Most company mission statements have a strong declaration about how very important their people are to the company's success. Good management understands that people are vital to a company's success. However, a company's actions regarding its people/employees do not always result in an outcome that an individual employee desires or expects.

In the context of a company, people are typically viewed in the aggregate. Corporate decisions are geared toward the company's good (as subjectively defined) and not necessarily toward the individual's good. This is a very important distinction in understanding management's perspective regarding salaries and raises.

A company, particularly one that has been incorporated, is an artificial "person" with rights of its own. Since it cannot think or act, a board of directors acts as its guardian or trustee and directs its business affairs. The board of directors appoints officers (President, Vice President, etc.) who typically run the company. The officers hire managers (sometimes called department directors) who make decisions regarding hiring individual people, and who usually have the responsibility to recommend raises.

It is very important to understand that the management in a company has an overriding responsibility to the company and not to the individual employee. Managers make decisions that may supercede the good of an individual employee, but which are required for the overall good of the company. This core principle may have a significant impact on you and on your ability to obtain a desired raise.

Employees typically base their value on their own performance coupled with an understanding of the marketability of their personal skillset. Management typically bases an employee's value on budget; corporate profitability; current and expected market conditions; short and long term goals; and individual performance.

In dividing "the pie" the good of the company always comes first. The company may have critical business requirements such as stabilizing an employee who seems likely to bolt, but who is critical to the company's current well being. It may be imperative to retain an employee who has an unexpected competitive offer. A priority may be to reduce the threat of losing an employee who has vital local knowledge.

You, as an individual, cannot control these decisions yet they influence whether or not you get a raise, and how much of a raise you will get. What is the point of telling you about things you cannot control, and which you may not even know?

The point is: these are the realities of business. Getting a raise does not involve the bestowing of gifts, it is a business process. Remaining ignorant of the process, or taking refuge in powerlessness, or expecting benevolent intervention, are traits that pave the road to disappointment and disillusionment.

Becoming aware of how this process works in your company will give you the power to better evaluate your own situation and determine if you are being treated fairly. It will help you to control your career. Acquire knowledge, information, and understanding about any business process and you increase your opportunity to use the process successfully.

How do you do this? You make an effort. Tune in at work to broader issues than just your job. Ask questions. Do research. Know your turf. Take responsibility and take action. Business is one of the games of life. The more you know about the rules and the nuances of playing the game, the better you play. Women need to learn to play to win.

Remember Dorothy in the Wizard of OZ? She spent most of her adventure in fear and awe of the Wizard. At the end, the Wizard of Oz turned out to be just a man behind a curtain. Did you ever wonder what Dorothy's adventures would have been like if she had known that fact while she was making the journey?

Before you "ask" for a raise, work very hard to know who and what is behind the curtain.

So You Want a Raise? will conclude next week with "The Asking….

Your comments and suggestions are always welcome.

Copyright © 1998, 1999 by D.E. Summerville. All rights reserved.

The advice and suggestions in the Women in Business column are solely those of the author. DC Web Women assumes no responsibility for its content.

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