In human resources, employers create job descriptions for particular jobs that outline what the job is.  The job and the job description then undergo an evaluation of the skills necessary to carry out the job, education necessary, and any complex dynamics and requirements are measured in a way to determine the position of the job in the hierarchy of the company and for pay purposes.   Where the particular job evaluation system places emphasis on hierarchical position of the job with respect to factors that include: number of people supervised, importance to the company, and overall status of the position given its importance to the functioning of the overall mission of the organization, we are most likely dealing with a “Classificiation System” as exists for most of 389’s units with the exception of the North Shore Neighbourhood House and the School District.  The School District has adopted a points-based job evaluation system often called “gender neutral job evaluation system” which was developed by CUPE National researchers and staff.  This system is much more quantitative and fair, since it bases its evaluation of the job against 7 consistent factors that establish a numberical value to specific skills, knowledge and ability, and then the same factors are used to evaluate and rate all the jobs.  This results in a much more fair evaluation.  The Metro Vancouver Classification System is used for all our other units. This system places much more value on items such as “difficulty of work,” “complexity of work,” “level of responsibility” and will consider things like market dynamics in terms of attracting those candidates with specific skills necessary.   In other words, in a Classification System, the hierarchy of importance and responsibility determines wages – the CEO in a company is the most valuable, therefore will get paid the most.  All subsequent positions below him are ranked by an “order” of importance to the company or organization, who will get evaluated and have a lower pay established.  Thus, a paygrade 23 position is ranked as “more important/valuable/complex/necessary” than a paygrade 21 position.  The Classification System assures the maintenance of the hierarchy of responsibility and pay and compensates for the ability to meet the requirements of the job description, rather than using those criteria as an objective meteric that individually carries a specific compensation.