How justifiable is high CEO pay in the United States?

How justifiable is high CEO pay in the United States? PDF Author: Christoph Kotsch
Publisher: diplom.de
ISBN: 3961160562
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 32

Get Book Here

Book Description
The high compensation for executives and in particular for CEOs has been a topic of debate for many years. Increasing salaries and bonuses for leaders of companies have mostly been criticized and even pointed out as a key factor for a rising wealth distribution inequality. Especially in the United States, where CEO pay is most extreme, the public as well as the media ask for new regulations and political intervention. But are these high compensations really undeserved and unfair? How much do top managers actually earn and why do businesses support it? This academic paper will first give an overview of some important numbers and statistics in order to have an idea of how high a CEO’s income is compared to an average employee. It will also explain how to properly interpret these data and how much an executive’s income can vary depending on different factors. After analyzing the recent history and developments in CEO pay, chapter 8 will provide the necessary economic background to help understand companies’ decisions and see high wages from a business point of view. Although the paper will focus on CEO earnings in the US, it will give examples of differences in other countries and systems. Due to a distinct set of labor regulations, we will draw a comparison to CEO pay in Germany and furthermore illustrate the event of a political referendum in Switzerland. Finally, we will pick on various arguments by media, the public, as well as renowned economists, listing a series of pros and cons for excessive CEO pay. An insightful survey, conducted in the US, will then close the debate and leave the reader with the final thoughts of the conclusion.

How justifiable is high CEO pay in the United States?

How justifiable is high CEO pay in the United States? PDF Author: Christoph Kotsch
Publisher: diplom.de
ISBN: 3961160562
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 32

Get Book Here

Book Description
The high compensation for executives and in particular for CEOs has been a topic of debate for many years. Increasing salaries and bonuses for leaders of companies have mostly been criticized and even pointed out as a key factor for a rising wealth distribution inequality. Especially in the United States, where CEO pay is most extreme, the public as well as the media ask for new regulations and political intervention. But are these high compensations really undeserved and unfair? How much do top managers actually earn and why do businesses support it? This academic paper will first give an overview of some important numbers and statistics in order to have an idea of how high a CEO’s income is compared to an average employee. It will also explain how to properly interpret these data and how much an executive’s income can vary depending on different factors. After analyzing the recent history and developments in CEO pay, chapter 8 will provide the necessary economic background to help understand companies’ decisions and see high wages from a business point of view. Although the paper will focus on CEO earnings in the US, it will give examples of differences in other countries and systems. Due to a distinct set of labor regulations, we will draw a comparison to CEO pay in Germany and furthermore illustrate the event of a political referendum in Switzerland. Finally, we will pick on various arguments by media, the public, as well as renowned economists, listing a series of pros and cons for excessive CEO pay. An insightful survey, conducted in the US, will then close the debate and leave the reader with the final thoughts of the conclusion.

The CEO Pay Machine

The CEO Pay Machine PDF Author: Steven Clifford
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0735212392
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 289

Get Book Here

Book Description
"The pay gap between chief executive officers of major U.S. firms and their workers is higher than ever before--depending on the method of calculation, CEOs get paid between 300 and 700 times more than the average worker. Such outsized pay is a relatively recent phenomenon, but ... few detractors truly understand the numerous factors that have contributed to the dizzying upward spiral in CEO compensation. Steven Clifford, a former CEO who has also served on many corporate boards, has a name for these procedures and practices: 'The CEO Pay Machine.' [This book] is Clifford's ... explanation of the 'machine'--how it works, how its parts interact, and how every step pushes CEO pay to higher levels"--

Pay Without Performance

Pay Without Performance PDF Author: Lucian A. Bebchuk
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 9780674020634
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 308

