Top-level Compensation disparity LO21133

Malcolm Burson (mburson@mint.net)
Fri, 2 Apr 1999 09:13:38 -0500

It's corporate annual meeting season again, and in the midst of filling
out proxy solicitations, each with its discussion of stock options,
executive compensation structures, etc., I found myself boiling over with
rage when I heard on National Public Radio this morning the report on the
differences in "typical" compensation for CEO's in the US and UK, compared
with the rest of the world. Perhaps I'm a little off on the numbers, but
I heard it said that in the US, the average annual salary (NOT including
options, etc.) for CEO's in the 300 largest US firms as $1.2 million, and
in the UK, $750,000. In German, it was about $350,000. At the same time,
US workers average only 11 days of paid annual vacation, while those in
Germany average 30 days. To frame the issue in the context of our
conversation here,

What is the impact on organizational learning (and particularly on
nurturing the five disciplines) when even relatively well-paid front line
workers and supervisors perceive that their labor is, in part, making a
very few people in the company incredibly wealthy? or don't we think
anyone notices..........?

-- 

mburson@mint.net Orono, Maine (207) 866-0019

"When old words die out on the tongue, new melodies break forth from the heart; and where the old tracks are lost, new country is revealed with its wonders." -- Rabindranath Tagore

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