1. CEO Packages
Is executive
compensation too
Emma Kitchen, Laura Jibson
George Rispin, Xue Junzhao
high?
2. Introduction: Aims
Illustrate historical and current levels of CEO
compensation
Assess views of justice in wages
Examine arguments for and against high levels of
compensation
Recommendations
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3. During the time period of 1991-2001,
CEO compensation increased by 340%
The average workers
compensation only
increased by 36%
4. Background
CEO’S pay has increased significantly following the
enactment of anti takeover laws passed in 1980’s.
This resulted in CEO’S receiving a large proportion of
their compensation in the form of stocks and shares
There is an increased sensitivity to performance and the
amount they received was dictated by the market and
industry factors.
This is especially relevant now as the cheap stocks which
CEO’S received during the stock market decline are
starting to rise, resulting in huge pay-outs
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6. Justice in Wages
According to Moriarty (2009) there are three common views
frequently applied to justice in wages:
– The Agreement View
“Appropriate prices for goods are obtained through arms length negotiations
between informed buyers and informed sellers”
– The Desert View
“People deserve certain wages for performing certain jobs, whatever they might
agree to accept for performing them”
– The Utility View
“To maximise a firms wealth by attracting, retaining and motivating talented
workers”
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7. The Agreement View
CEO compensation is decided by the
‘Compensation Committee’
This is made up of directors who serve on the
company's board
Directors are elected by shareholders
Members should be informed and independent
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8. The Desert View
Compensation should be based on contribution
and performance
Which other factors should be taken into
consideration?
How can CEO contribution be measured?
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9. Example: Fred Goodwin
Fred Goodwin is the former chief executive for RBS, of which
70% is now owned by the taxpayer.
The guardian newspaper referred to him as “The worlds
worst banker” due to his irresponsible dealings in the sub
prime mortgage market.
He received an very large payoff after he agreed to resign
His pension is £16.9 million, this works out at an average of
£693,000 per year
10. Cont.
His payoff is in line with fellow bankers who receive an
average of £650,000 per year
The high pension caused anger with taxpayers and MP’S
Bank of England governor criticised Goodwin's large
pension, saying that it encourages reckless gambling and
rewarding bad behaviour
11. Example: Black and Decker
New USA legislation passed in 2010 resulted in public
companies having to let shareholders vote at least once
every three years regarding CEO compensation
In 2011 only 12 companies voted against CEO pay, this is
due to industry pressure to “pay the going rate”
The board voted against Black and Decker’s CEO John
Lundgren receiving $32.6 million
But the board eventually gave in to pressure and paid
Lundgren, making him the fifth highest paid CEO in 2010
12. Cont.
Theory of Managerial Power supports this. As Lundgren
was very powerful he could demand the package
Due to public anger, the board tried to disguise the
amount he received by issuing him 325,000 shares valued
at $18.7 million
With the average employee earning $40,000, this
resulted in a pay gap of 325-1
13. Example: John Lewis Group
69,000 employees as ‘Partners’, essentially
owning a share of the profits
Bonus structure is the same for every worker at
every level, a common % of income based on the
group’s annual profit
2009 Operating Profit £316.8m, Partners’ Bonus = 13% of
salary, total £125.4m
2010 OP £389.7m, Bonus = 15% of salary, total £151.3m
2011 OP £431.0m, Bonus = 18% of salary, total £194.5m
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15. Arguments For
Economic Analysis
Correlation between CEO pay and company performance
Will provide an incentive for innovation and risk-taking
Attract, retain and motivate talented leaders
16. Arguments Against
The relation between executive and average employee’s
compensation
Widening gap between executive and average
employee’s compensation
Gap between domestic and foreign executive
compensation
Compensation equity vs. work equity
Distributive equity
17. Recommendations
Base CEO compensation on improving real
measures, such as; earnings per share, return on
invested capital and market share
Ban executives from selling shares for a fixed
number of years
Specify the dates on which equity awards will be
given
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18. Cont.
Payoff shares based on an average stock price,
rather than a single stock price
Introduce a measure whereby executives must
release a statement detailing how and when they
will sell any shares
Salary caps
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19. References
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