Question 3

Angelika oversees human resources at a large corporation. She is responsible for keeping track of each employee’s current pay rate and the industry pay rate for their position. Each January, the company gives employees a raise based on their performance and whether their pay rate is in line with the industry pay rate. Explain what function(s) Angelika could use to provide this information about where the employee falls within their salary range.

1 answer

To help Angelika determine where each employee falls within their salary range, she could utilize several functions that analyze and compare individual employee salaries to industry standards. Here are some functions that could be useful:

  1. Comparison Function:

    • Basic Calculation: She can create a function to compute the difference between the employee's current pay rate and the industry pay rate.
      • Example: difference = current_pay_rate - industry_pay_rate This would allow her to see if the employee is above, below, or at the industry average.
  2. Percentage Calculation:

    • Percentage of Industry Pay: A function that calculates the current pay rate as a percentage of the industry pay rate would be helpful.
      • Example: percentage_of_industry = (current_pay_rate / industry_pay_rate) * 100 This provides a clear view of how competitive their salary is in relation to the industry standard.
  3. Raise Eligibility Function:

    • Raise Qualification Check: A function to determine eligibility for a raise based on performance and current salary compared to the industry rate.
      • Example:
      if current_pay_rate < industry_pay_rate:
          eligibility = "Eligible for raise based on below industry standard"
      elif performance_rating >= threshold:
          eligibility = "Eligible for raise based on performance"
      else:
          eligibility = "Not eligible for raise"
      
  4. Salary Range Check:

    • Salary Band Function: If there are predefined salary ranges for each position, a function could check whether an employee's pay falls within an acceptable band.
      • Example:
      def is_within_salary_range(current_pay_rate, min_range, max_range):
          return min_range <= current_pay_rate <= max_range
      
  5. Raise Amount Calculation:

    • Raise Calculation Function: A function could also be developed to calculate the amount of raise based on performance and how aligned the current pay is with the industry pay.
      • Example:
      def calculate_raise(current_pay_rate, industry_pay_rate, performance_rating):
          if performance_rating >= threshold:
              if current_pay_rate < industry_pay_rate:
                  return industry_pay_rate * raise_percentage
              return current_pay_rate * raise_percentage
          return 0
      

By implementing these functions, Angelika could effectively gather and analyze the data necessary to provide insights into each employee's salary positioning and determine appropriate raises based on both performance and industry standards.