| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 1748.2 | | SQM::MACDONALD | | Fri Jan 31 1992 10:47 | 16 |
|
Re: .0
Well it is about time! Companies could learn a lesson from
Ben and Jerry's, for example that limits top executive pay
to be no more than 7 times the lowest rate of pay in the company.
They've had a tough time finding talent with that policy but they
found it.
The anecdote about Ralph Nader comes to mind. He recently at one
of his campaign stops in NH asked the crowd if anyone would buy
an American car and one guy quipped: "Yeah, when Lee Iacocca takes
a pay cut."
Steve
|
| 1748.3 | Hope it catches on! | PLOUGH::KINZELMAN | Paul Kinzelman | Fri Jan 31 1992 16:16 | 8 |
| Excellent move! Tho high, I thought the management salaries in DEC were
much lower than some other companies.
One of the issues brought to Jack Smith when I met with him was a newspaper
article about the high salaries of executives of a number of companies.
Somebody had posted it on the bulletin board. His name and KO's was on
there. I said that the raises didn't look very good when people were being
laid off. He kept the copy I brought.
|
| 1748.4 | Another Hollywood Epic in the making! | A1VAX::GUNN | I couldn't possibly comment | Fri Jan 31 1992 18:54 | 16 |
| "In the coming weeks, Calstrs will meet with targeted companies...."
I can't resist - set tongue in cheek!
BOOK NOW FOR THE FIGHT OF THE CENTURY!!!
CALIFORNIA STATE TEACHERS RETIREMENT SYSTEM
versus
DIGITAL INVESTOR RELATIONS
starring.....
Any regular reader of this Notesfile can fill in the rest.
|
| 1748.5 | Motives of Management Leaders? | LUDWIG::LOGSDON | | Fri Jan 31 1992 19:13 | 8 |
| A quote from a Eastern Airlines ex employee.
"I remember when I worked for people trying to make or serve something
to make money, now I work for people who make money trying to make or
serve something."
There is a big difference in the motives between the two..
Dennis
|
| 1748.6 | It's A "BLOODY WONDER" | EJOVAX::JFARLEY | | Sun Feb 02 1992 10:21 | 6 |
| The recent "bloodbath" referred to as "bloody January" according to
"higher level mangers" was necessary to control costs-this was in one
side of the mouth and then we have "10 more Vice Presidents" added in
the same "blood bath" period coming out of the other side of the mouth.
Who is speaking with "Forked Tongue" here?????????????????????????????
|
| 1748.7 | the other side of the debate | 27884::HAMILTON | All models are false; some are useful - Dr. G. Box | Mon Feb 03 1992 11:31 | 26 |
|
It is clear that exec. compensation in this country needs to
be reformed, but keep something else in mind. The people who
will be driving these changes (the heads of major pension
funds with billions in assets) are probably not all as pure
as the driven snow either.
In fact, aren't they basically the same people who have been
driving the "short term return" mentality in American business?
If a pension fund manager is measured on her return on the assets
quarter over quarter, doesn't she have an incentive to drive
CEO changes (by manipulating the compensation) of major corporations.
A case in point is DEC (since the basenote lists DEC as one of the
"targeted" companies). One of the positive things DEC senior officers
have done is to resist the "scum-street" pressure to cut R&D spending.
If the pension funds start agitating for compensation change, how
long do you suppose it'll be before they want to make hire/fire
decisions? And will those decisions also be based upon quarter over
quarter results, or will they take the longer term view of the
payoff of research?
There's two sides to every issue.
Glenn
|
| 1748.8 | We may deserve it | MKFSA::WENTWORTH | | Mon Feb 03 1992 12:42 | 13 |
| RE: .7
I agree that investers are wise to take a long term view of a company's
business practices but I really can't fault institutional disfavor with
DEC's performance. Our current share price equals the 1984/85 period,
stock purchased after that is probably a loser. I guess it comes down
to what is long term; a year, five years, ten ?
Senior management salaries don't really have that great an impact on
the companies financial performance, lately they do seem to impact
employee morale.
