ABSTRACT
As noted in prior chapters, CEO compensation has been the subject of intense public debate and remains a very controversial issue. Boards and executives have been criticized about the level of executive compensation, which has risen dramatically as compared to the pay of the average worker and to the actual growth of companies. Other aspects of CEO employment contracts that outrage the public are the use of exorbitant perks, golden parachutes for ousted executives, large sign-on packages for their replacements, and very weak to nonexistent pay-for-performance relations. All of these have created the impression that there is something deeply wrong, perhaps even “immoral” (in the words of President Obama) in these corporate practices.
