inputs, outcomes, and referents
Inputs - contributions employees make to the organization. They include education and training, intelligence, experience, effort, number of hours worked, and ability.
Outcomes - employees receive in exchange for their contributions to the organization. Outcomes include pay, fringe benefits, status symbols, and job titles and assignments.
And, since perceptions of equity depend on comparisons, referents are others with whom people compare themselves to determine if they have been treated fairly.
Usually, people choose to compare themselves with referents who hold the same or similar jobs or who are otherwise similar in gender, race, age, tenure, or other characteristics.