4 assignments

Objectives

The aim of this assignment is make use of online information to assess the financial performance of corporate CEOs.

Instructor Comments

How much is a CEO worth? How is he or she performing relative to his or her peers in competing organizations? Be it in boom times or in recession, answers to these questions are of great interest to shareholders, stakeholders and observers alike. However, the answers are not always simple. Should compensation be tied to financial performance? If so, does financial performance mean profits, or revenues, or share price, or some other indicator? Or should performance be judged relative to competitors or the market in general? If it should not be tied to performance then what should be the level of compensation. Should it be a negotiated amount or an absolute figure or an industry average? This assignment directs your thoughts to these queries. At its conclusion, you should have an improved understanding of just how difficult it is to get the formula right.

Assignment

This assignment seeks to help you understand the answer to a broader concern and that is, “How senior managers perform relative to the market and to their peers in competing organizations”? In order to do so, please identify sources of financial information about your company, its industry and its competitors. You should base your responses to the following questions on your analysis of the company that you have chosen for this course along with its direct competitors.

Please answer the following questions:

· Identify the three most direct competitors of this firm and its industry.

· For this firm and its competitors, identify the CEO and provide a three sentence bio for each. How long has each of these individuals been in the CEO position.

· Indicate how much each individual was paid in each of the last three years. Include salary, bonuses, and stock options.

· Document the share price performance of this firm and its three major competitors for the last three years. Also make note of any relevant industry measures. Comment on its performance relative to the industry and its competitors.

· Document the financial performance of this firm and its three major competitors for the last three years. Choose three relevant measures. Comment on its performance relative to the industry and its competitors.

· Have any events occurred in the macro or competitive environment that have had a major impact on all of the competitors in this industry? If so, what is it or are they?

· Given what you know about the CEO, his or her compensation, the macro and competitive environments, the share price and financial performance of the company and its competitors, is the CEO doing a good job when assessed according to these measures?

· In one half page, please summarize what you think is the connection between the key insights of the Simons, Mintzberg & Basu (2002) reading and this assignment.