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How CEO salaries skyrocket

May 26, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Washington, May 26 (ANI): Compensation benchmarking is the main factor behind the giant leap in CEO salaries over the past two decades, according to a new American research.

Benchmarking is a standard practice in American corporations.

When setting pay, compensation committees use peer groups of executives at comparable firms to establish a “fair” market wage their CEOs.

However, the study, led by sociologist Thomas DiPrete from Columbia University, points out that a few CEOs each year “leapfrog” their peers by getting huge raises that have little to do with the performance of their companies.

Other companies then use the oversized pay of leapfroggers in subsequent benchmarks. Over time, this ratchets up pay for everyone through a “contagion effect.”

DiPrete said: “We show that rising CEO pay is not simply a function of what individual companies do, but is influenced by the behavior of leapfroggers at other firms.”

DiPrete and his colleagues (including a former CEO) used procedures laid out in compensation handbooks to reconstruct likely peer groups for CEOs listed in Standard and Poor”s annual compensation surveys.

They could then look for evidence of leapfrogging in those likely peer groups over time.

Their simulation shows that leapfrogging explains about half of the overall increase in CEO pay from 1992 to 2006.

The researchers say that the finding broadens the debate about what is driving CEO salaries upward.

Opinions on the subject have generally fallen into two camps: those who think CEOs are overpaid because of failures in corporate governance at individual firms, and those who think CEOs are paid what they deserve based on the profits they deliver to shareholders and a “superstar” labor market.

However, this study shows that ill-gotten raises for a few CEOs can lead to “legitimate” pay increases for others.

“[T]he linkages among firms produced by the benchmarking process guarantee that firm-level governance failure becomes a factor in the environment of other firms,” the researchers write.

The study will appear next week in the American Journal of Sociology. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: American Corporations, Benchmarking, Ceo Pay, Ceo Salaries, ceos, columbia university, Compensation Committees, Compensation Surveys, Contagion Effect, corporate governance, Diprete, Giant Leap, Individual Companies, linkages, Pay Increases, peer groups, Ratchets, sociologist, standard and poor, two camps

Carnarvon’s role in putting man on the moon

April 8, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

On the 20th of July 1969, Commander Neil Armstrong became the first man to set foot on the moon.

It was, to quote Armstrong, ‘one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind’ in which a small town on the West Australian coast played a vital part.

But, Carnarvon is better known for its bananas than its role in helping NASA get man to the moon and the following extraordinary rescue of Apollo 13.

The lunar mission’s three man crew was heading towards the moon in April, 1970 when the spacecraft’s oxygen tank exploded.

Jim Gregg was one of the technicians working at the Carnarvon space tracking station as it played a crucial role.

He says the situation was very serious with both time and oxygen were running out.

“The chances of getting the crew back were very low.”

Mr Gregg says technicians and engineers worked day and night to bring the crew back alive as the station provided the spaceship with the data needed to steer it back towards the Earth.

‘We essentially worked out what needed to be done and sent the commands to the vessel,’ he says.

At the time, Alison Gregg was the local correspondent for the West Australian Newspaper and was in the tracking station’s observation room adjacent to the control room during the operation.

She says she could see and hear everything that was happening.

“Everyone was concentrating furiously. I get goosebumps now just thinking about the intense concentration,” she says.

“Nobody could possibly do anything but the job they needed to do. There was no talking, no nothing, expect for the contact with NASA in Houston.”

The rescue operation took four days.

“It’s entirely remarkable that they got themselves back,” Mr Gregg says.

“When we realised that they were coming back alive, the whole place just went ape.”

Location

The coastal town of Carnarvon, with a then population of about 2000, was home to the largest NASA space tracking station outside the United States in the 1960′s and 70′s.

It was the perfect location because several orbits of the Gemini and Apollo spacecraft passed over that part of WA.

Paul Dench was the first engineer to make the station’s pay roll and managed the facility for some years.

He’s the main author of a soon-to-be-released book about the social and political history of the facility.

“I didn’t think Carnarvon’s role in the Moon Race had been given enough weight in our history,” he says.

“The story had to be told but when I started researching, some of the material was still under 30 year protection in the National archive so I couldn’t access it.”

Mr Dench says the station brought a lot of buzz to the town.

The first ever live television broadcast from Australia to the rest of the world was in fact from the streets of Carnarvon.

Mr Dench says the book has been a long time coming.