I do agree with your point about the fund managers salaries being quite
high but I think they are tied in more closely to performance than
industry in general.
|
| 1748.9 | | STRIKE::LENNARD | | Mon Feb 03 1992 13:27 | 7 |
| Generally sounds like a good move to me, and I'd like to see a lot
more of it. I believe that there is a special obligation when you
are a corporate "officer". It's called accepting responsibility.
In severe cases that obligation can also involve resigning when you
clearly can no longer manage the situation. We still have a lot to
learn from the Japanese.
|
| 1748.10 | Have I got the right man? | BWICHD::SILLIKER | Crocodile Sandwich-Make it Snappy | Mon Feb 03 1992 14:01 | 7 |
| re: .9...
Are you, mayhaps, the same Lennard who told me that the J..s word would
get me into trouble in conference #1742??? :^)
If not, mea culpa!
...mms
|
| 1748.11 | | STRIKE::LENNARD | | Mon Feb 03 1992 14:24 | 4 |
| re -1 .... what, pray tell, are you talking about?
"Japanese" is accepted terminology. Last time I checked "Japs" wasn't.
|
| 1748.12 | Monday confusion blues | BWICHD::SILLIKER | Crocodile Sandwich-Make it Snappy | Mon Feb 03 1992 14:58 | 10 |
| Now I'm confused...I just happened to notice that there were two (?)
Lennards noting, one on node Cookie and one on node Strike, and I was
just curious, being new to this, as to whether or not they/he might be
one and the same person, that's all, no offense intended.
Re: Japanese versus Japs...was not aware that latter term implied a
slur to ANYONE, Japanese or other, was just abbreviating in the
interests of saving a keystroke or two. Will remember to be more
politically correct in the future...sigh...modern day communications
are proving to be a minefield...
Best get off, this digresses from the original topic, sorry!
|
| 1748.13 | | STRIKE::LENNARD | | Mon Feb 03 1992 16:43 | 5 |
| Oh........sorry for dumping on you. Actually, I kinda like the shorter
version, but it does hark back to WW2 and all that rot.
I'm moving off cookie to pbst to sometimes come up on strike. I
don't understand it myself. (:^)
|
| 1748.14 | rewards despite, not because of performance | REGENT::POWERS | | Tue Feb 04 1992 08:32 | 22 |
| > <<< Note 1748.8 by MKFSA::WENTWORTH >>>
> Senior management salaries don't really have that great an impact on
> the companies financial performance, lately they do seem to impact
> employee morale.
The dollar amount of executive salaries probably don't have great effect
on the bottom line of a profitable company, but a million dollar salary
package IS one tenth of one percent of a billion dollar company's sales.
Same ratio for a 10 million dollar package for a 10 billion dollar company.
Executive packages have commonly been connected to specific metrics,
a percentage of the gross profit, as a simple example.
What seems to be concerning people now is the view that top executives
are claiming these bonuses despite poor corporate performance, not as a
reward for good corporate performance.
General Motors had the poor judgement to announce its executive bonus
package and a 74,000 worker layoff during the same week.
Employee morale is a factor, but the larger question that institutional
investros are looking at is "who's minding the store, who's watching
the watchers."
|
| 1748.15 | IBM believes exec pay has an effect of sorts | CVG::THOMPSON | Radical Centralist | Tue Feb 25 1992 09:03 | 25 |
| <><><><><><><><> T h e V O G O N N e w s S e r v i c e <><><><><><><><>
Edition : 2522 Tuesday 25-Feb-1992 Circulation : 8141
IBM - Chairman expects his '91 base pay to be cut 40% to less than $1.6 million
{The Wall Street Journal, 24-Feb-92, p. A3}
This because IBM has its first annual loss ever in 1991. Mr. Akers gave that
percentage estimate in the IBM annual report, galleys of which became
available last week. An IBM spokesman said that the four other members of
IBM's management committee, its top group, will likewise probably see their
pay drop 40% or more. An industry executive said the approximately 60 other
executive who carry titles of corporate vice president or above will see their
base pay drop 10% to 20%. The IBM spokesman said that was possible, given that
IBM has been increasingly tying executives' pay to the company's performance,
but said he didn't think the issue had been resolved yet.
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