Time to cap salaries?

07/08/2009

Writing in today's Guardian, Andrew Simms - Policy Director of the New Economics Foundation - argues that the time has come to cap salaries, noting that:

One of the fathers of modern banking, JP Morgan, believed that to motivate people you didn't need a ratio of more than 10 between the highest and lowest paid. This is common knowledge in management school, but seemingly ignored in the workplace.

We know now all too well how destructive are the forces of seeking profit and pay maximisation for their own sake. Another benefit emerges of capping high pay or setting a maximum ratio between highest and lowest paid: beyond that level, an executive's performance has to be judged against achievements other than personal accumulation. So, instead of status derived from higher incomes, the desire to excel can instead be directed toward the social contribution and environmental performance of the bank or company involved.


You can read the rest of Andrew Simms' piece here.

Posted in: Labour market

Tagged with: Wages

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