Assignment: Compensation Debates

1) Just how much is that CEO worth? The disparity between what chief executive officers earn and what their employees earn continues to grow exponentially. CEO pay levels have increased dramatically for more than 20 years. Pay levels for workers, however, have stagnated. Do executive compensation figures reflect an efficient market, or a failed one? Are pay levels adequately disclosed? Should shareholders have more say? Are there issues of fairness and justice?

2) Are teachers overpaid? Should teacher's pay be merit based and, if so, how do you measure performance?

3) Last March, the Villanova-North Carolina basketball contest averaged 17.8 million viewers across the Turner networks. This was the second most viewed college basketball game ever on cable, behind only the Wisconsin-Kentucky seminal the year before at 28.3 million. Should NCAA Student-Athletes be paid? Why or why not?

4) The compensation and retirement package for Gloria Pace King, president of the United Way of Central Carolinas, in Charlotte, N.C., has prompted a debate about whether salaries of nonprofit executives should mirror those of for-profit executives. Ms. King's compensation was $1.2-million in the fiscal year ending June 2007 and included more than $822,000 in retirement benefits, reports The Charlotte Observer. The United Way's board chairman told the newspaper the retirement payments were larger than usual because the organization discovered it had not paid the appropriate amounts since 2000. Should non-profit heads be paid the same as for-profit leaders?

5) Donald Trump had requested a $5 million payday from CNN in order to participate in the political debates last December. If you are a media company, what is your take on this request?