Expert Perspective - Rewards
by Michael Dennis Graham
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September 28th, 2010
Expert Perspective by Grahall’s OmniMedia Editorial Board
In their September 24, 2010 article for the Wall Street Journal authors Thomas Catan and Brent Kendall (U.S. Tech Probe Nears End) write: “Several of the U.S.’s largest technology companies are in advanced talks with the Justice Department to avoid a court battle over whether they colluded to hold down wages by agreeing not to poach each other’s employees… these agreements constitute an effort by companies to fix the price of labor, and are therefore just as harmful as price-fixing or bid-rigging—automatic violations of antitrust law.”
Silicon Valley’s response has been two-fold.
Continue reading “No Harm No Foul? The Justice Department Finds Anti-Trust Violations in Hiring Practices” »
Filed under: Expert Perspective - Rewards
Tags: antitrust, hiring practices, sherman act, wage control
Expert Perspective - Rewards
by Michael Dennis Graham
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September 20th, 2010
Expert Perspective from Grahall’s OmniMedia Editorial Board
Executive compensation and what is seen as near gluttonous bonus payments during a time when the average American is more likely hurting than not has been a recurring theme in the media. The Institute for Policy Research has completed its 2009 study of CEO pay titled CEO Pay and the Great Recession that compares for those companies that are the top “layoffs leaders” for the 17 month period, November 1, 2008 to April 1 2010, with the total compensation paid to each CEO for the year 2009.
There are a couple things that aren’t well articulated in either the report or the article covering it by Roland Jones for msnbc.com (CEOs lay off thousands, rake in millions) by Roland Jones.
Continue reading “Rail Against the Chief” »
Filed under: Expert Perspective - Rewards
Tags: Executive compensation
Expert Perspective - Rewards
by Michael Dennis Graham
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September 20th, 2010
Expert Perspective by Grahall’s OmniMedia Editorial Board
In his article for Business Week How to Handle CEO Pay Before Dodd-Frank Hits Bill George subtitles his article “Financial reform will bring unintended effects.” And then goes on to outline “six policies that should be rigorously followed, including in bad times when boards are more prone to bend the rules for those in their top ranks.” On the surface, George’s ideas seems reasonable but lets dive down a bit deeper into them and see what the unintended consequences might be of these directives.
Continue reading “It’s Not Easy to Make Executive Compensation Truly Effective” »
Filed under: Expert Perspective - Rewards
Tags: Executive compensation
Expert Perspective - Rewards
by Michael Dennis Graham
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September 14th, 2010
Expert Perspective by Grahall’s OmniMedia Editorial Board
It likely didn’t come as a surprise to anyone that the Kaiser Family Foundation Employer Health Benefits 2010 Survey, according to the article September 2, 2010 article in the New York Times by Reed Abelson (Employers Push Costs for Health on Workers), found that “Workers’ share of the cost of a family [health insurance] policy jumped an average of 14 percent, an increase of about $500 a year. The cost of a policy rose just 3 percent, to an average of $13,770… Since 2005, while wages have increased just 18 percent, workers’ contributions to premiums have jumped 47 percent, almost twice as fast as the rise in the policy’s overall cost.”
Clearly there are forces at play here that have been around for a long, long time. Health care reform is supposed to fix some of those problems. But with little happening before 2014, companies and consumers are left to wonder what reform will mean for the overall health of Americans and that of their wallets.
Continue reading “Prevention may still better (and cheaper) than the cure even with Health Care Reform” »
Filed under: Expert Perspective - Rewards
Tags: Health Care Reform
Expert Perspective
by Michael Dennis Graham
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August 17th, 2010
Expert Perspective: Health Care Reform
Since late March of this year when the Health Care reform bill because law Americans have been wondering just who will be the winners and who will be the losers from this “sweeping piece of social legislation.” (Time Magazine, March 23, 2010). In his recent article for Heath Care Reform Magazine The Winners & Losers of Healthcare Reform Steve Karp begins to help us understand the answer to this question. Read Steve’s article to find out where you and me along with American businesses, politicians, and the health care industry fall in the “win and lose” columns.
Continue reading “The Winners & Losers of Healthcare Reform—a Preliminary View by Steve Karp” »
Filed under: Expert Perspective
Tags: Health Care Reform
Expert Perspective - Rewards
by Michael Dennis Graham
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August 17th, 2010
Expert Perspective by Grahall’s OmniMedia Editorial Board
In Scott Wilson’s August 4, 2010 article in the Washington Post (Obama orders freeze on bonuses, monetary rewards for federal political appointees) he says: “President Obama ordered a freeze Tuesday on all bonuses and other monetary awards to federal political appointees…White House officials estimate that 2,900 employees will be affected by the order, which is projected to save the
government $1.9 million a year. “
Clearly this is a symbolic gesture on the part of President Obama and we wonder how much it “cost” the country to have him and his staff deliberate, decide and communicate this change which is insignificant not only to the country as a whole but likely to the appointees.
