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In his new book, Value at the Top: Solutions to the Executive Compensation Crisis, author Ira T. Kay, Ph.D., presents the theory that, contrary to popular opinion, the real crisis in executive pay is with the form of pay plans--namely, stock options--and not with the level of pay. Kay argues that executive stock options played a major role in the merger mania of the 1980s. The reason: with their unlimited upside and no downside, stock options often motivate executives to follow riskier strategies than their shareholders desire. Kay is a worldwide practice leader for executive compensation at the Hay Group. He has held executive positions at Shearson Lehman as the Senior Vice President of compensation and for Kidder Peabody as a Managing Director. The hardcover 288-page book (ISBN: 0-88730-5016) costs $25, plus a $2 postage fee and applicable sales tax. For more information, contact HarperBusiness, a division of Harper Collins Publishers, 1O East 53rd St., New York, NY 10022-5299; telephone 800/331-3761 or 212/207-7000.