Payment Systems in Smaller Companies: Relationships with Size and Climate

Abstract

The nature of organisational payment systems is likely to be a critical factor in the complex pattern of interactions which influence industrial relations and productivity in industrial companies. The systematic arrangement of rates of pay for employees is one major way in which organisational managements attempt to influence the behaviour of those employees both directly and indirectly. At the same time, particular arrangements reflect the outcome of political, social and economic processes in which all levels of employee, as well as many outside agencies, are frequently involved. Despite its undoubted importance there is not as much systematic research on the topic as one might expect. In particular, little empirical evidence is available linking the parameters of payment systems to other organisational characteristics. The present paper attempts to make a contribution towards filling those gaps in the literature. We report on the characteristics of payment systems and their prevalence in different sized organisations in 59 small companies in South Wales. It will be argued that the characteristics of payment systems will be related to different dimensions of organisational climate, and these relationships are examined empirically.

Citation

Dastmalchian, A. and Mansfield, R. (1980), "Payment Systems in Smaller Companies: Relationships with Size and Climate", Personnel Review, Vol. 9 No. 2, pp. 27-32. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb055408