Are top executives paid too much? Do the companies run by the most highly paid executives perform better than other companies? Do U.S. executives make more money than their foreign counterparts? These are some of the questions asked routinely in articles and surveys about executive compensation. Moreover, the Securities and Exchange Commission is calling for better disclosure of pay packages for a company’s top five executives.

Use the Internet to locate the top executive salary rankings compiled annually by business publications and other sources. Study the rankings and select several U.S. and foreign companies in the same industry for comparison. You can access this type of information on the Internet in several ways. One way is to do key word searches using terms like executive compensation or executive salary survey. Another way is to go to the website of a business publication, such as www.forbes.com, and do key word searches of articles. You can also access corporate websites and read their annual reports. Some corporate websites are searchable by key word; you might use a phrase like compensation discussion and analysis.

1. In your review of top executive compensation, what types of incentives did you find included in annual compensation?

2. Are the companies with the highest-paid executives the best performers in their industry?

3. Do U.S. executives receive higher pay than their foreign counterparts? If so, do the U.S. companies perform better than their foreign counterparts?