This student guide is intended to assist persons employed as supervisors in understanding various wage payment systems. Discussed in the first four sections are the following topics: the aims and determination of payment (aims of a payment system, the economy and wage levels, the government and wage levels, and method of pay and wage levels); main payment systems not linking payment to results (time rates, flexitime, fixed wages, and incremental payment systems); main payment systems linking pay to results (piecework and commission, basic pay plus bonus, and other systems linked to results); and fair pay (fringe benefits, fair pay, and the role of job evaluation). Each of these sections contains an introduction, sections of instructional text that are interspersed with reinforcing learning activities, and a section summary. The fifth part of the guide includes a series of performance checks (an end check, a tutor check, and a work-based project). Concluding the guide is a unit review that reviews the objectives addressed in the guide, describes related extension courses, and lists recommended reference materials. (MN)