Recommended Reading - Putting a Value on a C.E.O., NY Times Dealbook

Andrew Ross Sorkin wrote a terrific column today in the New York Times Dealbook.  His piece provided a brief but incisive  overview of the issues surrounding the controversy over CEO pay and performance.  Sorkin starts off the column asking why Vikram Pandit, Citigroup’s embattled one year old CEO, should remain in his position.  According to Sorkin,

Many Americans, including many people on Wall Street, would argue that an executive with a record like that (referring to Pandit) should get paid little or nothing.  

The reference to Pandit related more to the problem than Pandit’s actual circumstances or his own opinion on what should take place with regard to Pandit.  In the piece Sorkin goes on to review what many of the specialists in the field think and what options exist for improving the problem.  If you are at all interested in executive compensation and performance check it out. 

Recommended Reading - Bank bailout also curbs CEO pay, NPR Marketplace

Rachel Dornhelm of NPR's Marketplace had an audio/written story on NPR's Marketplace this morning that focused on how the recent bank bailout and the subsequent curbs on CEO pay could actually result in changes in the compensation structure for CEOs in numerous industries. There remains great skepticism over whether the new restrictions on CEO compensation imposed in the recent bailout package will actually have any impact even in the financial related sector. Dornhelm's interview of Professor Charles Elson, the head of the University of Delaware's Corporate Governance Program and Mark Borges, a compensation consultant with Compensia, raised the possiblility that the new restrictions may actually have an impact on CEOs outside the bailout. For more on the story check out the Marketplace piece.

Pay For Performance Innovator Still A Believer

As CEO pay continues to be a hot topic, one of the original innovators in this concept, Michael Jensen, a professor emeritus at the Harvard Graduate School of Business remains a true believer. In an article by Louis Uchitelle in the International Herald Tribune he discusses Dr. Jensen's thoughts on the concept and how he thinks it can be fixed. Take a look if you are interested in CEO pay.

CEO Pay - A Surprising Argument in Favor

Former Secretary of Labor in the Clinton Administration, Robert Reich, recently provided surprising commentary in a September 14 piece in the Wall Street Journal. Reich who was usually perceived as far to the left of his boss, Bill Clinton, recently wrote a piece entitled CEOs Deserve Their Pay. Worth a look, I prefer to defer comment on the issue.

For more see:

Economist's View Blog
Business Week Management IQ Blog
ReputationXchange Blog