CEO Pay

Background

Statistics

"CEO Compensation." Forbes.com. 22 Apr. 2009. Web. 5 Nov 2009. <http://www.forbes.com/lists/2009/12/best-boss-09_CEO-Compensation_Rank.html>.

This article is a table of the top 498 CEOs based on their pay in the United States. It also shows their ranked based on the efficiency of their company along with the amount of money the will receive after 5 years working at their specific company.

Reasons Today

Hayes, Rachel M. and Scott Schaefer. "CEO Pay and the Lake Wobegon Effect." Scot Schaefer. Print. Aug 2007. 9 Nov. 2009 <http://www.scott-schaefer.net/Research/schaefer_wobegon_01.pdf>.

This article talks of the supposed "Lake Wobegon Effect" occurring in CEO pay. This is the fact that many CEOs receive pay increases due to the fact that their companies do not want their CEOs to be in the below average pay compared to their peer companies. The article shows scientifically and mathematically why this effect is true in America today and why the U.S. pay has increased so drastically. They vow for more shareholder control in the payment process of its CEOs but for the most part this article stays on the more neutral side of this argument.

"Gabaix, Xavier and Augstin Landier. "Why Has CEO Pay Increased So Much." Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 123. Feb. 2008. Business Source Premier. Print. 9 Nov. 2009 <http://web.ebscohost.com/bsi/search?vid=1&hid=8&sid=1d333229-c69c-4ff2-92a3-49504b577331%40sessionmgr4>."

This article talks of how CEO Pay is directly connected to the size of the firm and the talent of the CEO. This is then discussed as the fact that CEOs generally have about the same levels of talent so that the major basis in amount of pay is based on the size of the firm. They then go into a series of scientific research proving their point explaining that companies are growing and that is the reason for the CEO pay increase in recent years.

CEOs Deserve What They Get

Daines, Robert. "The Good, the Bad, and the Lucky: CEO Pay and Skill." n. pag. Web. 19 Oct 2009. <http://www.law.stanford.edu/publications/stanford_lawyer/issues/72/CEOPaySkill.html>.

This article, written by Professor Robert M. Daines of the Stanford Law School, touches on the issue of how to justify the pay of CEO’s. The article talks about the research done in order to see whether the skill of CEO is related to the skill that they have in managing a company. Professor Daines found that highly paid CEOs are in fact more skilled when firms are small or when the CEO has relatively greater ability to affect the firm's performance. Also he found that highly paid CEOs who operate in large firms subject to environmental constraints perform worse than their more poorly paid peers.

Manzi, Jim. "Big-time pay ... in a big-time economy." National Review. 59. 4 (March 19, 2007): 22. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. INLAN - Gonzaga University Library. 20 Oct. 2009 <http://find.galegroup.com/ovrc/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T003&prodId=OVRC&docId=A160167595&source=gale&srcprod=OVRC&userGroupName=gonzagaufoley&version=1.0>.

This article basically talks about how CEO pay is not going to change at all in the near future. People just have to deal with the unfair pay and get on with their lifes.

Ira, Kay T. "Executives Earn Their High Salaries." Current Controversies: Wage Gap. Ed. Christina Fisanick. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. INLAN - Gonzaga University Library. 6 Nov. 2009 <http://find.galegroup.com/ovrc/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T010&prodId=OVRC&docId=EJ3010529213&source=gale&srcprod=OVRC&userGroupName=gonzagaufoley&version=1.0>.

Essentially, the author of this article argues that as a society, we are asking the wrong question. The question should not be do CEOs deserve their pay, but if the CEOs create a satisfactory return on the company's investment in executive compensation. Rather than focusing on the pay of the CEOs people should focus on whether the work they produce is worthy of their pay. Many companies invest millions of dollars to secure a more than competent CEO who will lead the company to success.

CEOs are Overpaid

Adeleine, Baran. "High CEO Pay Is Unfair to Workers." At Issue: Corporate Corruption. Ed. Susan Hunnicutt. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2007. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. INLAN - Gonzaga University Library. 19 Oct. 2009 <http://find.galegroup.com/ovrc/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T010&prodId=OVRC&docId=EJ3010462212&source=gale&srcprod=OVRC&userGroupName=gonzagaufoley&version=1.0>.

This article states that the increase in pay to CEOs of major companies around the United States is more than triple that of the pay increase for an average worker. It also was written in 2003 which alerts people to the fact that the CEOs have been being overpaid has been a problem for a number of years and should have been taken a look at much sooner than the recession we are now in. The author believes that the CEOs have been abusing their power for a long time and that Corporations in the end are very corrupt.

Ron Wolf, San Jose Mercury News. "OVERPAID CEOS HAVE HIM TO THANK, CURSE :[3 STAR Edition]. " Orlando Sentinel 22 Dec. 1991,Orlando Sentinel, ProQuest. Web. 20 Oct. 2009. <http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=4&did=89062212&SrchMode=2&sid=9&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1256011473&clientId=10553>.

This article follows the ideals of a executive consultant who helped many CEOs to fatten their paychecks. This consultant now believes that what he did is actually hurting the shareholders and he believes that CEOs are taking this too far even at the expense of his job. The author talks of how the ideals of the consultant have changed and why he believes that the CEOs are being overpaid.

Over-exaggerated CEOs

"American CEOs are overpaid and over-hyped'. " India Abroad 27 Sep. 2002,Ethnic NewsWatch (ENW), ProQuest. Web. 19 Oct. 2009.<http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=5&did=491140021&SrchMode=2&sid=7&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1256010376&clientId=10553>.

The author of this article strongly detests the fact that CEOs are getting treated like celebrities in America today. He believes that in the U.S., CEOs have recently began to flaunt their wealth and believes that this could be a cause of the high overpayment of many CEOs. He goes on to say that most Superstar CEOs will fail quite often because they do not focus on the company as CEOs have in the past and that they will jump from company to company to receive more money.

Ellen Simon Associated Press. "Celebrity CEOs no guarantee for success :[Home Edition]. " Journal - Gazette 14 Feb. 2005, ProQuest Newsstand, ProQuest. Web. 20 Oct. 2009.<http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=19&did=794161571&SrchMode=2&sid=12&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1256013000&clientId=10553>.

This author talks of how academics agree that celebrity CEOs are worse for a company than those that fly under the radar. Celebrity CEOs flaunt wealth, disconnect from customers, lose focus, and can increase chances of investigation. He also says that low-attention CEOs can help a company because they do not see the need to do interviews or press conferences but instead work on what needs to be done in a company.

Scandals

Wahlgren, Eric. "If Only CEO Meant Chief Ethical Officer". Business Week (Online). 13 Jun 2002: ABI/INFORM Trade & Industry, ProQuest. Web. 8 Nov. 2009 <http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=4&did=125298221&SrchMode=1&sid=1&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1257716444&clientId=10553>

The author discusses in this article the prominence of greed in the world of CEOs, and how greed equates to the ever-growing scandals arising from the top paid executives.

Novack, Kate."CEO scandals: Get your scorecard." Time. 23 Jun 2003: Research Library, ProQuest. Web. 8 Nov. 2009. <http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=19&did=353025761&SrchMode=1&sid=1&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1257716416&clientId=10553>

The six big CEO scandals during the 2000s including Enron’s fraudulent executives appear in short, summarized forms.