BNET Readers on Wharton's Meltdown Take

BNET's users should be the ones running BNET. They always leave smart comments. For example, after reading yesterday's piece about Knowledge@Wharton's take on how tying shareholder value to executive compensation contributed to current unpleasantness in the financial sector, BNET reader, thommygunns, writes:

Do you think the analysis -- that tying executive performance to shareholder value -- goes far enough? Any time you focus on the value of return for one specific group (i.e. 'the shareholder') over the other stakeholders of a company you run the risk of negatively affecting the broader economy for the benefit of a few. Yes, executives received ample, and sometimes spectacularly excessive, compensation for what have become highly visible failures, but this was only possible because boards, and shareholders, allowed it. Seems that this is becoming the modern version of a witch hunt, with executives on the dunking stool. In a witch hunt everyone is usually a little bit guilty, but fear and uncertainty allow us to cast our guilt on others.