Alexander Pepper – författare

In the past 30 years, senior executive pay has increased dramatically in the UK, US and other developed countries, causing much debate and, at times, public outrage. In this book, Alexander ('Sandy') Pepper argues that this soaring inflation in high pay is the result of a market failure, leading to inefficient pay practices that are replicated across industries. Individual company's renumeration committees face a prisoner's dilemma, and so recommend over-the-odds payments in the vain hope of obtaining superior talent. For institutional investors, these developments have created a collective action problem, with many historically unwilling or unable to intervene to curtail excessive corporate pay. But are executives themselves really the greedy, self-interested, fat cats of popular culture? Based on a thought experiment and survey of beliefs of over a thousand senior executives from around the world, Pepper and his colleagues found that business executives in fact tend not to justify their pay levels as if they were ethical egoists entitled to act entirely in their own self-interest. Instead, they expressed support for a range of ethical beliefs on inequality and distributive justice. They can be categorised as either welfare liberals, relational egalitarians, meritocrats or free marketeers. Many believe that in a civilised society everyone has the right to an income that is sufficient for a dignified life, and that companies, not just governments, have responsibilities in this respect. So, Pepper argues, it is the market failure in executive pay that has created such wage inflation at the top, and this ultimately requires an ethical response from investors, companies and executives. This is a book for anyone who wishes to understand and tackle business's role in the growing social inequality of advanced economies in an informed, fair and feasible way.

Case studies have long been an integral part of business and management education. As artificial intelligence transforms teaching and learning, they are assuming even greater importance. Cases provide the opportunity to learn from real-life scenarios, equipping students with the analytical skills required to critically examine data, apply theory, and interpret complex situations in what is an increasingly noisy and uncertain world.Navigating the 21st Century Business World: Case Studies in Management is a fully open access collection of management cases, featuring examples from the health sector, media, oil and gas industries, fast fashion, financial services, and the public sector.Written by LSE academics and tested in the classroom, the case studies in this book challenge students to evaluate classic issues of management, such as corporate governance and leadership, and to address contemporary dilemmas, from considering a company’s responsibilities in the face of man-made climate change to how to create inclusive workforces.Each case details the core dilemmas raised and includes questions for students to consider when preparing the case. Academics and industry trainers can use the collection to make their lessons more hands-on and to enhance their curriculum. The case studies provide practical examples of management decision-making to spark thought-provoking discussions for university students, experienced executives looking to improve their leadership skills, and entrepreneurs seeking a competitive edge.

In What's a Company For? Alexander Pepper considers the controversial subject of corporate purpose. Through academic argument and philosophical dialogues, he makes the case for responsible business.

This new book examines the relationship between agency theory and executive pay. It argues that while Jensen and Meckling (1976) were right in their analysis of the agency problem in public corporations they were wrong about the proposed solutions. Drawing on ideas from economics, psychology, sociology and the philosophy of science, the author explains how standard agency theory has contributed to the problem of executive pay rather than solved it. The book explores why companies should be regarded as real entities not legal fictions, how executive pay in public corporations can be conceptualised as a collective action problem and how behavioral science can help in the design of optimal incentive arrangements. An insightful and revolutionary read for those researching corporate governance, HRM and organisation theory, this useful book offers potential solutions to some of the problems with executive pay and the standard model of agency.