In theory, the owners of public companies are the shareholders. Managers, including top managers, are employees who are supposed to act as agents for the owners. Yet, top managers often are compensated like famous athletes and celebrities, although many argue managers can be replaced more easily. Executive compensation is largely unregulated.

Please consider the issue, and address one of the following questions:

Are executives overpaid? Why or why not?

Was Steve Wynns executive compensation justified? Why or why not?

Should executive compensation be regulated to protect the shareholders? Why or why not?

Would you support a maximum wage, and if so, what would you support (e.g., 100 times the lowest worker, or 100 times the average worker? As a comparison, Plato (the ancient Greek philosopher) suggested 5 times the lowest worker, and the management guru, Peter F. Drucker argued as recently as the mid-1980s said that no leader should earn more than 20 times the company's lowest-paid employee (at the time, CEO pay was 40 times). His reasoning was if the CEO took too large a share of the rewards, it would make a mockery of the contributions of all the other employees in a successful organization.