“There was a unique relationship between the town and the station and between the local people and the trackers.”

Mr Dench says most of the 230 station staff were brought to Australia from the United Kingdom.

“They arrived to this town where there was with no television and only a manual telephone exchange,” he says.

“It would have been a real culture shock.”

From 1963 until its closure in 1975, the Carnarvon Space Tracking Station supported a range of scientific and exploratory missions through NASA’s race to put a man on the Moon.

The release of the book ‘Carnarvon and Apollo: One giant leap for a small Australian town’ coincides with the 40th anniversary of the rescue of Apollo 13 on April 11, 1970.

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Neil Armstrong’s Apollo 11 flight plans may fetch £55k at auction

March 27, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

London, March 27 (ANI): The flight plans for Neil Armstrong’s historic 1969 expedition are expected to fetch 55,000 pounds when they go under the hammer in April.

Auctioneers Bonhams will invite bidding for the plans for the Apollo 11 epic journey on April 13.

The documents were said to have been previewed before being put up for sale and also have another story to offer, The Daily Express reported.

They confirmed that the astronaut messed up his lines while taking the first steps on the moon.

Armstrong was expected to say “One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind” – but he famously missed the “a” to say “One small step for man”.

The correct phrase was written on the flight plans and signed by the Armstrong himself, believed to be the only time he ever wrote down the famous words. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Apollo 11, astronaut, auction, auctioneers, bonhams, correct phrase, daily express, epic journey, fetch, first steps, Flight Plans, Giant Leap, hammer, london march, mankind, moon, Neil Armstrong

Herschel’s first insight into space reveals spectacular results

July 11, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Paris, July 11 (ANI): The Herschel Space Observatory has carried out the first test observations with all its instruments, revealing spectacular results, finding water and carbon and revealing dozens of distant galaxies.

These observations show that Herschel’s instruments are working beyond expectations. They promise a mission of rich discoveries for waiting astronomers.

On June 24, Herschel’s Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver (SPIRE) was trained on two galaxies for its first look at the Universe.

The galaxies showed up prominently, providing astronomers with their best images yet at these wavelengths, and revealing other, more distant galaxies in the background of the images.

The pictures show galaxies M66 and M74 at a wavelength of 250 microns, longer than any previous infrared space observatory, but still the shortest SPIRE wavelength.

SPIRE is designed to look at star formation in our own Galaxy and in nearby galaxies. It will also search for star-forming galaxies in the very distant Universe.

Because these galaxies are so far away, their light has taken a very long time to reach us; so by detecting them, we are looking into the past and learning how and when galaxies like our own were formed.

Herschel’s primary mirror is 3.5 m in diameter, nearly four times larger than any previous infrared space telescope.

These images prove that Herschel enables a giant leap forward in scientists’ ability to study celestial objects at far infrared wavelengths.

Scientists used Herschel’s Heterodyne Instrument for the Far-Infrared (HIFI) on June 22 to look for warm molecular gas heated by newborn massive stars in the DR21 star-forming region in Cygnus.

HIFI provided excellent data in two different observing modes, returning information on the composition of the region with unprecedented accuracy and resolution.

It works by ‘zooming in’ on specific wavelengths, revealing different spectral ‘lines’ that represent the fingerprints of atoms and molecules and even the physical conditions of the object observed.

This makes it a powerful tool to study the role of gas and dust in the formation of stars and planets and the evolution of galaxies.

Using HIFI, scientists observed ionized carbon, carbon monoxide, and water in DR21.

These different molecular lines contribute to a more complete understanding of what is happening deep in space.

The high quality of these first observations promises great new insights into the process of star formation.

Following these images, Herschel is now in the performance verification phase, where the instruments will be further tested and calibrated. (ANI)

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9/11 terror attacks voted most iconic TV moment of all time

July 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, July 10 (ANI): The 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York City have surfaced as the most iconic TV moment of all time in an online survey.

Commissioned by TV Licensing, the survey also revealed that the second most memorable televised event was Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the Moon on July21, 1969, when he made “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

However, Scots differed from the rest of viewers in Britain who took part in the online survey by putting the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 in third place.

The event was ranked third equal with the funeral of Princess Diana in 1997 by TV viewers elsewhere in the UK, while Scots put the funeral in fifth place.

A marked difference was observed in the most memorable sporting event, with Scottish viewers ranking Archie Gemmill’s goal against Holland in the 1978 World Cup in eighth place.