Continue reading “Too little of a good thing” »
Filed under: Expert Perspective - Rewards
Tags: federal appointee bonuses
Expert Perspective - Rewards
by Michael Dennis Graham
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August 10th, 2010
Expert Perspective by Grahall’s OmniMedia Editorial Board
If we have said it once we have said it a thousand times: when allocating one of your most scarce resources (that would be cash for rewards) don’t target pay solely on how an individual performs, but on how important that job is to the success of the enterprise. The more important the position, the higher the possible (and actual) rewards should be. Attracting and retaining top talent and high performing individuals to the most important jobs in your organization is critical to lasting success. Using this approach in your Total Rewards strategy may actually lower costs of attracting and retaining average individuals. Any incremental increase in compensation cost allocated to truly high performers in critical positions will be more than offset by the business results achieved through their greater output.
Continue reading “If we have said it once…” »
Filed under: Expert Perspective - Rewards
Tags: ceo compensation, executive rewards, not for proft ceo compensation
Expert Perspective - Rewards
by Michael Dennis Graham
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August 3rd, 2010
Expert Perspective by Grahall’s OmniMedia Editorial Board
With a sad shake of our heads and an audible sigh we read the article By Jim Puzzanghera and Nathaniel Popper Pay czar slams bonuses but doesn’t seek refund and agreed that “it’s just politics”. Clearly our Special Pay Master, Pay Czar, or whatever you care to call him really didn’t have much influence over anything payments made by TARP companies. The nose thumbing that makes Wall Street universally disliked by Main Street was this time, clearly directed at Feinberg with them saying, in effect “we don’t damn about how you think we should run our companies.” And Feinberg blinked.
Continue reading “Politics as Usual” »
Filed under: Expert Perspective - Rewards
Tags: Executive bonuses, pay czar, Wall Street
Expert Perspective - Rewards
by Michael Dennis Graham
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July 20th, 2010
Expert Perspective by Grahall’s OmniMedia Editorial Board
Being the top paid CEO in the automobile industry might not be much to crow about in our world of TARP bailouts and Japanese dominance, but for Ford CEO Alan Mulally, his take home pay is significantly greater than his U.S. and Japanese counterparts. A June 29th article for Auto in the News titled Ford CEO Mulally Gets Paid More Than Top Three Japanese Execs Combined tells us that: “As the only Big Three automaker that didn’t get a bailout and fall into bankruptcy… [Ford’s CEO] Mulally has been an integral part of the Blue Oval’s ongoing turnaround, and as a result his efforts are reflected in his salary. In 2009, Mulally reportedly earned $17.9 million in cash and bonuses. This officially makes him the world’s top-paid auto chief.”
Perhaps these seemingly huge paychecks are part of our national culture of “rock stars” where entertainers, athletes and, maybe even CEOs are paid because they are the product. No question that a company’s CEO isn’t your average “Joe”, and it is clear that Mulally is, if not “the product” per se, he has become at least a hero of sorts for the Ford Motor Company.
Continue reading ““Cleanliness is next to Fordliness.” – Aldous Huxley, Brave New World” »
Filed under: Expert Perspective - Rewards
Tags: Executive compensation
Expert Perspective
by Michael Dennis Graham
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July 20th, 2010
Expert Perspective by Grahall’s OmniMedia Editorial Board
Kevin Crowley’s July 12th article in Bloomberg announcing the planned acquisition of Hewitt Associates by Aon (Aon to Purchase Hewitt for $4.9 Billion in Cash, Stock) sparked a lively conversation amongst our Editorial Board members. Aon is, as Crowley says: “…the world’s largest insurance broker” and Hewitt “…provides payroll and consulting services to 3,000 clients.”
Upon the announcement, Aon’s shares initially dropped by 10% but both Aon’s and Hewitt’s stock prices are up slightly for the week. For Aon, this result might be based on the strength of an upgraded rating from “hold” to “buy” by Bank of America Merrill Lynch analyst Jay Cohen.
But other than some possible anxiety on the part of Aon shareholders, what does this acquisition suggest?
Continue reading “Caveat Emptor” »
Filed under: Expert Perspective
Tags: consulting firms, mergers and acquisitions
Expert Perspective by Grahall’s OmniMedia Editorial Board