United is a Poor Model for Employee Ownership
It would be easy to look at what’s happening at United Airlines, now on the brink of bankruptcy, and conclude that the concept of employee ownership in America has fallen into a tailspin.
It would be easy to look at what’s happening at United Airlines, now on the brink of bankruptcy, and conclude that the concept of employee ownership in America has fallen into a tailspin.
This conceptual paper based on a case examines some of the devastating impacts of the recent spate of corporate wrongdoing, noting the widespread interconnectivity and interrelationships these demonstrate; revisits the roots of capitalism and the underpinnings of corporate citizenship; and explores the efforts of the Carris Companies as they implemented their plan for 100% employee ownership and governance, working toward full transparency and accountability in their decision-making.
Level 3’s unique compensation plan rewarded managers for the firm’s performance only if the firm’s stock price movement exceeded that of the market. This design was intended to maximize shareholder value by tying managers’ performance more closely to that of the firm.
Distinguishing the Carris Companies’ transition to 100% employee ownership was its more unusual movement towards 100% employee governance. This paper examines the Carris Companies’ practice of governance and the process used to prepare stakeholder citizens for their changing roles and relationships.
This book draws on the National Center for Employee Ownership’s over 20 years of experience in the field, and, more importantly, the experience of the leading employee ownership companies.
This book takes a broad look at how to use incentives, ranging from stock options to cash bonuses to gainsharing, to motivate and reward employees in dynamic companies that seek to create a more productive ‘ownership’ culture.
Using data from an extensive study of employee-owned companies in Ohio, where employee ownership is a well-developed trend, this book offers a strong empirical portrait of firms with Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs).
The idea of employee ownership has attracted support across the political spectrum, often being seen as a form of economic democracy that complements our political democracy. Along with these positive views, however, there have been many concerns expressed about employee ownership particularly that it can expose workers to excessive risk and may in some cases increase labor management conflict and lower economic performance.
Following a brief description of the methodology employed within this chapter, background information is provided on the Carris Companies. Changing stakeholder relationships highlighted in the segment on employee ownership provide a foundation for understanding the transitional process within the Carris Companies and, specifically, the practice of governance.
Until recently, stock options were primarily reserved for senior executives and selected managers in most American corporations. In the last decade or so, however, stock options have become part of the compensation package for an increasing number of rank-and-file employees.
This case traces the origins of Starbucks and its rapid growth through joint partnerships and diversified products, and its rapid expansion of retail cafes. A profile of Starbuck’s financial contributions to community development and literacy projects, and its efforts to promote progressive workplace conditions is presented. Despite this, criticisms of pushing out local businesses, homogenization … Read More
Values at Work is an analysis of organizational dynamics with wide- ranging implications in an age of market globalization. It looks at the challenges businesses face to maintain people-oriented work systems while remaining successful in the larger economy.
The high-profile collapse of Enron has focused attention on just how much employees stand to lose when they invest retirement savings in company stock.
At a time when employers are searching for new and innovative ways to motivate and retain key talent, employee stock ownership plans are proving to be powerful retention and reward strategies that have a positive impact on profitability, revenue growth, and productivity.
This paper examines the use and consequences of shared compensation plans (profit sharing, profit related pay, SAYE schemes and company stock option plans) in a sample of UK workplaces and firms in the 1990s.
This paper summarizes the findings from over 50 large-sample empirical studies that have been done on employee ownership and broad-based stock option plans in the past 25 years, covering studies on plan adoption, employee attitudes and behaviours, firm performance, and employee wages and wealth.
Topics include: ownership and motivation, different ways to become an owner, and does ownership make a difference?
There are at least six reasons why we should be concerned with encouraging employee ownership at thesubnational level: at the level of the state, the province, the region, the municipality, or other subnationalgovernmental units or at the level of the industrial branch, cutting across governmental geographic units.
The “new economy” is another name for an old bag of tricks where promise and reality don’t match up. E-workers counting on valuable stock options, a revolutionized workplace, and premier wages and benefits have instead gotten mediocre wages, useless stock options, relentless production pressure, and maximum job insecurity.
To successfully privatize an enterprise through employee ownership, the state must be willing to sell, the employees must be interested in buying, the managers must be competent, there must be a market for its products or services, the operation must be competitive, labor-management cooperation must be achievable, and sufficient financing should be available.
While the company has been extraordinarily innovative to date, Cisco Systems is far from complacent about being able to maintain its leadership position with respect to e-business practices.
The purpose of this paper is to survey and briefly describe employee ownership as practiced in national policy. It is based on materials and references supplied by participants in the ongoing virtual think tank online discussion group on national employee ownership policy sponsored by the Ford Foundation and organized by the Capital Ownership Group at www.cog.kent.edu.
The Ohio Employee Ownership Center (OEOC) is a non-profit, university-based program that provides outreach, information, and preliminary technical assistance to Ohio employees and business owners interested in exploring employee ownership.
Organizational leadership sets the standard for ethical conduct in the workplace. Christianity’s “Golden Rule” was used by William H. (Bill) Carris, owner of the Carris Financial Corporation (CFC), as the central ethical principle in his Long Term Plan (UP), describing the transition to 100% employee-ownership and governance…
Provides a brief overview of employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) and phantom stock plans for owners of closely held companies.