Don't take it as a dig at your dad, but shouldn't it be part of an administrator's fiduciary duty (at least at the top level) to ensure that people do get what they deserve? The longterm health of the institution surely depends on the quality and availability of the intellectual output as well as the balance sheet.
Precisely this. The loss of productivity from disaffected employees is difficult to quantify, but at times substantial. And once a culture of disaffectation takes hold it's near impossible to get rid of it. Administration is well advised to be careful in this matter.
These are wise words that sum up the colossally unfair system we have of compensation for any occupation in any economy in any industry. My own personal aphorism when talking down someone who is annoyed at their compensation compared to a colleague's, is "you don't get paid what you are worth, you get paid what you can blag".
If you have the barefaced cheek and personality profile to be able to convince someone to give you money for old rope, more power to you. I'm not saying it's fair, nor am I saying it's just, but it's reality across the world.
There was a great Ben Horowitz blog about exactly why this is incredibly poisonous. If you force people to negotiate for every raise instead of having a fair, scheduled process in place, you create a horrendous atmosphere where people feel like they constantly have to nag for a raise.
Don't think about this from the managerial perspective. think about it in terms of setting goals, exceeding them and ensuring your employer is totally aware of the value you bring. Combine this with being assertive and having good timing for when to ask and you'll get more money regardless of how benevolent your employer is. People who ask will get more than people who seem quietly content.
(from my dad who is a former engineering professor and now a university administrator).