DIRECTIONS ON WRITING THE RESEARCH PAPER The research paper assignment will comprise 40% of the total grade. Select an organization or industry with which you are familiar and then write a 5 to 7 page analysis paper to research the appropriate application of compensation principles to achieve organizational/industry objectives. Research the industry specific use of compensation systems for attracting, motivating, and retaining employees. Assume the context is from the managerial level with regard to paying employees at all organizational levels. Apply the Case Analysis Writing Guidelines attached to Assignment 3.2 to write this paper. The major objectives of this paper will be: 1) to examine the current state of compensation decision making; 2) to examine how recent theoretical, research, and legal developments inform compensation decisions; and 3) to offer an opportunity to develop competencies in making compensation decisions with regard to improving the pay system of your subject company. First, you will select a subject company to research and analyze. This subject company you select can be either a familiar company such as your current employer or a case from the textbook (excluding Circuit city or Merrill Lynch). Second, you should perform an internet search on the name of your subject company to find background information on the compensation systems used by your subject company and the various compensation systems used in the industry to which your subject company belongs. Third, you should then use the Case Analysis Writing Guidelines described in the pdf in Assignment 3.2 to analyze the compensation system your subject organization uses to pay employees. You will also compare and contrast the compensation system of your subject organization to what other companies in the same industry use as their compensation systems. How does your subject company or employer compare to Circuit city or Merrill Lynch? What business strategy does it seem to “fit” (i.e., cost cutter, customer centered, innovator, or something else)? The comparison you draw between your subject company and how others in the same industry compensate employees will inform and support any recommendation you may write for the next part of your paper, the recommendation section. Last, based on your analysis, comparison, and critique of your subject company’s compensation system, you should then formulate a recommendation to improve the compensation system of your subject company based on your synthesis of theory and best practice learned from the text book, your internet searches, and discussions in this class. Make sure you cite these sources to show the instructor where you found your ideas for recommendations.