World at Work, a total rewards research and trade organization, reports that the use of recognition programs to motivate specific employee behaviors has increased from 9- to 34 percent between 2008 and 2011.

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Her responsibilities were broader than the average CIO, as well, as over time her role expanded and she oversaw innovation, gaming, IT application development, infrastructure, security, support for customer facing systems, all company web sites, as well as key initiatives to develop new technical capabilities for the Total Rewards loyalty program.

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"The company could not do very well in total shareholder return, and the rewards for managers could still crystallise, " Ms Wilson warned.

BBC: Sir Martin Sorrell, chief executive, WPP

Five have gone on to win Nobel prizes, but no one really knows whether those juicy rewards really advanced the sum total of human knowledge.

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Their performance related rewards are determined in large part by total shareholder return, which is dominated by what has happened to the share price.

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More U.S. companies are limiting the stock rewards for top leaders in down years by restricting certain compensation when total shareholder return is negative.

WSJ: What's News