1. How well does Fog Creek Software’s pay structure meet
(a) The legal requirement of equal pay for equal work;
(b) The conditions of product markets; and
(c) The conditions of labor markets?
2. Joel Spolsky set out to create a pay structure that is objective. Based on the information given, how objective would you say Fog Creek’s system is? What other qualities besides objectivity do you think Fog Creek’s employees might care about?
3. Fog Creek is a small company with a few dozen technical employees. How might its pay structure need to change (if at all) if the company grows to hundreds of employees? Would these changes likely appeal to the employees?

When Joel Spolsky and Michael Pryor founded Fog Creek Software, their vision was of a company run by people whose technical backgrounds meant they understood what really motivates programmers. The company would hire the best, make them comfortable, pay them well, and then get out of the way so they could create great products.
Early on, Spolsky and Pryor set out to develop a pay structure that would be consistent with the company’s mission. They decided that the system should be so objective that there would be no questioning or judgment calls about which employee earns how much. And the results would be so objective and fair that there would be no incentive to be secretive about what any employee earns.