Perhaps less frequently noted are the pay plans that provide such a big performance incentive for individuals that they can lead people to take risky and even illegal actions in order to make their pay -for-performance compensation plans pay off.

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Owners of subpar clubs would have a pressing incentive to improve performance: Relegation would sharply reduce the value of their franchise.

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This will reduce pressure on schools to improve their performance, create a perverse incentive for parents to send their children to run-of-the-mill schools to secure a university place, and guarantee that many poorly prepared students will have a miserable time at university.

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Citi said the performance share units (PSUs) will now account for a portion of annual incentive compensation, in an effort to strengthen the existing links between pay and performance.

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Just as in education, where funding depends on "performance" indicators, there is a great incentive to manipulate data merely to ensure that the level of service provided does not deteriorate further.

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There is a base salary, and a far more lucrative financial incentive through bonuses and stock options based on performance.

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Court documents suggest that Mr Grasso himself had a great deal of control over the structure of his incentive package, including performance targets (which he easily exceeded).

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The Labour government's bid to introduce performance-related pay for teachers ended up with the supposed incentive turning into a hidden general pay rise.

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