CASE STUDY 2: COMPENSATION AT W. L. GORE

W.L. Gore & Associates is a company well known for its GORE-TEX fabric for pro-

tective outerwear. The company has been included in Fortune's "100 Best Compa-

nies to Work For" list for 17 consecutive years. Gore has received numerous other

recognitions as well, including being ranked in the top five on the 2013 World's

Best Multinational Workplaces list by the Great Place to Work Institute, named as a

best workplace in France, Germany, Italy, Korea, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and

China, and frequently used as an example of a company that is innovative. Rather

than job titles, bosses, and organization charts, Gore uses a team approach, with

leaders, sponsors, and team members.

The main objective of Gore's compensation plan is to ensure that employees,

referred to as associates, are paid for their contributions to the success of the com-

pany. Their compensation plan is focused on both internal fairness and external

competitiveness. Gore uses two approaches to achieve these goals. The first is

straightforward and typically used by companies: comparing pay at Gore with pay

for comparable jobs at other companies. In other words, Gore does a lot of bench-

marking to be sure their salaries are competitive with the relevant labor markets.

That takes care of the external competitiveness part.

The internal competitiveness part is what is different at Gore. The process works

like this: Associates on the same team rank each other based on contributions to the

company for the year. Team members provide a numerical ranking, and can provide

comments to support their rankings and identify strengths or areas for improvement

of the associates they rank. This information is then used for determining raises.

Discussion Questions

1. Provide a critique of the compensation practices at Gore, indicating the pros

and cons of each approach.

2. Do you think that Gore can achieve its goals of internal fairness and external

competitiveness with the two approaches used?

3. Would you want to work for this company? Why or why not?

no answers already on chegg please thank you in advance