Sales Force Compensation - Publications - Faculty & Research

Mary Kay Ash

Ash created a successful cosmetics company by and for women by utilizing a direct sales force and creative motivational sales techniques. At the end of its first year, Mary Kay... View Details

Keywords: Personal Care & Home Products

Thomas M. Siebel

Siebel founded his firm in 1993 as a provider of sales force automation systems. Though his firm quickly became a major player in sales force... View Details

Keywords: Computers & Electronics

03 Aug 2015
Research & Ideas

Why Fierce Competitors Apple and Amazon Became ’Frenemies’ Over eReaders

Apple generates from hardware sales more than compensates for the reduced e-book sales through iBooks," says Zhu. "At the same time, Amazon will be able to sell more e-books,... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Information; Publishing; Technology

20 Feb 2006
Research & Ideas

Are Company Founders Underpaid?

research with 1,200 executives at 500 companies concludes founder pay is on average $30,000 less than that of non-founder executives. (The pay discrepancy disappears as the business matures.) What's the reason for such founder discounts? One reason is that non-founders... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Financial Services; Technology

01 Dec 2009
News

Hope for Reform Dims

for claw-backs when investments go sour, and give executives significant equity stakes in their companies. “Two firms with compensation plans like I just described, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers, both failed. So having the right View Details

Keywords: Securities, Commodities, and Other Financial Investments; Finance; Administration of Economic Programs; Government

01 Dec 2007
News

Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho

return to prior employers. Median total compensation was $140,000, up slightly from last year’s $138,125 for the Class of 2006. For future job seekers, this fall MBA Career Services, in conjunction with student club leaders, introduced... View Details

01 Sep 2009
News

Over the Top

everything else.” That culture, critics maintain, spawned executive compensation plans with incentives that encouraged the excessive risk-taking that led to the financial crisis. And while the intricate details of pay plans don’t evoke... View Details

Keywords: Roger Thompson; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services; Finance; Government

22 Apr 2008
First Look

First Look: April 22, 2008

it. Purchase this case: http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=708044 EFI, Inc. (A) Harvard Business School Case 508-044 EFI has a unique sales compensation challenge. They cannot... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

02 Dec 2002
What Do You Think?

How Will We Respond to the “Moment of Truth” in Option Plans?

waning as a means of compensation in the coming years. At the very least, there will be fewer options available. This raises the questions: Who will get them and in what proportion? Aaron Bernstein, the co-author of a new book on the... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

07 Sep 2021
News

Supporting Students on Their Journeys

School also provides aid for MBA students’ summer career explorations and, upon graduation, to enable them to pursue their passions in sectors where the compensation is lower than is typical for an HBS graduate. Alumni and friends of the... View Details

Truman K. Gibson

In 1943, Gibson became head of Supreme Life Insurance, which had $53.8 million in industrial insurance policies in force. Gibson ushered in a solid seven years of growth and financial stability. Gibson’s sales View Details

Keywords: Finance

03 Sep 2009
What Do You Think?

Are Retention Bonuses Worth the Investment?

a tool . The problem is not the tool, but the user if the company were better run, you wouldn't need to bribe people to stay (but) there are times when the retention bonus is appropriate, such as when a company is for sale ." Rajat... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

Leland I. Doan

Doan was responsible for Dow Chemical’s greatest diversification and expansion. Doan began by delegating increased authority to department heads and building a larger sales force trained to become market and... View Details

Keywords: Chemicals & Industrial

01 Dec 2020
What Do You Think?

How Can We Get Companies to Invest More in Low-Wage Workers?

Inequality in society has been studied from almost every angle. Among others, French economist Thomas Piketty has provided ample evidence of trends in inequality, their causes, and their consequences. We’re reminded constantly of the growing View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

01 Dec 2006
News

Faculty Research Online From HBS Working Knowledge

Professor Mihir Desai explains what managers can learn from one unlucky investor’s experience. The Compensation Game Do CEOs deserve “star” compensation? The idea that their pay is driven by the invisible hand of market View Details

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

26 Jul 2010
Research & Ideas

Yes, You Can Raise Prices in a Downturn

moment of truth, and success breeds attention and willingness to implement. Ben Shapiro: Then look at incentives. Pricing to reflect value-adding performance while paying the sales force for volume rarely... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail; Consumer Products

Samuel M. Walton

1987, Wal-Marts numbered over 1,000 and had sales of $14 billion. Gaining momentum from the success of Wal-Mart, Walton created the highly successful bulk food store chain, Sam’s Wholesale Club, which also earned revenues in the billions.... View Details

Keywords: Retail

01 Jun 2010
News

M.I.A. Boards

socialite Dina Merrill, who sat on the board for eighteen years and served on the compensation committee that approved CEO Richard Fuld’s $484 million in salary, stock options, and bonuses from 2000 to 2007. John Helyar, coauthor of... View Details

Keywords: John Gillespie;David Zweig; Finance

Bernard Marcus

employees that would revolutionize the home improvement market. As Home Depot grew, it surpassed competitors like Hechinger's and Lowe's, as well as forced the closing of Marcus and Blank's former employer. By the end of Marcus' tenure,... View Details