Post 8

Many people will agree that CEOs of companies make huge amounts of money in comparison to their peers and subordinates. However, what angers or frustrates many employees or stockholders in that company is that the CEO is offered bonuses for serving the interests of the company over the general welfare of people. But what if a system was created in which CEOs were incentivized for making decisions that are better for the environment and/or the general public?

There are many variations for this method to work and one, as stated in the textbook, is to have a board of directors that can hire and fire CEOs. This would keep the CEO levelheaded and prevent irrational actions or hasty judgments from the CEO because he or she would feel more pressure to “make a decision that benefits everyone.” Currently, CEOs have little to no obligation to make public goals a priority over company profits but with a board with such power, public interests will be in the back of his or her head when making decisions.

If there were companies in the modern age that try to serve the public interests’ to some capacity, it would be Google or Microsoft. Google has successfully put all the information in the world one click away. On the other hand, Microsoft has created software that is used in businesses, schools, and other institutions that contributes to other innovations. Both Google and Microsoft have done their fair share of trying to bring Internet access to under privileged countries and areas as well.
If CEOs were incentivized for decisions that benefited the general public and had less negative impact on the environment, corruption would also decrease significantly. If CEOs were compensated for making “excellent” decisions, they would not consider taking a risky alternative by accepting bribes and doing “under the table” dealings. Another advantage of this system is the fact that the overall image of a CEO would improve drastically. Right now, many think of CEOs as men or women in suits who do nothing but sit behind their desks all day and get in trouble for corruption or making decisions that negatively affect the employees or stockholders. If this CEO pay system were created, CEOs would go out of their way to improve the company and at the same time preserve the environment and satisfy the general public. CEOs would then receive their bonuses and the general public would be happy. This creates a win-win situation for all parties concerned.