I feel the market competitive pay strategy is based on one basic flaw, no matter how much we think that there is a market standard for a level of expertise and experience, it is never the case. truth is, there is almost no market standard right now, and that creates a lot of confusion. I can only speak from the media industry's point of view. Everyday, a new company is being launched, and to attract new talent, they are giving higher salaries thatn the current market standard. Say, if a journalist gets Rs 10 lakh, and the market standard is Rs 12 lakh, the new company pays him at least Rs 15-18 lakh to attract him. A newer company raises it by another, say Rs 5 lakh. This not only creates a bubble waiting to burst, but existing companies have to raise their salaries of existing employees to a) compete with the new market standard, and b) to reatin their existing talent. It is a vicious cycle and soon, it is going to reach a point when most companies won't be able to sustain these salaries, and the smaller ones will close down, with only the ones with deep pockets remaining. In that scenario, there will be too much talent in the market with not enough jobs. From the employee's point of view, there will always be two types. One, that move from organisation to organisation to cash in on the salary boom, and second, the kind who want to settle for a good brand name and job profile. It is the second kind who would finally benefit when the boom goes bust.