Sears' board of directors looked to a set of numbers that excluded the majority of the $650 million in after-tax, one-time charges Sears took last year, according to Sears spokeswoman Peggy Palter. The charges, which trimmed Sears' earnings per share by $1.98, included "ones that the board determined weren't within the 2001 executives' control," Ms. Palter says.
Altogether, Mr. Lacy took home $2.2 million in compensation last year, including $487,983 under a long-term compensation plan that is tied to increases in customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction and shareholder return.
Moderator Comment: How can companies work out equitable compensation packages for top executives that do not hurt organizational morale and adversely affect other stakeholders?
Executive compensation stories are becoming everyday news. When business is up it isn't such a big issue. When business drops off however...
We remember the story of a small company that had gone through a major downsizing and its chief executive made a point of how everyone was going to be required to make sacrifices for the company to right itself. The next day, the same executive drove into the company parking lot in a brand new Mercedes. Timing in business management (as they say in life and comedy) is everything. [George Anderson - Moderator]