When it comes to salary and/or increments, why does everyone discuss about only middle managers, team leaders, or agents whereas CEOs' compensation is increasingly becoming a concern for executives? But now the business world is changing, and is even encouraging shareholders' say on the CEO's pay.

The findings of a recently released survey done by Korn/Ferry International, a provider of talent-management solutions, reveal executives' views on their CEOs' salaries. The survey titled The Korn/ferry International Executive Quiz revealed that when asked about fair pay, 34 percent of the respondents revealed that they have at least some concern associated with their CEOs' compensation. The Korn/Ferry survey is based on the responses of executives from 50 countries — representing a wide spectrum of industries and functional areas — registered within Korn/Ferry's online Executive Center, ekornferry.com. In fact, in another survey conducted by the firm in 2007, executives exhorted that their CEO's are overcompensated.

"The tumultuous economic environment highlights the challenges with getting pay for performance right," says Russell Miller, Managing Director, Executive Compensation Advisors, Korn/Ferry. "The business community continues to focus on aligning pay and performance, and companies are having mixed success against this objective.

The study also revealed that the CEO's salary directly reflects the company's performance. Seventy two percent of the respondents support the statement fully or partly while only 25 percent denied the statement.

Also, in a scenario where shareholders are witnessing an ongoing disparity between rising CEO compensation and declining share prices, executives feel that shareholders should have some "say on pay" for their companies' executives. In fact, four out of five (about 80 percent) respondents of the survey felt that shareholders should have at least some "say on pay" for their companies' executives.