Haves and the Have Nots: The Abuse of Power and Privilege in the Workplace … and How to Control It, The

Chapter 2. The First R—Rewards: Compensating Privilege

In June 1998, a fast-food industry employee was quoted as saying, “McDonald's isn't paying its middle managers any bonuses this year, but the CEO gets a bonus of $1 million…. And they wonder why they have trouble holding on to good employees.”^[1]

Two years earlier, the increase in the total pay package of IBM's CEO, Louis V. Gerstner Jr., over what he had received the previous year, was reported to be almost 30 percent, giving him an annual income of about $20.2 million. Admittedly, it was a terrific year for IBM. One index of the company's success, its stock's market value, rose approximately $43 billion. Consequently, in addition to rewarding Mr. Gerstner, the company decided to award its ...