CEO Pay

In this era of government bailouts, the intensity of executive pay scrutiny has escalated, as have the criticisms that executive pay is excessive. The chapter section “Executive Compensation: Ethics and Accountability” presents many factors related to this issue.

Can there be any justification for a CEO being paid 100 million dollars for a given year when his or her company lost 50 million? Under what circumstances could that CEO actually be underpaid?

Here are supplemental resources to enhance the discussion:

1. Locate the latest executive pay data at www.forbes.com by keying in the search phrase “CEO compensation” where you will find slideshows, charts, and videos that can spark discussion.
2. Register free at www.cfo.com and conduct a search on executive compensation legislation to get an update on what the textbook reports on that issue.
3. Check out the AFL-CIO’s extensive “Executive PayWatch Database.”