Get Book Here

Book Description
The company is under-performing, its share price is trailing, and the CEO gets...a multi-million-dollar raise. This story is familiar, for good reason: as this book clearly demonstrates, structural flaws in corporate governance have produced widespread distortions in executive pay. Pay without Performance presents a disconcerting portrait of managers' influence over their own pay--and of a governance system that must fundamentally change if firms are to be managed in the interest of shareholders. Lucian Bebchuk and Jesse Fried demonstrate that corporate boards have persistently failed to negotiate at arm's length with the executives they are meant to oversee. They give a richly detailed account of how pay practices--from option plans to retirement benefits--have decoupled compensation from performance and have camouflaged both the amount and performance-insensitivity of pay. Executives' unwonted influence over their compensation has hurt shareholders by increasing pay levels and, even more importantly, by leading to practices that dilute and distort managers' incentives. This book identifies basic problems with our current reliance on boards as guardians of shareholder interests. And the solution, the authors argue, is not merely to make these boards more independent of executives as recent reforms attempt to do. Rather, boards should also be made more dependent on shareholders by eliminating the arrangements that entrench directors and insulate them from their shareholders. A powerful critique of executive compensation and corporate governance, Pay without Performance points the way to restoring corporate integrity and improving corporate performance.

The Cheating Culture

The Cheating Culture PDF Author: David Callahan
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 0156030055
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 439

Get Book Here

Book Description
Callahan takes readers on a gripping tour of cheating in America and makes a powerful case for why it matters. The author blames the dog-eat-dog economic climate of the past 20 years for corroding values.

The Handbook of the Economics of Corporate Governance

The Handbook of the Economics of Corporate Governance PDF Author: Benjamin Hermalin
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0444635408
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 762

Get Book Here

Book Description
The Handbook of the Economics of Corporate Governance, Volume One, covers all issues important to economists. It is organized around fundamental principles, whereas multidisciplinary books on corporate governance often concentrate on specific topics. Specific topics include Relevant Theory and Methods, Organizational Economic Models as They Pertain to Governance, Managerial Career Concerns, Assessment & Monitoring, and Signal Jamming, The Institutions and Practice of Governance, The Law and Economics of Governance, Takeovers, Buyouts, and the Market for Control, Executive Compensation, Dominant Shareholders, and more. Providing excellent overviews and summaries of extant research, this book presents advanced students in graduate programs with details and perspectives that other books overlook. Concentrates on underlying principles that change little, even as the empirical literature moves on Helps readers see corporate governance systems as interrelated or even intertwined external (country-level) and internal (firm-level) forces Reviews the methodological tools of the field (theory and empirical), the most relevant models, and the field’s substantive findings, all of which help point the way forward

Executive Compensation and Corporate Governance in the U.S.

Executive Compensation and Corporate Governance in the U.S. PDF Author: Steven Neil Kaplan
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Economics
Languages : en
Pages :

Get Book Here

Book Description
In this paper, I consider the evidence for three common perceptions of U.S. CEO pay and corporate governance: (1) CEOs are overpaid and their pay keeps increasing; (2) CEOs are not paid for performance; and (3) boards do not penalize CEOs for poor performance. While average CEO pay increased substantially through the 1990s, it has declined since then. CEO pay levels relative to other highly paid groups today are comparable to their average levels in the early 1990s. In fact, the relative pay of large company CEOs is similar to its average level since the 1930s. The ratio of large company CEO pay to firm market value also has remained roughly constant since 1960. This suggests that similar forces, likely technology and scale, have played a meaningful role in driving CEO pay and the pay of others with top incomes. With regard to performance, CEOs are paid for performance and penalized for poor performance. Finally, boards do monitor CEOs. The rate of CEO turnover has increased in the 2000s compared to the 1980s and 1990s, and is significantly tied to poor stock performance. While corporate governance failures and pay outliers as well as the very high average pay levels relative to the typical household undoubtedly have contributed to the common perceptions, a meaningful part of CEO pay appears to be market determined and boards do appear to monitor their CEOs. Consistent with that, top executive pay policies at over 98% of S&P 500 and Russell 3000 companies received majority shareholder support in the Dodd-Frank mandated Say-On-Pay votes in 2011.

