Desc Descri ribe be the the orch orches estr tra’ a’s s pay pay stru struct ctur ure e in term terms s of leve levels ls,, dierentials,
and
job-
or
person-based
approach.
The orchestra’s pay structure is clearly structured in a hierarchal natur nature. e. The The fee fee for for each each posi positi tion on in the the orch orches estr tra a vari varies es by leve levell star starti ting ng at the the bott bottom om leve levell for for posi positi tion ons s su such ch as viol viola a to the the top top positions such as principal viola. The dierentials, which indicate the pay dierences among levels, are evidenced by the fact that those that play instruments that are more highly valued are paid more. I assume that those who play those instruments in the orchestra are those that also also play play in the the mor more impo import rtant ant conc concer ertt booki booking ngs. s. Typic ypical ally ly,, the the positions that add more value or require greater skill are paid more than others. The orchestra approaches its pay structure from a personbased structural approach. It depends on the skill, competency, and musical knowledge of each orchestra musician. owever, as with most !obs, it also relies on a !ob-based structure in that it relies n the output that the musician in the orchestra is able to produce.
Disc Discus uss s what what fact factor ors s may may ex expl plai ain n the the stru struct ctur ure. e. Why Why does does violinist I receive more than the oboist and trombonist Why does the principal trumpet player earn more than the principal cellist and principal clarinetist but less than the principal viola
and principal !ute players What explains these dierences Does the relative supply versus the demand for violinists compare to the supply versus the demand for trombonists Is it
that
violins
play
more
notes
I think there are several internal and e"ternal factors that e"plain the pay structure within the orchestra. #or one, dierent venues and locations that the orchestra is asked to play in plays a role in the pay structure. $ome venues and locations are more highly valued than others. In those situations, the top playing musicians are in more demand than those considered to be in lower demand. %dditionally, human capital plays a ma!or role in the structure within the orchestra. %gain, the skills and abilities required to play within the orchestra in&uences the pay structure as well.
I think the reason the violinist ' pays more than the oboist and trombonist because there are several dierent levels of violinists within the orchestra. (eneath the violin ' is also a violin ) position, which can pay below the oboist and trombonist. There are not very many levels of oboists or trombonists within the orchestra. %ccording to the table there is only one level of trombonist and two of oboist. This would further indicate to me that perhaps the violinists are in more of a
demand than the trombonist and oboists. *r it may indicate that there is a greater supply of trombonists and oboists comparative to their demand than violinist.
What is the pay dierential between the principal viola and next hi"hest paid viola What about between the principal trumpet and the next hi"hest paid trumpet Why these dierentials between the principal and other Why aren’t they lar"er #maller Why is the dierential between trumpet players
dierent
than
between
the
viola
players
The pay dierential between the principal viola and the ne"t highest paid voila is +),. The dierence between the principal trumpet and the ne"t highest paid trumpet is .//. I assume that the pay dierential for the viola is larger because the viola players are in higher demand than the trumpet players. %dditionally, there are only two trumpet positions0 trumpet ' and principal trumpet, which is the highest playing, trumpet level. *n the other hand, there are 1 viola levels within the orchestra.
$ow well do e%uity and tournament models apply Do custom and tradition play any role What about institutional theory
2onsidering the fact that employees !udge the fairness of their compensation by making comparisons to similar positions in other companies as well as internally, I think that equity theory applies within the orchestra e"ample. I would imagine that the orchestra musicians compare their pay to others within the orchestra that play the same instrument. %dditionally, I would argue that they also compare their pay within the orchestra e"ampled to other musicians that play similar instruments within other orchestras. I think that the orchestra can !ustify the equity of this pay structure to its employees by e"plaining the rationale for the leveling dierences.
Ideally the
tournament theory can also be applied. (ecause within the tournament theory the bigger the pri3e in the ne"t level the greater the motivational impact of the structure, the tournament theory certainly applies to a position such as the viola in which the ne"t level pays signi4cantly more. I would imagine that institutional theory could be applied to the orchestra as well. I would imagine that this particular orchestra would adopt similar pay structures from other orchestras or other 5going rates6 for certain instruments in the orchestra.
