hi,

There is a new and upcoming concept of Performance Contracts instead of the typical KRAs being handed over to employees. It is probably a take-off from the professional consulting domain. However, Compensation as a process is undergoing a shift due to this. One can start working on the same and come up with new and brighter avenues!

Cheers,
Kanishka

Dear Ajmal and Kanishka,

Thank you for your ideas. I too was thinking along similar lines as Ajmal, with the only difference being that I had considered examining the dynamics of Compensation and Benefits in BPOs due to a similar trend there.

Does anyone have more information about compensation and benefits in BPOs or call centers? Would it be a good idea to study the best practices in Compensation and Benefits in BPOs?

Thank you once again, and please reply as I need to submit my proposal by tomorrow.

Best Regards,
Deepti

Doing a survey on C&B in the IT and ITeS sector does make a lot of sense as the C&B policies and guidelines there did change as a "reactionary" step to attrition and as retention tactics. But now, as the whole industry is evolving, it's becoming more of a "proactive" initiative and a more thoughtful development, not a "fire-fighting" measure.

Cheers,
Kanishka

Dear Kanishka,

Thank you so much for your reply. Just one more thing. Do you think I must approach this from the perspective of the organization or the employees? How can I go about studying the trends? Will just interviewing employers help, or should I also interview employees to find out if the compensation packages in reality motivate them and help combat attrition? I only have 3 months to complete this dissertation, and it should be something feasible.

Let me know if you have any ideas on how I can proceed with this?

Cheers,
Deepti

Dear Deepti,

If it's a project, you may have to walk on both sides of the river and collectively come up with research findings saying - C&B is what the organization sees as a potential strength or weakness and aims to strategize/eliminate. Also, the people in the organization feel that C&B is a motivation or an issue.

However, if it's a dissertation, you may choose to take one side of the story and make it an academic pursuit. In the IT and ITeS scenario, I feel that talking to both parties and giving fair weightage to the fact that people are of utmost authority to "judge" what's a strength or weakness makes more sense.

All the best with your efforts!

Cheers,
Kanishka

Dear Deepti,

If it's a dissertation, you may want to focus more on an academic exercise and choose to concentrate on either Organization or People to develop your paper. On the other hand, if it's a Project, you should consider exploring both sides of the issue and provide recommendations on Compensation & Benefits, highlighting whether it is a weakness or strength, an issue, or a source of motivation.

Cheers,
Kanishka

I am planning to pursue my next postgraduate studies in the area of recruitment and its relationship to job satisfaction. Currently, I am struggling. Can anybody, especially senior members, help me by suggesting a good topic for my research proposal?

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Thank you.