DEVELOPING BONUS PLANS FOR MANAGERS IN ORDER TO MAXIMIZE VALUE FOR OWNERS

Abstract

Rewarding managers in the corporate enterprise means that they receive profit for achieving planned performance and for achieving above the planned level they receive various types of stimulation. Bonuses are the most common form of incentives for managers which are paid in proportion to their contribution to the success of the business. In the corporate enterprise it is necessary to develop such a system of rewarding managers which will motivate them to act in accordance with the interests of owners and encourage them to undertake those risky business activities that will contribute to the maximizing of the value for owners.

In order to ensure guidance for managers towards continuous improvement of companies' performances, developed bonus plans should be based on performance measures important to the owners (measures are based on: concept of accounting result, concept of economic results and cash flow concept). For rewarding top managers, the application of measures based on the concept of the accounting result that directly correspond to the price of shares is the most appropriate for the calculation and payment of bonuses (yield rate implied by the price of shares, yield rate provided by the manager in the strategic plan, as well as the price of the capital). For managers of business units it is not always possible to establish a direct link between rewarding and the movement of share prices, therefore the most suitable criteria for the calculation of bonuses are the criteria based on the concept of economic result (most suitable is EVA) and criteria based on the cash flow (most suitable is SVA). Rewarding managers of the operational level of management is linked to performance, which in essence represent macro or micro value drivers, which can be directly linked to the performance of these managers.

Rewarding managers also implies that short-term and long-term incentives are balanced in their compensatory package, which would apply to the bonuses. Efficient compensatory system should contribute to the harmonization of the individual goals of the managers and the objectives of the owners, in the short and long term, and to ensure fair distribution of bonuses in the management structure. Rewarding managers by bonus disbursement should ensure readiness and loyalty of the management to achieve the expected yields for the owners not only in short, but in the long run as well.