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Governance
More CEOs than ever — 52 percent of U.S.- based CEOs and 81 percent of their non- U.S.-based peers — say they are happy with their job. That’s despite the fact that nearly all (95 percent) say they are dedicating more time than they did three years ago to fulfilling that role; more than 60 percent say they are increasing hours spent on shareholder relations, setting strategy and reporting to the board. Fewer seem concerned with regulatory issues, however, with just 56 percent saying compliance is taking more time than it did three years ago, compared with 78 percent in the 2007 survey and 89 percent in 2006.
CEOs who call their job rewarding are more likely to view their board relationships positively. Further, 70 percent of those happy in their job are satisfied with the way executive compensation is calculated, compared with 30 percent who find their job less rewarding than they did three years ago. But the most crucial element in their long-term success is sustainable growth, say 54 percent.
Nine of 10 participants point to overall company profitability as a measure used to compute executive bonuses. The next most mentioned yardstick — overall company revenues and revenue growth — is cited by just 42 percent of the CEOs.
The vast majority of CEOs say changes to the U.S. legal and regulatory systems would have a positive impact on U.S. market competitiveness. But fewer than last year (79 percent versus 88 percent) say that easing governance rules would help.
Reputation
More than 75 percent of CEOs say they do enough to protect their companies’ reputations, but that’s down from 81 percent last year and 84 percent in 2006. Further, nearly half of U.S. adults say CEOs don’t do enough to protect corporate reputations.
What’s more, more than half of Americans who say business practices have become more ethical credit better government oversight, according to an Opinion Research Corp./Caravan study conducted in May. That compares with 69 percent of U.S.-based CEOs and 62 percent of non-U.S-based leaders who suggest better behavior at the top is responsible for improvements.
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