Introduction to Business
Introduction to Business
OER 2018 Edition
ISBN: 9781947172548
Author: OpenStax
Publisher: OpenStax College
bartleby

Concept explainers

Textbook Question
Book Icon
Chapter 6, Problem 1EA

Are top executives paid too much? A study of CEO compensation revealed that CEO bonuses nose considerably—from 20 percent to 30 percent—even at companies whose revenues or profits dropped or those that reported significant employee layoffs. Such high for CEOs at underperforming companies. as well as CEO compensation at companies with stellar results, has raised many questions from investors and others. The highest gap in pay was in 2000. CEO pay at the largest U.S. firms was 376 times higher than that of average workers. The gap has shrunk to only 271 times higher in 2016, but that is still a lot higher than the 59-to-l ratio in 1989. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) now requires public companies to disclose full details of executive compensation, including salaries, bonuses, pensions, benefits, stock options, and severance and retirement packages.

Even some CEOs question the high levels of CEO pay. Edgar Woolard, Jr. former CEO and chairman of DuPont, thinks so. "CEO pay is driven today primarily by outside consultant surveys," he says. Companies all want their

Expert Solution & Answer
Check Mark
Summary Introduction

To discuss:

Whether increasing the compensation of the CEO at the time of organization's financial crisis is ethical.

Introduction:

Financial crisis can arise at any time, and the managers, CEOs and other senior officials must be ready for every situation. The job of a CEO, manager or any other senior official is very challenging, because they are the policy makers of the company, and if any financial crisis arises, they are answerable.

Explanation of Solution

Yes, it is true that the CEO and managers are paid high as compared to other employees, but other employees are not answerable to anyone during financial crises. CEOs and managers are those who are responsible to carry the company on the top and save the company from crises. Hence, it is ethical to compensate them more.

Sometimes they might fail in their work, but they try their best to keep the companysafe. No manager or CEO can take out the company from every tough situation every time, but it is their responsibility to hire the best employees, who can help them to resolvethe problems.A manager should be capable of analyzing every situation correctly, and create a good team to reduce the problems. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)helps to disclose the executive's compensation publicly. Following the SEC mandates, all the companies disclose about the compensation matters.Hence, disclosing compensations of senior officials is also ethical.

Want to see more full solutions like this?

Subscribe now to access step-by-step solutions to millions of textbook problems written by subject matter experts!
Students have asked these similar questions
April 2012, Forbes' magazine began its annual report on executive com- pensation with the following: "Our report on executive compensation will only fuel the outrage over corporate greed. In 2011 the chief executives of the 500 biggest companies in the U....got a collective pay raise of 16% last year, to $5.2 billion. This compares with a 3% pay raise for the average American worker. The total averages out to $10.5 million apiece....So much for the moral suasion granted to shareholders last year with the first-ever say-on-pay votes for U.S. public companies." (Forbes, April 4, 2012) Public criticism of executive compensation, especially among top execu- tives of U.S. based public-traded corporations, increased significantly following the economic collapse that began in 2008. For many observers, the magnitude of executive pay, both in absolute terms and relative to average workers, particu- larly needed to be addressed at a time when failed management was at fault for so much public and…
How would you characterize the manager's warning to Suzy:  "You may get everyone a few dollars in back pay, but you'll also cost everybody their jobs. Remember, some of your coworkers are single parents who need this extra income to make ends meet." Does FLSA specifically address this type of "intimidating" statement?  If so, how?
Read the passage and answer the questions that follows  Jenkins Consulting is a national firm that helps companies improve their performance and effectiveness by advising on all aspects of business management and operations. Companies hire consultants from Jenkins Consulting for a variety of projects such as assisting with company-wide cost reduction initiatives or revenue growth initiatives, improving supply-chain management, and/or improving individual departments such as information technology. Jenkins employs consultants in 200 offices across the United States and will soon expand its operations internationally. A company located in the United Kingdom has hired Jenkins for a major project that will be based at the company’s headquarters in London. Jenkins will assist the company with an organization-wide effort to restructure and reposition the company to succeed in a more competitive market. To complete this project, Jenkins will assign five full-time consultants for a period of…
Knowledge Booster
Background pattern image
Business
Learn more about
Need a deep-dive on the concept behind this application? Look no further. Learn more about this topic, subject and related others by exploring similar questions and additional content below.
Similar questions
SEE MORE QUESTIONS
Recommended textbooks for you
Text book image
Foundations of Business (MindTap Course List)
Marketing
ISBN:9781337386920
Author:William M. Pride, Robert J. Hughes, Jack R. Kapoor
Publisher:Cengage Learning