| Course | GB545 Strategic Total Rewards and Financial Impact |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 3 |
| Paper type | Market position memo |
| Length | About 800 words, 5 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | MBA |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for GB545 Unit 3
Three Markets, Three Positions: A Unit 3 Market Position Memo for an Analyzer Maker
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
GB545: Strategic Total Rewards and Financial Impact
Unit 3 Market Position Memo
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The company, its pay data and every survey figure are composite and illustrative; the frameworks and sources cited are real.
To: Chief Human Resources Officer, Tellwater Instruments
From: Compensation Manager
Subject: Pay positions for engineering, service and assembly
Recommendation
Set firmware and software engineers at the 60th percentile of the national market, field service engineers at the 55th percentile of the regional market, and hold assembly technician increases at two percent a year for two cycles while the local market moves faster. In year one the three changes add $2,667,252 and $2,404,236 in loaded cost for the two engineering groups and save $683,842 on assembly, a net increase of $4,387,646.
Why Three Positions
Milkovich et al. (2020) describe pay level as a choice about where to sit in each relevant labor market, and those markets differ by job. Tellwater's firmware engineers are recruited nationally against software companies and other instrument makers. Its field service engineers are recruited across a four-state region against medical device and analyzer service teams. Its assembly technicians are hired from one metro area against other manufacturers. A single company-wide percentile would overpay in one market and underpay in another.
Percentiles are used throughout because surveys report pay that way and competitors describe their policies in those terms.
Pricing
Every loaded figure uses a factor of 1.124, which adds the employer costs that rise automatically with base pay: payroll taxes at about 7.1 percent and retirement match plus life and disability insurance at about 5.3 percent. Health premiums do not rise with salary and are left out.
Firmware and software engineers. 210 engineers paid at 0.960 of the national median, just above the 38th percentile. Moving to the 60th percentile raises base pay by an average of $11,300, or $2,373,000 in all, and $2,667,252 loaded. That is about $121,800 for each percentile point gained.
Field service engineers. 310 engineers at 0.945 of the regional median. Moving to the 55th percentile raises base pay by an average of $6,900, or $2,139,000, and $2,404,236 loaded. The first step, to the median, accounts for $4,900 of each engineer's increase.
Assembly technicians. 780 technicians paid 4 percent above the local median, at 1.040. Holding increases at 2 percent while the market moves an assumed 3.5 percent saves 1.5 percent of their $40,560,000 base payroll, $608,400 in year one and $683,842 loaded.
Paying above market for every group would cost more than the company needs to spend, and paying the same position for every group would put money where it buys the least.
Projection of the Assembly Premium
Under the hold, the assembly premium shrinks year by year. It starts at 1.040, falls to about 1.025 after one cycle and to 1.010 after two. A third year at 2 percent would take it to 0.995, below market for the first time. The hold should therefore stop after two cycles. It is not a pay cut: technicians still receive 2 percent a year, and they remain above market throughout the two cycles. Assembly turnover is currently 9 percent a year; if it rises above 14 percent on an annualized basis during the hold, the hold should end early.
What Each Choice Gives Up
Firmware engineers at the 60th percentile, not the 75th. The company will still lose some candidates to software companies that pay at the top of the market. The memo accepts that, because the 75th percentile would cost about $1.8 million more a year loaded and Tellwater's offer acceptance rate for firmware roles, 71 percent, suggests the 60th is competitive for the candidates it most often hires.
Field service engineers at the 55th percentile. Service engineers have turnover of 19 percent, and the memo assumes the move will reduce it. Allen et al. (2010) caution that pay is only one driver of turnover and that employers often overestimate how much a raise alone will retain people. If turnover does not fall, the company will have paid more without solving the problem, which Unit 10 examines in detail.
Assembly technicians held for two cycles. The company gives up part of a premium that has helped it hire in a tight local market. The cost is some recruiting advantage; the benefit is funding for the engineering moves.
Gerhart and Rynes (2003) note that a pay position is a strategic choice with costs on both sides, not a fact read off a survey, and each of these is a choice the company could reasonably make differently.
Year-One Tally
Firmware and software engineers: add $2,667,252.
Field service engineers: add $2,404,236.
Assembly hold: save $683,842.
Net: add $4,387,646 in year one.
References
Allen, D. G., Bryant, P. C., & Vardaman, J. M. (2010). Retaining talent: Replacing misconceptions with evidence-based strategies. Academy of Management Perspectives, 24(2), 48-64. https://doi.org/10.5465/amp.24.2.48
Gerhart, B., & Rynes, S. L. (2003). Compensation: Theory, evidence, and strategic implications. Sage.
