Category: Uncategorized

I believe that it is critical to compensate executives accordingly if they are responsible for the growth and development of a company. Executives are put in their positions for a reason, and they are key components of the business in leading and motivating the other employees. The divergence of pay between employees and executives is alarming, but often times the difference in pay is due to stock compensation. Executives who have been a part of the company for a long time may have large amounts of company stock that can increase their overall income and create that divergence of pay between executives and employees. There are issues however when the company is not performing well, yet the executives are getting way more than a typical employee. I believe that executive pay can be excessive in situations where the company is not growing or producing profits, but in situations where the executives are key cogs in the business and they are growing and producing profits, I believe it can be justified.

The rise of the stock market has definitely increased the divergence of executive pay and employee pay. Average employees may not have stock compensation so they are solely relying on their salaries. Executives can have bigger salaries and huge compensation packages in the form of stocks. If the company is performing well and the stock is rising, the potential growth of their compensation can be scaled. In addition I believe that executive pay is rising due to the competitive nature of business today. There are always competitors that are looking to take away your business so companies may feel obligated to pay a premium for their top talent. Top executives that are loyal to a company are harder to find than typical employees who may be replaced easily.

I believe that there should be some change to the executive compensation so that there is not such a divergence even if the company is not performing well. It is easy to give praise and compensation to the executives when things are going well, but it should work the same way in reverse if the company is not performing well. When the company is not meeting expectations there should be a close look at the executives and they should be the first ones to give up part of their salaries if they are not executing on the companies goals. Stock compensation also should be offered more regularly to employees so that they can experience the added benefits if they choose to enroll and believe in the future of the company. Each employee plays a role in the company so I believe all employees should have an opportunity to have some skin in the game.

In class there were many benefits that companies can offer that seemed appealing to me. The most important being the 401k or retirement plan that I could take advantage of. Other benefits such as healthcare, dental and vision care, life insurance, paid sick leave, child care, and company cars/phones were things that appealed to me. I believe that the 401k or retirement plans are the most important benefits that a company can offer because it allows you to set aside money for your retirement to assure a better retirement and the employers are often matching your donations. Taking advantage of this is critical if your employer offers this because it is in essence free money. I am a long term thinker and so I am always thinking about how to save and invest my money now so that I can have a financially stable future. The next biggest benefits for me are the insurance and care plans that help you save immense amounts of money. Taking care of your body can be very expensive and you never know when something bad may happen so it is great to have insurance and not have to worry about super expensive bills.

However, although I would love to have these benefits, what is most important to me is that there is room for advancement in a company so that I could scale my income and continue growing. While the benefits can amount to a great sum of money, I personally would prefer to have an increased income where I can decide where to allocate and invest my money. When you are able to advance in a company there is incredible opportunity to receive a much greater income and often times receive a stock based compensation. If I am working for a company that I believe will have a great future and great growth ahead of it, there is a possibility that your income multiplies over time through the appreciation of the company’s stock.

Throughout my sophomore and junior year of high school I worked at a McDonalds in Sherwood, OR. I applied in the summer going into my sophomore year when I learned that five of my closest friends were going to apply there. The idea of going to work with my friends sounded super fun and that fact that I was going to get paid for it was great. As I started working at McDonalds I was having a lot of fun, hanging out with my friends, getting free food, and pretty flexible hours. As time went on I increasingly got better at my job, I was able to do virtually every task asked of a regular employee and a manager. Within six months of working at the establishment I was promoted to a MIT or manager in training.

Although that promotion may have seemed great, the increase in pay was minimal while the expectation of my work increased greatly. What started as a job for fun to hang out with friends and make some money on the side became an obligation to show up at certain times and being expected to do certain things that I felt was not worth the time. I believe that the position I was in allowed me to decide what to do with the job. I knew I was highly skilled and did not deserve the same pay as other employees, but I also did not need the job. If I was an older individual who had more financial obligations then maybe I would have seen the situation differently. Expectancy Theory is something that I believed very highly in as a young boy, that if I worked harder and was more productive I should expect higher payment or rewards for doing so, but this was far from the case at McDonalds. For me the benefits to becoming a manager did not outweigh the negatives so I decided to leave the job. I was the last of all my friends to leave the job and felt that I was no longer having fun with it so leaving felt like the right thing to do.