Viewers south of the Border chose the England team’s 1966 World Cup victory as their eighth most iconic moment.

“A lot has changed in the 40 years since Neil Armstrong first set foot on the Moon, not least how we watch TV. A great example is that many people will have gathered round a computer – rather than a TV set – to watch the most recent event in our top ten, Barack Obama’s inauguration,” the Scotsman quoted TV Licensing spokesman Fergus Reid as saying.

Football pundit and former Scottish star Alan Hansen revealed how his most memorable TV moment inspired his career, saying: “I remember watching the World Cup final in 1970, Italy versus Brazil, the fourth goal, and at that moment knew that I wanted to be there myself, playing in games like that in a World Cup. I will never forget watching that game.”

Former BBC senior manager Andrew Jones, the head of journalism at Aberdeen’s Robert Gordon University, said: “It’s interesting that the most iconic moments are major news events, rather than comedy and entertainment. The difference between 9/11 and other news stories, and what made it extraordinary, was that the audience were participants when the second tower came down. It was in real time on people’s screens.”

He added: “I’m not surprised Diana’s funeral was not No3 in Scotland, as there are probably more republicans – though this can’t be proven. The football moments are massively significant too, especially for Scotland, because they are a combination of victory but sometimes tragedy and angst. However much the media has proliferated, it still has a pivotal role and people still congregate together round a television at key moments.”

Iain Logie Baird, curator of Television at the National Media Museum in Bradford and grandson of John Logie Baird, the Helensburgh-born inventor of television, said: “A large part of television’s power lies in how it is able to transmit vision and sound instantaneously. Moments like the Moon landing are ephemeral – they can be experienced only once in real time. Watching TV images from the Moon was a completely new experience for viewers, and still exerts a powerful hold over our collective imagination.”

Scottish viewers’ most iconic TV moments:

1. 9/11 terrorist attack on the twin towers in New York (2001) – 41 per cent.

2. Man walks on the Moon for the first time (1969) – 23 per cent.

3. Fall of the Berlin Wall which had divided East and West Berlin for 30 years (1989) – 8 per cent.

4. Barack Obama’s election/inauguration as US president (2009) – 7 per cent.

5. Funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales (1997) – 5 per cent.

6. Assassination of John F Kennedy (1963) – 4 per cent.

7. Nelson Mandela leaves Victor Verster prison after 27 years’ imprisonment (1990) – 3 per cent.

8. Archie Gemmill’s goal against Holland in the 1978 World Cup – 2 per cent

8 Live Aid appeal (1985) – 2 per cent.

9. Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer marry (1981) – 1 per cent. (ANI)

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What Richard Nixon would have said had the Moon landing failed

April 20, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, April 20 (ANI): Almost 40 years since the successful Moon landing, a document has emerged that contains former US President Richard Nixon’s speech, which would have been read out to the American public in the case the mission had ended in failure.

According to a report in the Telegraph, the typed document, entitled “In the event of Moon disaster”, was consigned to an archive until now.

It is dated July 18, 1969 – two days before the landing was due – and was prepared by Nixon’s speech writer, Bill Safire, and sent to White House chief of staff Harry Haldeman.

As Neil Armstrong set foot on the Moon on July 21, 1969, his immortal words “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” became synonymous with the scale of the achievement.

However, in the event that astronauts Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin had been stranded on the Moon, Nixon would have delivered a far more chilling address to the nation.
After calling their widows, he would have told the watching millions, “Fate has ordained that the men who went to the Moon to explore in peace will stay on the Moon to rest in peace.”

“These brave men know there is no hope for their recovery but they also know that there is hope for mankind in their sacrifice. These two men are laying down their lives in mankind’s most noble goal: the search for truth and understanding,” he would have said.

Nixon would have further said, “They will be mourned by their families and friends; they will be mourned by their nation; they will be mourned by the people of the world; they will be mourned by a Mother Earth that dared send two of her sons into the unknown.”

“In their exploration, they stirred the people of the world to feel as one; in their sacrifice, they bind more tightly the brotherhood of man,” he would have said.

The document reveals that Nixon would have added, “Man’s search will not be denied but these men were the first and they will remain the foremost in our hearts,” would have been his statement.

Once the speech had been delivered, Mission Control would have closed communications and a clergyman would have conducted a burial service.

However, following the success of the mission, the document was laid aside in Nixon’s private papers in America’s national archives. (ANI)

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