Milkovich, G. T., Newman, J. M., & Gerhart, B. (2020). Compensation (13th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.
The Purdue Global GB545 Unit 3 instructions
GB545 Unit 3 asks you to recommend a pay position for the groups in your organization that compete in different labor markets. Lead with the recommendation and its net cost. Explain why each group needs its own position, using the readings on pay level. Price each move from current position to target, stating a loading factor for the costs that rise with base pay and how it was built. For any group held back, project its position over time and name the condition that would end the hold. Say plainly what each choice gives up. Close with a tally of year-one costs and savings. Write it as a four-page memo to a named executive, citing sources in APA 7.
How this GB545 Unit 3 example is built
The memo recommends the 60th percentile nationally for firmware engineers, the 55th regionally for service engineers and a two-cycle hold for assembly. Milkovich and colleagues frame pay level as a choice per market. The 1.124 loading factor combines payroll taxes and benefits that rise with salary. Firmware engineers cost $11,300 each, about $121,800 per percentile point. The assembly premium falls from 1.040 to 1.025 and then 1.010, and would reach 0.995 in a third year, so the hold stops at two; turnover above 14 percent ends it early. The highlighted sentence explains why one position fails. Allen and colleagues temper the turnover assumption, and the net is $4,387,646.
Reading the GB545 Unit 3 grading rubric
Instructors grading a GB545 market position memo look for a separate, priced position for each labor market and a clear statement of what each costs and sacrifices. Leading with the recommendation and its net cost earns points. Grounding each group's market in where it actually recruits shows judgment. A stated loading factor, built from named rates, shows technical care. Pricing per percentile point lets the reader compare options. A projection showing when a held group falls below market shows foresight. Naming the turnover figure that would end a hold shows risk awareness. Trade-offs stated plainly show candor. Milkovich and colleagues, Gerhart and Rynes, and Allen and colleagues form the APA 7 list.
Common GB545 Unit 3 mistakes, and how to avoid them
Many GB545 Unit 3 memos choose one company-wide percentile, which overpays in one market and underpays in another. Others recommend moves without pricing them or price only base pay, leaving out taxes and benefits that rise with salary. A frequent gap is time: holding one group's increases erodes its position year by year, and the memo should show when it falls below market. Some writers present each choice as costless. Lead with the recommendation, give each market its own position, build and state a loading factor, price every move, project any hold, name the condition that ends it, list what each choice gives up and tally the year. Percentiles match how surveys report data.
Get a GB545 Unit 3 example written to your instructions
A market position memo needs survey rates or the case's market data for each job group; forward those plus the Unit 3 prompt and the rubric. Positions come first in the memo that returns within 24-48h, every percentile step priced and the trade-offs named. A first custom sample costs nothing. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
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- GB545 Unit 6: Seminar Reflection
- GB545 Unit 7: Incentive Plan Proposal
- GB545 Unit 8: Pay Equity Analysis
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GB545 Unit 3 questions, answered
Why use percentiles instead of a percentage above market?
Percentiles describe position within a distribution, which is how compensation surveys report data and how competitors describe their own policies. A percentage above the median says something similar less precisely, since the spread between percentiles differs by job. The example prices each percentile step directly from survey rates. If your case gives only a median, a stated percentage premium works, as long as its basis is clear.
Is holding one group's increases a pay cut?
No. Assembly technicians still receive 2 percent a year in the example; they simply lose position against a market moving faster. The memo shows the premium shrinking year by year so no reader confuses the two. Whether a hold is wise depends on turnover in that group, and a strong memo names the turnover figure that would end the hold early.
How is the 1.124 loading factor built?
It adds the employer costs that rise automatically with base pay: payroll taxes, which work out to about 7.1 percent here, and retirement match plus insurance at roughly 5.3 percent combined. Health premiums do not rise with salary, so they stay out of it. Your case may carry different rates; build the factor from them and state it once, because every loaded figure in the memo depends on it.
Where can I find a free GB545 Unit 3 sample paper?
This page carries a full GB545 Unit 3 market position memo setting three pay positions at a composite analyzer maker, with pricing, a projection, trade-offs and APA 7 references.
Why stop the assembly hold after two cycles?
Because a third year at 2 percent against a market moving 3.5 percent would take assembly pay from 1.010 to 0.995 of the median, below market for the first time. Two cycles fund the engineering moves without that step.