Grow the Pie

Grow the Pie PDF Author: Alex Edmans
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1009062719
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 541

Get Book Here

Book Description
Should companies be run for profit or purpose? This book shows how they can deliver both-based on rigorous evidence and an actionable framework. This edition, updated to include the pandemic and latest research, explains how managers, investors and citizens can put purpose into practice-and overcome the difficult trade-offs that hold them back.

An Empirical Study of CEO Compensation in the United States

An Empirical Study of CEO Compensation in the United States PDF Author: Alessandro Pompa
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

Get Book Here

Book Description
The present thesis studies the determinants behind the increase of CEO compensation in the US and, in particular, the features of benchmarking peer groups. Following the unveiling of CEO total pay for listed companies, as required by a new SEC regulation, and the public uproars for overpaid CEOs, literature on the topic has proliferated, with authors concluding that the use of compensation peer groups has resulted in inflated CEO pay that is not linked to economic fundamentals. While their analyses are focused on the first fiscal year following the introduction of the new regime (2006), the present work conducts the analysis with the most recent compensation data available (2014) to understand whether the documented effects are still valid. The results are surprising, as they show that CEO salary and bonuses are no longer influenced by the level of pay at peer companies; on the contrary, a peer pay effect still exists on total pay despite being lower than the past. This significant change is the consequence of the effectiveness of the new disclosure regulation and of the increased transparency in the pay setting process. These conclusions show that the effect demonstrated by the previous authors was linked to corporate governance weaknesses at certain firms, reduced by the introduction of external rules. The remaining peer pay effect on total pay is then examined in detail, coming to the conclusion that it is the natural result of competition for managerial talent, representing the total pay necessary to retain and attract the best CEOs. Competition on the labor market is approximated using geographic distances as firms typically compete with geographically-close companies. The results show that the higher the total pay of a peer CEO within 750km, the higher the total pay of the CEO at the disclosing firm, while the effect is not statistically significant for distant companies (>750km).

Joan Garry's Guide to Nonprofit Leadership

Joan Garry's Guide to Nonprofit Leadership PDF Author: Joan Garry
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1119293065
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 256

Get Book Here

Book Description
Nonprofit leadership is messy Nonprofits leaders are optimistic by nature. They believe with time, energy, smarts, strategy and sheer will, they can change the world. But as staff or board leader, you know nonprofits present unique challenges. Too many cooks, not enough money, an abundance of passion. It’s enough to make you feel overwhelmed and alone. The people you help need you to be successful. But there are so many obstacles: a micromanaging board that doesn’t understand its true role; insufficient fundraising and donors who make unreasonable demands; unclear and inconsistent messaging and marketing; a leader who’s a star in her sector but a difficult boss… And yet, many nonprofits do thrive. Joan Garry’s Guide to Nonprofit Leadership will show you how to do just that. Funny, honest, intensely actionable, and based on her decades of experience, this is the book Joan Garry wishes she had when she led GLAAD out of a financial crisis in 1997. Joan will teach you how to: Build a powerhouse board Create an impressive and sustainable fundraising program Become seen as a ‘workplace of choice’ Be a compelling public face of your nonprofit This book will renew your passion for your mission and organization, and help you make a bigger difference in the world.

In Search of Excess

In Search of Excess PDF Author: Graef S. Crystal
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780788161506
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
In the 1970's & 1980s, while the pay of American workers had gone nowhere, American CEOs have increased their own pay more than 400%. Throughout American business, CEO pay is alarmingly out of step with company performance & the national economy. Reveals how & why CEO salaries have grown so large through the business careers & compensation histories of the CEOs of many of America's landmark companies. Reveals the maneuvers by which CEOs & their boards of directors have together unlocked CEO pay from company performance & in disguised the true extent of CEO compensation from the company's shareholders.